Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain
September 1561. Kawanakajima, Shinano Province, Japan
The fourth battle of Kawanakajima was one of the bloodiest battles of the Sengoku era of Japanese history.
Three times before the forces of the Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen had met, however on each occasion both generals had been unwilling to risk fully committing themselves to battle and after brief skirmishes had withdrawn.
By the Autumn of 1561 however things had changed. The Takeda’s control over much of Shinano province was looking ever more secure. Bit by bit local resistance had been whittled away and it seemed only a matter of time before the Takeda’s control over the strategically valuable mountainous region of central Japan would be unchallengeable. Uesugi Kenshin realised that it was now or never, he had to destroy Takeda Shingen.
With around 13,000 men Kenshin took up a calculated position on Saijoyama, a small mountain which overlooked the Takeda’s Kaizu castle. This proved to be a critical error, had Kenshin simply attacked the castle head-on he would have been able to overwhelm its 150 unprepared defenders with little trouble, he did not believe that Shingen would have left such a small force to hold such an important castle however.
As it was the defenders soon became aware of Kenshin’s prescience and word was sent to the main Takeda stronghold of Kofu, 130km away.
It should now have been clear how weakly defended Kaizu castle was yet still Uesugi did not attack; his intention was not merely to take the castle. To utterly destroy Takeda Shingen he needed to draw in Shingen.
With some 20,000 men Takeda approached the castle, keeping the Chikuma river between his army and that of Kenshin. Shingen was able to enter Kaizu un-harassed and make his preparations for the coming battle.
Under cover of night part of the Takeda army sneaked towards Saijoyama, intending to take the Uesugi forces by surprise and make them believe Shingen had made his move. Shingen believed that Kenshin would then decide to make a tactical withdrawal, retreating onto the plain below the mountain to regroup. It was there that Shingen waited with the rest of his warriors.
Kenshin knew Shingen too well however. His spies figured out the Takeda plan and as the Takeda detachment sneaked towards Saijoyama he led his forces down from the mountain, leading a dawn attack upon the would-be ambushers.
Useugi Kenshin’s forces attacked in waves. As one wave tired it fell back, ready to be replaced by the fresh forces waiting behind it.
Their pincer attack having failed the Takeda army quickly fell beneath the savage Useugi attack. Many of Shingen’s generals were killed in the first hour of the battle, including Shingen’s younger brother Nobushinge.
The Useugi advanced onwards, driving a hole through the centre of the Takeda lines. Useugi Kenshin himself entered the fray, leading the assault through the Takeda centre. Kenshin had only one target in mind as he stormed forward heedless of the Takeda samurai around him.
Useugi galloped straight into the Takeda headquarters, launching a direct attack against Takeda Shingen himself. Shingen was quick to react, his sword was ready, he expertly fended off Kenshin’s initial horse born attacks. One of Shingen’s retainers rushed to aid his master, plunging his sword into Kenshin’s horse, throwing the Useugi lord to the floor. The retainer moved to finish off the stunned Kenshin but Shingen ordered him back, allowing Kenshin time to pull himself to his feet.
In perhaps the most famous single combat of history the two powerful daimyo fought with one another. Around them the battle continued, the Takeda forces regrouped as the Useugi samurai desperately tried to break through to help their lord to escape.
From the start it was clear that Shingen had the upper hand, he had the clear advantage in Kenshin still being stunned from his fall. Nonetheless Usuegi fought bravely, enduring wounds that would have long since felled a lesser man before finally collapsing.
Their attack having failed the Useugi forces started to retreat against the Takeda counter-attack. The word quickly spread that Kenshin had fell, spreading panic amongst the Useugi forces. Under constant attack from the Takeda they retreated back across the Chigumi river. Here, the Takeda forces who had attempted to sneak up the mountain earlier that day, finally entered the fray. The small Useugi detachment that had been left to defend the river was destroyed and many hundreds of the men from Echigo lost their lives as they attempted to cross the river.
Useugi Kenshin’s gambit had failed. Rather than dealing a crushing, final blow to Takeda Shingen, he had instead been the one to suffer that fate.
In the coming weeks the Takeda forces would advance towards, flushed with victory, destroying the retreating Useugi forces and firmly securing their dominance over all of Shinano.
IOTL this battle is one of the most famous in Japanese history, marking the peak of the long lasting rivalry between Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi.
The battle as I have outlined it here went much the same way IOTL. The POD comes as Kenshin leads his assault on the Takeda headquarters- IOTL he found Shingen completely unprepared and unarmed, nonetheless Shingen was able to defend himself purely with a fan, a Takeda retainer then wounded Kenshin's horse and forced him to retreat with the rest of his army.
I have to wonder here- what if Shingen had been ready? Since he was able to hold his own against a horse-born sword armed Kenshin when all he had was a fan I really have to come to the conclusion that it is likely he would emerge victorious in a true one on one battle.
IOTL the battle was a bit of a draw. Somewhat like Jutland it was a tactical victory for Kenshin, far more losses being inflicted on the Takeda, but a strategic victory for Shingen, he was able to hold his own and force the Useugi to retreat.
Shingen Takeda is one of the big 'What ifs' of Japanese history. A highly skilled administrator and military leader he is regarded as one of the few men who could have unified Japan he instead died a mysterious early death (one popular theory holds a lucky bullet from an enemy sniper killed him. This theory is the subject of the Kurasawa film Kagemusha). Rather than taking the simple POD of "WI no sniper's bullet?" I have instead decided an earlier and flashier POD would be more interesting.
