Battle of Tedorigawa The took place near the Tedori River in Japan ' s Kaga Province in 1577 . The battle site is in the modern - day Ishikawa Prefecture . Background . After Oda Nobunaga ' s victory at Nagashino , Uesugi Kenshin broke off his alliance with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu , he then initiated an alliance in 1575 with the Ishiyama Honganji warrior monks ( Ikko Ikki ) and Takeda Katsuyori of the Takeda clan , with whom he had previously been at odds . The Tedorigawa Campaign was precipitated by Uesugi intervention inside the domain of the Hatakeyama clan in Noto Province , an Oda Client state . This event provoked the Uesugi incursion , there was a Coup d ' état led by the pro Oda General Chō Shigetsura , that killed Hatakeyama Yoshinori the lord of Noto and replaced him with Hatakeyama Yoshitaka as a puppet ruler . As a result Uesugi Kenshin , the head of the Uesegi clan mobilized an army to lead into Noto against Shigetsura . Consequently Nobunaga sent an army led by Shibata Katsuie , Hashiba Hideyoshi and Maeda Toshiie ; some of his most experienced generals to reinforce their allies . Kenshin , taking the initiative moved to encircle Shigetsura ’ s forces preventing them from linking with the Oda army , and trapping Chō Shigetsura ( Tsunatsura ) in Nanao Castle ( the main Hatakeyama stronghold in Noto Province ) the subsequent Breakthrough killed Shigetsura and resulted in the Hatakeyama of Noto switching allegiance to the Uesugi . Battle . The Oda forces under the command of Shibata Katsuie , Hashiba Hideyoshi and Maeda Toshiie crossed the Tedori River ( Minatogawa or Tedorigawa ) and prepared to enter Noto Province , as they did not yet know about the fall of Nanao Castle . Due to the fall of Nanao Castle and Suemori Castle in Noto , the Oda army ( now joined by Nobunaga himself ) halted their march into Noto and went back across the Tedori River . Uesugi Kenshin , now bolstered in his ranks with Noto troops , advanced towards the Oda position . The Oda army came up with the plan to use cannons for stand - off tactics against the Uesugi and to bombard the Uesugi from across the river . However a skillful nighttime feint by Kenshin ( suggesting he had divided his forces ) led to Nobunaga ordering Katsuie to charge against the Uesugi lines and engaging the Uesugi troops on the river bank . Kenshin ordered the river ’ s floodgates to be opened . The strong current from the river and perhaps also some rainfall prevented the Oda clan from effectively using its Arquebus and cannons . The Oda charge itself was repulsed due to the current and inferior close quarter ability of the ashigaru making up the bulk of the Oda army ; the troops of the Oda were being pushed into the river . Having lost a thousand men in combat and some more as the Oda troops attempted to escape across the Tedori , Nobunaga ordered a retreat into Ōmi Province . Aftermath . Kenshin brought his army back into Noto province and ordered the repair of Nanao Castle as he himself went back into Echigo . The Uesugi scored a significant victory at Tedorigawa . As a result the distribution of power in the north shifted towards Kenshin and the Uesugi were temporarily able to extend their influence as far as the Kaga Province . There seems to be some debate among scholars as to Kenshin ' s next moves , however letters written by Kenshin seem to suggest that Kenshin did not perceive the Oda as a significant threat for the time being , although it could have been that Kenshin ' s true intentions were hidden . In these letters to Kanto samurai Kenshin suggests that his next moves would have been an offensive against the Hojo in Kanto and not towards Kyoto at that time . In letters written by Oda Nobunaga , Nobunaga suggested that he was willing to cede all of the northern provinces to the Uesugi in order to avoid a Uesugi advance upon Kyoto . Kenshin however , died before any plan was initiated . Subsequently the Uesugi fell into a civil war and as a result by 1582 the Oda forces had managed to push the Uesugi clan all the way back to the Echigo Province .