Battle of Nagashino

The  was an armed conflict in 1575.  The battle took place near Nagashino Castle (長篠城) on the plain of Shitaragahara (設楽原) in the Mikawa province (三河) of Japan.

Nagashino Castle
Forces under Takeda Katsuyori (武田勝頼) attacked the castle.  The Takeda attacked the castle, because it threatened supply lines.Turnbull, Stephen R. (2000). Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades, p. 34.

Okudaira Sadamasa (奥平貞昌) commanded the 500 defenders of the castle.  The defenders had 200 matchlocks and at least once cannon.Turnbull, Battle of Nagashino , 2023.

Nagshino plain 
Both Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) and Oda Nobunaga (織田信長) sent troops to break the siege and their combined forces defeated the Takeda attack.

Nobunaga's use of firearms to defeat Takeda's cavalry is considered as a turning point in Japanese warfare.  His tactical innovation was the wooden stockades and rotating volleys of fire which led to a decisive victory at Nagashino.

Popular culture
The Battle of Nagashino and the last years of the Takeda clan are dramatised in Akira Kurosawa's 1980 movie Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior).

References

 Other websites 
Battle of Nagashino animated battle map  by Jonathan Webb

Category:16th century in Japan
Category:Battles involving Japan
Category:1575