Battle of Gifu Castle The was a battle in August 1600 that led to the destruction of Gifu Castle in Gifu , Mino Province ( modern - day Gifu Prefecture ) , Japan . The battle served as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara the following month . It pitted Oda Hidenobu of the western forces ( and loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori ) against Ikeda Terumasa and Fukushima Masanori of the eastern forces ( and loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu ) . The castle was destroyed as a result of the battle . Prelude . As the eastern forces progressed up the Tōkaidō , Hidenobu was not able to predict where the eastern forces would cross the Kiso River and continue their westward march . To defend against all possibilities , Hidenobu set up fortifications throughout the area , with Gifu Castle at the center , dividing his forces and weakening their total strength . Terumasa ' s forces . Hearing of Hidenobu ' s movements , Terumasa ' s forces grouped together to combine their strengths . Early on the morning of August 22 , 1600 , the combined forces moved from Haguri District ' s Kōda ( present - day city of Ichinomiya , Aichi Prefecture ) in Owari Province to the neighboring Haguri District ' s Kōdajima ( present - day city of Kakamigahara , Gifu Prefecture ) in Mino Province . ( The two Haguri Districts had previously been one district in Owari Province , hence their same names and proximity . ) During their march , they crossed the Kiso River . While crossing the river , a contingent of Hidenobu ' s musketeers fought their advance in the Battle of Kōda Kisogawa Tokō ( 河田木曽川渡河の戦い " Kōda Kisogawa Tokō no Tatakai " ) . After defeating the musketeers , Terumasa ' s forces continued their march . On the afternoon of August 22 , they arrived in the village of Komeno ( present - day town of Kasamatsu ) and fought a force of 3 , 000 men under Dodo Tsunaie ( 百々綱家 ) at the Battle of Komeno ( 米野の戦い " Komeno no Tatakai " ) and defeated them . At the time of the defeat , Hidenobu was in the nearby village of Injiki ( present - day Ginan ) and decided to remove his forces to Gifu Castle , instead of attacking the eastern forces where they were . Masanori ' s forces . Around the same time , Masanori ' s forces tried to cross the Kiso River near Owari Province ' s Nakashima District ( present - day Ichinomiya ) , but they found western forces deeply entrenched on the opposite banks and decided to head further south to cross the river . They eventually crossed at Higashikaganoi and traveled by Kaganoi Castle ( 加賀野井城 " Kaganoi - jō " ) ( in present - day Hashima , Gifu Prefecture ) before they turned north and surrounded Takegahana Castle . Sugiura Shigekatsu ( 杉浦重勝 ) initially resisted Masanori ' s forces , but Mōri Hiromori ( 毛利広盛 ) , the leader of his supporting forces , capitulated to Masanori and Shigekatsu had no choice but to do the same and Takegahana Castle fell . After the victories by Terumasa and Masanori , the two forces joined together at the Arata River ( 荒田川 " Arata - gawa " ) south of Gifu Castle to begin their final advance . Battle . On the evening of August 22 , the combined eastern forces continued their pursuit of Hidenobu . To strengthen his own forces , Hidenobu sent out requests for help to nearby Ōgaki and Inuyama castles . While waiting for the forces to arrive , Hidenobu stayed in Gifu Castle thinking that they would be able to trap the opposing forces between his castle and the supporting forces from Ōgaki and Inuyama . The Toyotomi clan also sent some forces to Gifu Castle to help with the defense . Even though Hideyoshi thought that Gifu Castle could withstand any attack , he still put forces at mountain passes around the castle , protecting each route to it . Hidenobu and his brother Oda Hidenori ( 織田秀則 ) were put in charge of the men at Gifu Castle , with Tsuda Tōsaburō ( 津田藤三郎 ) , Kozukuri Tomoyasu ( 木造具康 ) and Dodo Tsunaie in charge of the remaining men , again dividing and weaking Hidenobu ' s forces . At daybreak on August 23 , the eastern forces received warning of the buildup of forces from Ōgaki and Inuyama castles . To prepare for battle by placing the forces of Yamauchi Kazutoyo , Arima Toyōji ( 有馬豊氏 ) , Togawa Tatsuyasu ( 戸川達安 ) and Horio Tadauji in villages to the southeast of Gifu Castle and the forces of Tanaka Yoshimasa ( 田中吉政 ) , Tōdō Takatora and Kuroda Nagamasa to the southwest . Later in the morning , they began to move towards Zuiryū - ji , where they encountered Asano Yoshinaga and the fighting began . As Ii Naomasa fought through other mountains on the way to Gifu Castle , Masanori joined him and threw all of his forces into the battle , completely surrounding the castle . During the battle , no supporting forces from Inuyama Castle arrived . The lord of the castle , Ishikawa Sadakiyo ( 石川貞清 ) remained in his castle with other leaders after he made an agreement with Naomasa not to join in the battle . Ōgaki Castle did send supporting forces ; however , they were too late to help with the battle . All of Gifu Castle , other than the donjon , fell to the eastern forces . Hidenobu kept fighting until the end , but his army was reduced to just tens of men . Hidenobu was prepared to fight until his death , but was convinced to surrender to the eastern forces . In the end , Gifu Castle fell in just one day . Aftermath . Hidenobu continued fighting in support of Hideyori ; however , after Hideyori ' s forces lost the Battle of Sekigahara the following month , Hidenobu moved to Mount Kōya and became a monk . He died there five years later .