September 1561. Kawanakajima, Shinano Province, Japan
The fourth battle of Kawanakajima was one of the bloodiest battles of the Sengoku era of Japanese history.
Three times before the forces of the Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen had met, however on each occasion both generals had been unwilling to risk fully committing themselves to battle and after brief skirmishes had withdrawn.
By the Autumn of 1561 however things had changed. The Takeda’s control over much of Shinano province was looking ever more secure. Bit by bit local resistance had been whittled away and it seemed only a matter of time before the Takeda’s control over the strategically valuable mountainous region of central Japan would be unchallengeable. Uesugi Kenshin realised that it was now or never, he had to destroy Takeda Shingen.
With around 13,000 men Kenshin took up a calculated position on Saijoyama, a small mountain which overlooked the Takeda’s Kaizu castle. This proved to be a critical error, had Kenshin simply attacked the castle head-on he would have been able to overwhelm its 150 unprepared defenders with little trouble, he did not believe that Shingen would have left such a small force to hold such an important castle however.
As it was the defenders soon became aware of Kenshin’s prescience and word was sent to the main Takeda stronghold of Kofu, 130km away.
It should now have been clear how weakly defended Kaizu castle was yet still Uesugi did not attack; his intention was not merely to take the castle. To utterly destroy Takeda Shingen he needed to draw in Shingen.
With some 20,000 men Takeda approached the castle, keeping the Chikuma river between his army and that of Kenshin. Shingen was able to enter Kaizu un-harassed and make his preparations for the coming battle.
Under cover of night part of the Takeda army sneaked towards Saijoyama, intending to take the Uesugi forces by surprise and make them believe Shingen had made his move. Shingen believed that Kenshin would then decide to make a tactical withdrawal, retreating onto the plain below the mountain to regroup. It was there that Shingen waited with the rest of his warriors.
Kenshin knew Shingen too well however. His spies figured out the Takeda plan and as the Takeda detachment sneaked towards Saijoyama he led his forces down from the mountain, leading a dawn attack upon the would-be ambushers.
Useugi Kenshin’s forces attacked in waves. As one wave tired it fell back, ready to be replaced by the fresh forces waiting behind it.
Their pincer attack having failed the Takeda army quickly fell beneath the savage Useugi attack. Many of Shingen’s generals were killed in the first hour of the battle, including Shingen’s younger brother Nobushinge.
The Useugi advanced onwards, driving a hole through the centre of the Takeda lines. Useugi Kenshin himself entered the fray, leading the assault through the Takeda centre. Kenshin had only one target in mind as he stormed forward heedless of the Takeda samurai around him.
Useugi galloped straight into the Takeda headquarters, launching a direct attack against Takeda Shingen himself. Shingen was quick to react, his sword was ready, he expertly fended off Kenshin’s initial horse born attacks. One of Shingen’s retainers rushed to aid his master, plunging his sword into Kenshin’s horse, throwing the Useugi lord to the floor. The retainer moved to finish off the stunned Kenshin but Shingen ordered him back, allowing Kenshin time to pull himself to his feet.
In perhaps the most famous single combat of history the two powerful daimyo fought with one another. Around them the battle continued, the Takeda forces regrouped as the Useugi samurai desperately tried to break through to help their lord to escape.
From the start it was clear that Shingen had the upper hand, he had the clear advantage in Kenshin still being stunned from his fall. Nonetheless Usuegi fought bravely, enduring wounds that would have long since felled a lesser man before finally collapsing.
Their attack having failed the Useugi forces started to retreat against the Takeda counter-attack. The word quickly spread that Kenshin had fell, spreading panic amongst the Useugi forces. Under constant attack from the Takeda they retreated back across the Chigumi river. Here, the Takeda forces who had attempted to sneak up the mountain earlier that day, finally entered the fray. The small Useugi detachment that had been left to defend the river was destroyed and many hundreds of the men from Echigo lost their lives as they attempted to cross the river.
Useugi Kenshin’s gambit had failed. Rather than dealing a crushing, final blow to Takeda Shingen, he had instead been the one to suffer that fate.
In the coming weeks the Takeda forces would advance towards, flushed with victory, destroying the retreating Useugi forces and firmly securing their dominance over all of Shinano.
IOTL this battle is one of the most famous in Japanese history, marking the peak of the long lasting rivalry between Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi.
The battle as I have outlined it here went much the same way IOTL. The POD comes as Kenshin leads his assault on the Takeda headquarters- IOTL he found Shingen completely unprepared and unarmed, nonetheless Shingen was able to defend himself purely with a fan, a Takeda retainer then wounded Kenshin's horse and forced him to retreat with the rest of his army.
I have to wonder here- what if Shingen had been ready? Since he was able to hold his own against a horse-born sword armed Kenshin when all he had was a fan I really have to come to the conclusion that it is likely he would emerge victorious in a true one on one battle.
IOTL the battle was a bit of a draw. Somewhat like Jutland it was a tactical victory for Kenshin, far more losses being inflicted on the Takeda, but a strategic victory for Shingen, he was able to hold his own and force the Useugi to retreat.
Shingen Takeda is one of the big 'What ifs' of Japanese history. A highly skilled administrator and military leader he is regarded as one of the few men who could have unified Japan he instead died a mysterious early death (one popular theory holds a lucky bullet from an enemy sniper killed him. This theory is the subject of the Kurasawa film Kagemusha). Rather than taking the simple POD of "WI no sniper's bullet?" I have instead decided an earlier and flashier POD would be more interesting.
Last edited: