Following the death of [[Oda Nobunaga]], Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi grew openly hostile, and in late [[1582]] Shibata's ally Oda Nobutaka declared war on Hideyoshi. While Oda was easily forced into submission, Shibata dispatched Sakuma Morimasa from [[Echizen province]] into northern [[Omi province|Omi]] to reduce Hideyoshi's forward outposts there. Katsuie soon became leery of the whole business and called for Morimasa to pull back - without effect. Sakuma had taken [[Iwasakiyama]] and was attempting to capture [[Shizugatake]] when Hideyoshi suddenly arrived and soundly defeated the surprised Shibata force. Katsuie commited suicide in Echizen when news of the defeat reached him. A number of future Toyotomi greats made their debut at this battle, including [[Fukushima Masanori]] and [[Kato Kiyomasa]], both of whom won glory as members of the 'seven spears' of Shizugatake. | Following the death of [[Oda Nobunaga]], Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi grew openly hostile, and in late [[1582]] Shibata's ally Oda Nobutaka declared war on Hideyoshi. While Oda was easily forced into submission, Shibata dispatched Sakuma Morimasa from [[Echizen province]] into northern [[Omi province|Omi]] to reduce Hideyoshi's forward outposts there. Katsuie soon became leery of the whole business and called for Morimasa to pull back - without effect. Sakuma had taken [[Iwasakiyama]] and was attempting to capture [[Shizugatake]] when Hideyoshi suddenly arrived and soundly defeated the surprised Shibata force. Katsuie commited suicide in Echizen when news of the defeat reached him. A number of future Toyotomi greats made their debut at this battle, including [[Fukushima Masanori]] and [[Kato Kiyomasa]], both of whom won glory as members of the 'seven spears' of Shizugatake. |