The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: 関ヶ原の戦い; Kyūjitai: 關ヶ原の戰い, Hepburn romanization: Sekigahara no Tatakai), was a historical battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period.
Quick Facts Date, Location ...
Battle of Sekigahara |
---|
Part of the Sengoku period |
Edo-period screen depicting the battle |
|
Belligerents |
---|
Western Army: Forces loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, many clans from Western Japan |
Eastern Army: Forces loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu, clans of Eastern Japan |
Commanders and leaders |
---|
Ishida Mitsunari Ukita Hideie Ōtani Yoshitsugu † Shima Sakon † Chōsokabe Morichika Gamō Yorisato † Shimazu Yoshihiro Shimazu Toyohisa † Akashi Takenori Konishi Yukinaga Toda Katsushige † Ankokuji Ekei Mōri Hidemoto Natsuka Masaie † Hiratsuka Tamehiro † Defected: Kobayakawa Hideaki Kikkawa Hiroie Wakisaka Yasuharu Kutsuki Mototsuna Akaza Naoyasu Ogawa Suketada |
Tokugawa Ieyasu: Overall commander Ii Naomasa: Supreme field commander[2] Fukushima Masanori Tōdō Takatora Hosokawa Tadaoki Ikeda Terumasa Oda Urakusai Matsudaira Tadayoshi Kuroda Nagamasa Takenaka Shigekado Honda Tadakatsu Furuta Shigekatsu Katō Yoshiaki Terazawa Hirotaka Ikoma Kazumasa Tsutsui Sadatsugu Horio Tadauji Kanamori Nagachika Asano Yoshinaga Yamauchi Katsutoyo Kyōgoku Takatomo |
Strength |
---|
120,000 initially, 81,890 by the time of battle |
75,000 initially, 88,888 by the time of battle |
Casualties and losses |
---|
Sekigahara Gunki Taisei: 8,000–32,000 killed[5]
Tokugawa Jikki; The Chronicles of Toshogu Shrine: 35,270 killed[6]
~23,000 defected[citation needed] |
Sekigahara Gunki Taisei: 4,000–10,000 killed[7]
Tokugawa Jikki; The Chronicles of Toshogu Shrine: 8,000 killed[6] |
Location within Gifu Prefecture Show map of Gifu PrefectureBattle of Sekigahara (Japan) Show map of Japan |
Close
This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition led by Ishida Mitsunari, from which several commanders defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important.
Mitsunari's defeat in the battle of Sekigahara is generally considered to be the beginning point of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries until 1868.[8]