Battle of Hasedo Castle

 

     When Japan was divided between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa Clans at the end of the Warring States Period, as a part of their decisive battles in 1600, the Battle of Hasedo Castle broke out.  The Uesugi Clan fought for the Toyotomi Clan.

     Naoe Kanetsugu (1560-1620), as a general of the Uesugi Army, captured Hatadani Castle, and he took up camp on Mt. Sugazawa near Hasedo Castle to besiege it.  The castle was located on the west side of the Honzawa River, a tributary of the Sukawa River, at the southwest end of the Yamagata Basin, and was located approximately 8 kilometers southwest of Yamagata Castle as the most important branch castle for the defense of Yamagata Castle.  Also, at this time, it was the only remaining base of the Mogami Clan in the west bank of the Mogami River and the west bank of the Sugawa River.  The Uesugi Army had to capture Hasedo Castle to avoid being attacked from both sides when they besieged Yamagata Castle.

     On September 15th, Mogami Yoshimitsu (1546-1614) dispatched his eldest son, Yoshiyasu (1575-1603), to Date Masamune (1567-1636), who was at Kitame Castle (Taihaku Ward, Sendai City) at the time, to request reinforcements.  Katakura Kagetsuna (1557-1615), a senior vassal of the Date Clan, remonstrated that the Uesugi and Mogami Clans should be exhausted by fighting each other, but Masamune said, “One is for Ieyasu, and one is for my mother in Yamagata Castle, I can’t walk out on Mogami.''  In a letter dated the 16th, Masamune decides to dispatch his uncle, Rusu Masakage (1549-1607) to help.

     At this time, Hasedo Castle was defended by Shimura Mitsuyasu (?-1609), a senior vassal of the Mogami Clan, and 1,000 soldiers, while the attackers were 18,000 Uesugi troops commanded by Kanetsugu.  It is said that the number of soldiers normally required for a siege is at least three times that of the castle side, but the Uesugi Army had more than enough troops to fight a siege.  On September 15th, Kanetsugu launched a forceful attack with his large army.  However, Mitsuyasu successfully defended the castle with his small army.  On September 16th, Mitsuyasu launched a night attack on the Kasuga Mototada’s camp on the Uesugi side with 200 soldiers.  As a result, the Uesugi forces fell into such confusion that they began to attack each other, and Mitsuyasu advanced close to the main camp where Kanetsugu was.  Mitsuyasu killed around 250 people.

     On the 17th, Kanetsugu ordered Kasuga Mototada (?-1608) to attack the castle again.  However, the area surrounding Hasedo Castle had marshy rice fields, and both men and horses were stranded and unable to move quickly.  Then, the Mogami Army shot arrows at them.  Frustrated, Kanetsugu cut rice before harvest near Hasedo Castle to provoke the castle soldiers who were basically farmers, but Mitsuyasu did not allow his soldiers to be provoked.

     On the 21st, Masakage’s 3,000-strong force dispatched by Masamune crossed the Sasaya Pass from Shiroishi and took up camp to the east of Yamagata Castle at Koshirakawa, and on the 24th, they set up camp at Numaki on the banks of the Sugawa River, about 2 kilometers northeast of Kanetsugu’s camp.  Yoshimitsu also departed from Yamagata Castle on the 25th and encamped at Inarizuka.  On the 29th, the Uesugi forces launched an all-out attack, and Mitsuyasu still fought well and achieved the military result of defeating the Uesugi army's military commander, Kamiizumi Yasutsuna (?-1600).

     On the very day, information was brought to Kanetsugu that the Toyotomi Army, commanded by Ishida Mitsunari (1560-1600), had suffered a crushing defeat at Sekigahara against the Tokugawa Army.  Upon learning of the defeat, Kanetsugu decided to retreat. The following day, September 30th, the Mogami Army also learned of the result of Sekigahara, and the offensive and defensive balance changed.  On October 1st, the Uesugi army began to retreat, and the Mogami & Date Allied Forces pursued them.  A fierce battle ensued, with bullets hitting the helmet of Yoshimitsu, who was standing at the forefront of the battle near Mt. Tomikami, resulting in many casualties on both sides.  In order to intercept the pursuing army, Kanetsugu barricaded himself in Hatadani Fortress with his troops and served as a rear of all his army.   Finally, he retreated to Arato on the 3rd.  Thanks to the good fights of Maeda Makoto and Mizuhara Chikanori (1546-1616), Kanetsugu fought off the Mogami Army while blocking the pursuers with his gun corps, and returned to Yonezawa Castle on the 4th.  Anyway, the Mogami forces turned to counter-offensives on all fronts and recovered Sagae, Shiraiwa, and Sazawa on the 1st, and Shimo Hidehisa, who had been left behind by the retreat and was holed up in Yachi Fortress, surrendered after 11 days of siege.

Yoshimitsu was surprised to see that Kanetsugu’s troops did not collapse in the slightest due to his close training, and that they were able to quickly retreat to the opposite bank.  Kanetsugu, however, crossed back to gather his defeated army.  He scattered Yoshimitsu’s soldiers  and chased them away.  Kanetsugu quietly returned to the opposite bank.

When Kanetsugu visited Ieyasu after the war, Ieyasu greatly praised him, saying, ``You are a man of greater military prowess than I have ever heard of.”