Second Siege of Takatenjin
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1580 - March 22, 1581 Location Takatenjin fortress, Tōtōmi Province, Japan 34°41′54″N 138°02′07″E / 34.69833°N 138.03528°E / 34.69833; 138.03528 Result Siege succeeds; Oda-Tokugawa victory Territorial changes Fortress falls to Oda-Tokugawa
Belligerents
forces loyal to Takeda Katsuyori	forces loyal to Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu
Commanders and leaders
Okabe Motonobu †	Tokugawa Ieyasu Honda Tadakatsu Mizuno Tadashige Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu) Ii Naomasa
Strength
1,000 men	5,000 men
Casualties and losses
680 killed	130 killed
Location within Shizuoka Prefecture Show map of Shizuoka Prefecture Siege of Takatenjin (1581) (Japan) Show map of Japan

The second siege of Takatenjin came only six years after Takeda Katsuyori took the fortress. This second siege lasted from 1580 until 22 March 1581, the siege ended within four months and ended with the deaths of 680 of Okabe Motonobu/Naganori's garrison.^[1]

Siege

In 1580, Ieyasu had given up on attempts to capture the castle by assault, but instead built six bases around the castle to keep it isolated.

Then on January the 3rd 1581, Ieyasu was informed that a force under the command of Takeda Katsuyori was approaching. Oda Nobunaga got the same information and he immediately sent reinforcements led by Mizuno Tadashige.

When the defenders ran out of supplies by March 1581, the castellan Okabe Motonobu led his remaining 700 men on a charge against the Oda-Tokugawa lines in an attempt to break the siege. They were all killed and Okabe Motonobu died when attacked by Tokugawa forces under Honda Tadakatsu.

Aftermath

This siege was quite an advantageous event for Oda Nobunaga, as it weakened his enemies; the battle of Tenmokuzan the following year would come to be known as Takeda Katsuyori's last stand.

According to the source “Shinchô kôki” in all 688 soldiers of various rank joined the commander of the castle in a desperate attack out onto the besiegers, and they were killed.

In Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)’s diary “Ietada nikki”, the following can be found; “among our own we lost about 130 in total, while the enemy lost more than 600”.