Siege of Odani Castle

The 1573 Siege of Odani Castle (小谷城の戦い, Odani-jō no Tatakai) was the last stand of the Azai clan, one of Oda Nobunaga's chief opponents.^[1] and the first battle of Oda Nobutada.

Siege of Odani
Part of the Sengoku period
Date October, 1573 Location Odani Castle, Ōmi Province Result Oda Nobunaga victory Azai clan destroyed
Belligerents
forces of Oda Nobunaga	forces of Azai Nagamasa
Commanders and leaders
Oda Nobunaga Oda Nobutada Gamō Ujisato Isono Kazumasa Miyabe Keijun	Azai Nagamasa † Akao Kiyotsuna  Kaihō Tsunachika † Amenomori Kiyosada Atsuji Sadayuki
Strength
30,000	5,000

Prelude

In September, 1573, Oda Nobunaga defeated the Asakura clan at the Siege of Ichijodani Castle. Later, the Oda forces returned to northern Ōmi, he took Sawayama Castle and on October, 1573, Nobunaga began attacking Odani Castle, devastating the Azai clan.

Siege

Nobunaga took Odani Castle from Azai Nagamasa, who, left with no other option, committed suicide along with his father. Azai knew from the beginning that he would lose the battle, so he gave his wife Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), and their three daughters back to Nobunaga, saving them from death.^[2] Two of Nagamasa's daughters would later marry into powerful families. Their escape from the besieged castle became a fairly common sentimental scene in traditional Japanese art.

Before Azai Nagamasa committed seppuku he decided to make one last attack on Nobunaga's main camp; in the end, however, he failed and was instead captured. Nagamasa suffered much the same fate as his comrade-in-arms Asakura Yoshikage, whose castle at Oda Nobunaga's Siege of Ichijodani Castle was set aflame and destroyed.^[1]

In popular culture

The battle has been featured in the game Samurai Warriors 2. In the game, however, both the Azai and Asakura clans are destroyed during the Odani siege. Historically, the Asakura clan was destroyed before the Azai at the Battle of Ichijodani.

See also

• Battle of Anegawa
• Siege of Ichijodani Castle

References

1. Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. p. 224. ISBN 1854095234.
2. Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. Arms and Armour Press. p. 65. ISBN 0853688265.