About the Battle of Suriagehara
The Battle of Suriagehara was fought in 1589 (5th day of the 6th month, Tenshō 17) at Suriagehara, Aizu, Mutsu Province. The day the wind changed. Date Masamune beats Ashina Yoshihiro at the foot of Mount Bandai, destroys the great Ashina house and becomes master of southern Ōshū in the decisive battle for Aizu.
- Year
- 15895th day of the 6th month, Tenshō 17
- Place
- Suriagehara, Aizu, Mutsu Province
- Era
- Azuchi–Momoyama period
The two armies
Date forces Commander-in-chiefDate Masamune 20,0005 units Troop strengthTotal of the units shown in 3D
Fought 20,000
Fought 16,500
Date forcesBy troop strength
- Date Masamune 伊達政宗 Commander-in-chief 8,000
-
Date Shigezane 伊達成実 4,000 -
Katakura Kagetsuna 片倉景綱 3,000 - Shiroishi Munezane 白石宗実 3,000
- Inawashiro Morikuni 猪苗代盛国 2,000
Ashina forcesBy troop strength
- Ashina Yoshihiro 蘆名義広 Commander-in-chief 6,000
- Tomita Ujizane 富田氏実 4,000
- Kanagami Moriharu 金上盛備 2,500
- Hariu Morinobu 針生盛信 2,000
- Sase Tanetsune 佐瀬種常 2,000
Portraits are public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons (some are later imagined depictions).
How the battle unfoldedTimes follow the 3D clock
- 4:00 AMCh. 1
TurnInawashiro Changes Sides
The 6th month of Tenshō 17. Inawashiro Morikuni, a senior Ashina retainer, secretly goes over to Date Masamune and opens the gates of his castle at Inawashiro. The eastern gateway to Aizu falls in a single night, and the 23-year-old Masamune pours onto Suriagehara at the head of a great army.
- 5:00 AMCh. 2
LinesFace to Face on Suriagehara
Daybreak on the 5th day of the 6th month. With Mount Bandai at their backs, 23,000 Date troops face 16,000 of the Ashina on Suriagehara. The Ashina head, Yoshihiro, is a sixteen-year-old brought in from the Satake. His elder retainers lack loyalty to the house.
- 7:00 AMCh. 3
West WindThe West Wind Favours the Ashina
The battle begins with a wind from the west. With the dust at their backs, the Ashina vanguard under Tomita Ujizane smashes the Date front and presses close to Masamune's headquarters. The opening goes to the Ashina.
- 9:00 AMCh. 4
ShiftThe Wind Turns East
Toward noon the wind suddenly drops, then blows back from the east. Now the dust beats in the faces of the Ashina. Seeing their chance, Date Shigezane and Katakura Kagetsuna drive in from the flank, and the battle tilts with an audible crack.
- 11:00 AMCh. 5
RoutThe Ashina Break
Once one corner gives way, the patchwork Ashina army proves brittle. The senior retainer Kanagami Moriharu alone stands his ground, charges into the Date and dies fighting. So ends the man they called "the pillar of the Ashina."
- 12:00 PMCh. 6
RiverTragedy at the Nippashi River
The commander-in-chief Yoshihiro flees for Kurokawa. But at the Nippashi River on the line of retreat, soldiers crowding onto a bridge their own side had burned pile up on one another and sink into the torrent. The Ashina killed or drowned are said to have numbered two or three thousand.
- 1:00 PMCh. 7
AizuKurokawa Opens Its Gates
Some days later Yoshihiro abandons his seat at Kurokawa Castle and flees to his family in Hitachi. The great Ashina house that had ruled the four districts of Aizu is destroyed. Masamune's domain reaches its greatest extent, unaware that the following year Hideyoshi at Odawara would swallow everything.
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 Suriagehara?
The day the wind changed. Date Masamune beats Ashina Yoshihiro at the foot of Mount Bandai, destroys the great Ashina house and becomes master of southern Ōshū in the decisive battle for Aizu.
When and where did the Battle of Suriagehara take place?
It took place in 1589 at Suriagehara, Aizu, Mutsu Province (5th day of the 6th month, Tenshō 17).
Who fought in the Battle of Suriagehara?
Date Masamune of the Date forces, Ashina Yoshihiro of the Ashina forces were among the commanders.
Can I watch the Battle of Suriagehara 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.