Battle of Mikata ga Hara

The battle of Mikata ga Hara (三方ヶ原の戦い, Mikata ga Hara no tatakai) was one of the most famous battles of Takeda Shingen's campaigns, and one of the best demonstrations of his cavalry-based tactics.

As Takeda Shingen drove south, seeking to attack Tokugawa Ieyasu at his fortress at Hamamatsu, his forces were met by Tokugawa's on a high plain called Mikata, just north of the fortress. According to the Kōyō Gunkan, the contemporary Takeda military history, Takeda outnumbered Ieyasu three-to-one, and organized his men in the gyōrin (fish-scale) formation, enticing his opponent to attack. Tokugawa's men were arranged in a line, so they could make the best use of their arquebusiers.

At around four in the afternoon, snow began to fall, and the arquebusiers opened fire, along with a number of peasant stone-throwers. Firearms were still quite new to Japanese warfare, and as the newest innovation, were probably considered an unbalancing factor; Tokugawa may have expected his superior weaponry to defeat Takeda's tactical attempts. Takeda then let loose his famous cavalry charge, his mounted spearmen racing towards the gunners, and overrunning them; some of Tokugawa's men stood firm, but many withdrew or were killed.

Shingen then withdrew these forward troops, offering them an opportunity to rest; a new set of horsemen initiated a new charge, led by Takeda Katsuyori and Obata Masamori. They were soon joined by the main body of the Takeda army, which drove their adversaries into full retreat. Tokugawa sent one of his commanders, Ōkubo Tadayo, to plant his giant golden fan standard (uma-jirushi) to serve as a rallying point at Saigadake, where the high plains began to drop off. Tokugawa then sought to re-engage the Takeda army, to free his trapped generals, but was persuaded by Natsume Yoshinobu to retreat; Tokugawa's life was too important. Natsume then led a charge into the Takeda line, and was killed.

When Tokugawa returned to the Hamamatsu fortress, he was reportedly accompanied by only five men; the battle had not gone well. Nevertheless, he commanded that the fortress gates remain open, and that braziers be lit to guide his retreating army back to safety. Sakai Tadatsugu beat a large war drum, seeking to add encouragement to the returning men of a noble, courageous retreat. When the Takeda vanguard, led by Baba Nobuharu and Yamagata Masakage heard the drums, and saw the braziers and open gates, they assumed that Tokugawa was planning a trap, and so they stopped and made camp for the night. Had they continued their charge forward, it could be argued that they might have taken the fortress.

In the night, a small band of Tokugawa warriors attacked the Takeda camp, and forced the Takeda into a ravine, where they lay helpless. Shingen and his army withdrew the following morning.

References

• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.