Battle of Moribe

• Oda Nobunaga (Moribe - 6,000) vs. Saito Tatsuoki (Moribe - 3,000)
  • Date: June 1561
  • Location: Mino province

When Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino died of illness in June of 1561, Oda Nobunaga was quick to take advantage of the situation by leading an army from Owari into the Saito domain. Yoshitatsu's teenage heir, Tatsuoki, responded by sending a force out from Sunomata to strike first. This was defeated by Nobunaga's army, which went on to take possession of Sunomata itself. Oda and Saito forces clashed again a week later in an action known as the Battle of Jushijo which began with an ambush of an Oda contingent. Nobunaga hastily led a force out of Sunomata and defeated the Saito in a sharp night action, in the process costing the latter their general Inaba Mataemon. After fighting a few more skirmishes and taking a further two Saito forts, Nobunaga returned to Owari province.

References

• Initial text from Samurai-Archives.com FWSeal & CEWest, 2005