Siege of Kanegasaki (1570)

The 1570 Siege of Kanegasaki (金ヶ崎の戦い, Kanegasaki no Tatakai) took place during Oda Nobunaga's conflict with the Asakura clan in Echizen Province, which was allied with Azai Nagamasa.

Asakura Yoshikage, the head of the Asakura clan and regent to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, refused Nobunaga's invitation to a court banquet in Kyoto. Nobunaga interpreted this as disloyalty to both the shogun and the emperor, prompting him to raise an army and march on Echizen.^[1]

Several reports from Mikawa Monogatari, Nobunaga Koki, Tokugawa Jikki, and a supplement from Ietada Nikki documented that Tokugawa Ieyasu and his forces also participated in this campaign. They captured Mount Tenzutsu castle on April 25, killing 1,370 enemies in the process.^[2]

The next day, Nobunaga's forces besieged Kanegasaki Castle,^[2] which was held by Maeba Yoshitsugu. Hashiba Hideyoshi, one of Nobunaga's chief generals, led the attack, with Sassa Narimasa commanding a contingent of horse guards and firearms troops to support him. Meanwhile, Azai Nagamasa, who had long been allied with the Asakura, led an army to relieve Kanegasaki Castle with help from the Rokkaku clan and Ikkō-ikki.^{[citation needed]}

Realizing that he was surrounded by enemy forces, Nobunaga retreated from Kanegasaki. Ikeda Katsumasa led 3,000 soldiers to aid in his escape, while Akechi Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi served as the rear guard. This marked Nagamasa's betrayal of the Oda clan.^{[citation needed]}

Nobunaga retreated without informing Ieyasu. After dawn, Ieyasu was guided by Kinoshita Tokichi (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi), an Oda vassal, to withdraw from the battle.^[3]