Changes

* [[Tawara Chikataka]] (under the command of [[Otomo Sorin|Ôtomo Sôrin]]) (50,000+) vs. [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] (30,000)  

* [[Tawara Chikataka]] (under the command of [[Otomo Sorin|Ôtomo Sôrin]]) (50,000+) vs. [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] (30,000)  

** ''Date: 10 December [[1578]]''

** ''Date: 10 December [[1578]]''

** ''Location: [[Hyuga province|Hyûga province]]''

** ''Location: [[Hyuga province|Hyûga province]]''

** ''Battle''  

** ''Battle''  

Determined to crush the growing power of the Shimazu, Ôtomo Sôrin and his son Yoshimune led an enormous host into Hyûga, intent on recapturing lands taken from the [[Ito clan|Itô family]]. Due to Sôrin's devotion to [[Christianity]], he was particularly keen to destroy [[Buddhist temples]] in the lands he attacked or conquered. This of course earned him, and the Ôtomo clan, the ire of many of the common people.<ref name=shimazu>"[http://www.shuseikan.jp/word/sengoku04.html Mimigawa no tatakai]," ''Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi'', [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] official website.</ref>

Determined to crush the growing power of the [[Shimazu clan|Shimazu]], Ôtomo Sôrin and his son [[Otomo Yoshimune|Yoshimune]] led an enormous host into Hyûga, intent on recapturing lands taken from the [[Ito clan|Itô family]]. Tawara Chikataka, Sôrin's brother-in-law, led the bulk of the army to besiege [[Shimazu Iehisa]] in [[Taka castle]]. Yoshihisa hastily rallied his kinsmen and marched north to [[Sadowara han|Sadowara]], where he was briefly held up by bad weather. Meanwhile, his brother [[Shimazu Yoshihiro|Yoshihiro]], who was advancing along a different route, encountered and scattered an advance Ôtomo force, following up this success with the destruction of an enemy fort at Matsuyama. Yoshihisa then advanced to the Taka area, and joined with the rest of the Shimazu clan. In the resulting battle Tawara sent the Ôtomo army in a frontal attack that was repulsed after some bitter fighting. The Ôtomo were quickly routed, and Yoshihisa won an amazing victory that cost his enemy thousands of men and heralded their decline.  

 

[[Tawara Chikataka]], Sôrin's brother-in-law, led the bulk of the army to besiege [[Shimazu Iehisa]] in [[Taka castle]]. Yoshihisa hastily rallied his kinsmen and marched north to [[Sadowara han|Sadowara]], where he was briefly held up by bad weather. Meanwhile, his brother [[Shimazu Yoshihiro|Yoshihiro]], who was advancing along a different route, encountered and scattered an advance Ôtomo force at Mimigawa, following up this success with the destruction of an enemy fort at Matsuyama. Yoshihisa then advanced to the Taka area, and joined with the rest of the Shimazu clan. In the resulting battle Tawara sent the Ôtomo army in a frontal attack that was repulsed after some bitter fighting. The Ôtomo were quickly routed, and Yoshihisa won an amazing victory that cost his enemy thousands of men and heralded their decline. The severe losses led to declining support among the Ôtomo retainers, and the Ôtomo had to deal with dissension from this time forward. Further, hearing of the defeat, Sôrin himself quit from northern Kyushu.<ref name=shimazu/>

This battle represents one of several significant occasions in which the Shimazu, though among the major users of [[arquebus]]es, faced the Ôtomo clan's European-made [[cannon]].<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609''. Oxford: Osprey Press, 2009. p24.</ref>

This battle represents one of several significant occasions in which the Shimazu, though among the major users of [[arquebus]]es, faced the Ôtomo clan's European-made [[cannon]].<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609''. Oxford: Osprey Press, 2009. p24.</ref>