Siege of Kozuki

• Date: December 1577
• Location: Harima Province
• Siege

Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi (under the command of Oda Nobunaga) vs. Akamatsu Masanori

The battle for Kozuki Castle came about as the Oda pressed forward their advance against the provinces of the Chugoku Region. The commander of the campaign, which was aimed at diminishing the power of the Mori, was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his army included such famous names as Kuroda Kanbei, Takenaka Shigeharu, and Hachisuka Koroku. In addition, the Oda were supported by a force under Amako Katsuhisa, who hoped to one day restore the fallen Amako family to power in western Japan. Akamatsu Masanori, Kozuki's master, refused to submit and so fighting commenced in December as Oda troops began to reduce Kôzuki's outer defenses. Later that month, the Ukita, allies at this time of the Môri, sent an army to relieve the castle but this was intercepted and defeated in a bitter fight. With the Ukita repulsed, and the Mori nowhere to be seen, Hideyoshi called for the surrender of the castle. When this was refused, he ordered a general assault. The castle was stormed with much loss of life and Masanori committed suicide. By the time the Oda army's banners were raised over the castle walls, some 1,000 of the defenders were dead. In the aftermath of the fight, Kozuki was turned over to the Amako. In 1578 the castle would be lost to the Ukita and then regained by the Amako. Soon afterwards, however, the main Mori army arrived and encircled Kozuki, trapping Katsuhisa and his men within. The Oda army, engaged in the reduction of Miki Castle, was unable to send relief and Kozuki fell once more - along with Katsuhisa's dream of resurrecting the Amako.