About the Battle of Shizugatake
The Battle of Shizugatake was fought in 1583 (21st day of the 4th month, Tenshō 11) at Shizugatake, Ōmi Province. An all-night forced march from Mino, the pursuit by the Seven Spears, and Maeda Toshiie's withdrawal. The decisive battle north of Lake Biwa that chose Nobunaga's successor.
- Year
- 158321st day of the 4th month, Tenshō 11
- Place
- Shizugatake, Ōmi Province
- Era
- Azuchi–Momoyama period
The two armies
Shibata forces Commander-in-chiefShibata Katsuie 19,0004 units 
Hashiba forces Commander-in-chiefHashiba Hideyoshi 21,0005 units Troop strengthTotal of the units shown in 3D
Fought 16,000Did not fight 3,000
Fought 21,000
Shibata forcesBy troop strength
- Sakuma Morimasa 佐久間盛政 8,000
- Shibata Katsuie 柴田勝家 Commander-in-chief 5,000
- Shibata Katsumasa 柴田勝政 3,000
-
Maeda Toshiie 前田利家 Did not fight 3,000
Hashiba forcesBy troop strength
- Hashiba Hideyoshi 羽柴秀吉 Commander-in-chief 15,000
- Seven Spears of Shizugatake 賤ヶ岳七本槍 2,000
-
Niwa Nagahide 丹羽長秀 2,000 -
Nakagawa Kiyohide 中川清秀 1,000 -
Takayama Ukon 高山右近 1,000
Portraits are public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons (some are later imagined depictions).
How the battle unfoldedTimes follow the 3D clock
- 8:00 AMCh. 1
RaidMount Ōiwa Falls
Morning, the 20th day of the 4th month, Tenshō 11. With the succession to the dead Nobunaga at stake, Shibata Katsuie's nephew Sakuma Morimasa makes a deep thrust and storms the fort on Mount Ōiwa. Its commander Nakagawa Kiyohide fights hard but is killed.
- 10:00 AMCh. 2
Too FarMorimasa Will Not Withdraw
Drunk on success, Morimasa ignores Katsuie's repeated orders to pull back at once. The 12,000 of the detached force sit tight in the captured fort. This overconfidence will bring on one of the greatest reversals of the Sengoku age.
- 8:00 PMCh. 3
MarchThe Great Return from Mino
Receiving the news at Ōgaki, Hideyoshi cries, "We have won!" Fifty-two kilometres in five hours: ordering the villages along the road to light torches and cook rice, 15,000 men race up the Hokkoku Road through the night. The Great Return from Mino.
- 2:00 AMCh. 4
DawnDaybreak at Kinomoto
Before dawn on the 21st, Hideyoshi's army reaches Kinomoto. At this impossibly swift return, Morimasa at last begins to withdraw. But nothing is more fragile than an army in retreat.
- 5:00 AMCh. 5
PursuitThe Pursuit at Shizugatake
"Run them down, men!" Hideyoshi's young warriors, raised in his own household, swarm after the retreating Morimasa contingent. Fukushima Masanori, Katō Kiyomasa: the debut of the men later celebrated as the Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Shibata Katsumasa, coming to the rescue, is also killed.
- 7:00 AMCh. 6
ExitThe Maeda Leave the Field
Maeda Toshiie, deployed on Mount Shigeyama, suddenly withdraws his troops. Caught between his old friend Hideyoshi and his overlord Katsuie, Toshiie chooses not to fight. With its flank gone, the fate of the Shibata army is sealed at that moment.
- 9:00 AMCh. 7
FallTo Kitanoshō
The Shibata army breaks completely, and Katsuie flees to Kitanoshō in Echizen with a handful of retainers. Three days later the castle burns, and Katsuie dies by his own hand together with Oichi. Hideyoshi's mastery of Japan is, in effect, decided here.
In Ultra detailBattle Pass
The same scene in the standard quality and in Ultra detail. Drag the line to compare, and switch between "Wide" and "Close-up". Ultra detail adds rugged mountains, forests and rocks in 3D, rippling seas and rivers, rows in the fields and soldiers as figures. Chapter 1 of every battle can be watched in Ultra detail without the Battle Pass.
FAQ
What was the Battle of Shizugatake?
An all-night forced march from Mino, the pursuit by the Seven Spears, and Maeda Toshiie's withdrawal. The decisive battle north of Lake Biwa that chose Nobunaga's successor.
When and where did the Battle of Shizugatake take place?
It took place in 1583 at Shizugatake, Ōmi Province (21st day of the 4th month, Tenshō 11).
Who fought in the Battle of Shizugatake?
Hashiba Hideyoshi of the Hashiba forces, Shibata Katsuie of the Shibata forces were among the commanders.
Can I watch the Battle of Shizugatake in 3D?
Yes. This page plays a free three-minute 3D animated overview showing the deployments, the movements of each army and how the battle was decided.