Battle of Dōdō

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Wikipedia

Battle of Dōdō
Part of Sengoku period
Date22 September 1565
Location
Chūnō, Mino Province
Result Oda clan victory
Belligerents
Oda clan
Kajita clan		 Kishi clan
Nagai clan
Commanders and leaders
Oda Nobunaga
Satō Tadayoshi		 Kishi Nobuchika
Kishi Nobufusa
Kishi Nobusada

Battle of Dōdō Fort (堂洞合戦 Dōdō Kassen) was a battle centered around Dōdō Fort in Chūnō, Mino Province, that took place on 22 September 1565  between Oda Nobunaga's army and the Kajita clan and Kishi Nobuchika, who was on the side of Saitō Tatsuoki.

In July 1565, Satō Tadayoshi, lord of Kajita Castle, got in touch with Nobunaga through Niwa Nagahide. Hearing this, Nobunaga was pleased and sent 50 gold coins to Tadayoshi. However, Saitō Tatsuoki perceived acceptance of Tadayoshi as betrayal towards the Saitō clan.[1]

After the Unuma Castle and Sarutaku Castle fell to the Oda forces, and when Sarutaku Castle's commander, Tajimi Shuri-no-Jyo, fled to Kai Province, the defeated troops entered Dodo Castle and joined forces with Kishi clan's forces.[2][3] In response, Nobunaga sent Kanamori Nagachika as an envoy to Dōdō Fort, asking Kishi Nobuchika to surrender. However, Nobuchika's son, Nobufusa, refused. Nobufusa even goes so far by beheading his own eldest son in the front of Nagachika to show his resolve to defy Nobunaga.[4][2]

While the Kishi prepared for battle, Yaeryoku, daughter of Satō Tadayoshi and also Nobuchika's adopted daughter,[5] who has been held hostage by the defender' forces, was crucified at Nagao-Maruyama, facing the Dōdō fort. That night, Tadanobu's vassal, Nishimura Jirobei, sneaked in and took Yaeryoku's corpse from Kishikata and buried it at Ryufukuji Temple in Kajita..[6]

Nobunaga then establish his headquarters at Takahatayama (present-day Takahata, Tomika Town), straddling the Dōdō and Sekima regions. He repelled reinforcements from Seki Castle, led by Nagai Michitoshi, as they crossed the Tsubo River and entered the Takahata forests. Afterward, he relocated his headquarters to Chausuyama (Yuda Chausuyama Tomb), directly facing Dōdō fortress's main structure, and personally rode forward to direct his troops.[7]

The Oda forces in the west were hindered by the rugged terrain and the strong defenses of the Kishi forces' ambushes, while the attacking forces in the north, led by the Sato father and son, advanced up the familiar mountain paths. The defending general, Nobufusa, repeatedly repelled the attackers, but as the battle dragged on, many of his soldiers were wounded and killed. He himself was wounded in three places, and commit seppuku.[7] Ōta Gyūichi, author of Shinchō Kōki, also recorded His own participation in this battle, where he said he served as an archer of Nobunaga army.[8]

Aftermath

After the battle, on their way back to Inuyama, the Oda forces were attacked by Nagai Michitoshi 's forces from Seki and 3,000 troops under Saito Tatsuoki's forces from Inokuchi (Gifu). However, the Oda forces, with only 800 men, were unable to fight, so they retreated to Hirono, where they pretended to prepare a counterattack, before retreating to Unuma.[9] As the forces from Seki Castle appeared to be heading for Kajita Castle, Nobunaga sent Saito Toshiharu as reinforcements. In the end, the Seki Castle fell to the Oda forces.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 犬福チワワ (2023-09-25). "【解説：信長の戦い】堂洞合戦（１５６５、岐阜県加茂郡富加町）　織田軍、加治田衆とともに堂洞城の岸一族を撃破！" [[Commentary: Nobunaga's Battles] Battle of Doro (1565, Tomika Town, Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture): Oda Forces, Together with the Kajita Clan, Defeat the Kishi Clan of Doro Castle!] (in Japanese). 戦国ヒストリー. Retrieved 2025-11-22. References:
    • Katsuhiro Taniguchi, "Complete Record of the Battles of Oda Nobunaga - From Okehazama to Honnoji" (Chuko Shinsho, 2002)
    • Ōta Gyūichi, Modern Japanese Translation of the Chronicle of Nobunaga (Shinjinbutsu Bunko, 2013)
    • "Super Visual! Biography of Oda Nobunaga" (Seitosha, 2016)
    • Tomika Town "Kajita Castle and Dodo Castle"
    • Chunichi Shimbun Plus : "The Battle of Dodo, in which Ōta Gyūichi,, author of the Chronicle of Nobunaga, also participated"
  2. 1 2 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "中濃三城の盟約 (The Alliance of the Three Castles of Nakano)". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町/岐阜県加茂郡富加町. pp. 184–192.
  3. ↑ 尾張藩士 (Owari Domain samurai) (1830). 尾張葉槹見聞集・尾張志略 [Owari-gunaga kikigaki-shū / Owari shiryaku] (in Japanese). 名古屋市蓬左文庫 (Hōsa Library, Nagoya). p. 4. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  4. ↑ 「織田信長の東美濃攻略歴史PRマンガ」　夕雲の城-111頁「その夜、八重緑は 西村治郎兵衛 によって取り戻された。
  5. ↑ 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "佐藤氏系譜". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町. p. 209.
  6. ↑ 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "堂洞合戦 戦の経過 (The Battle of Dōdō: Progress of the Battle)". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町. pp. 192–194.
  7. 1 2 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "堂洞合戦 戦の経過 (The Battle of Dōdō: Progress of the Battle)". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町. pp. 196–198.
  8. ↑ Shinchō Kōki. ja:信長公記  (in Japanese) – via Wikisource. Chapter 1
  9. ↑ 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "堂洞合戦 信長帰陣 (The Battle of Dodo and Nobunaga's Return to Camp)". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町. p. 198.
  10. ↑ 富加町史編集委員会, ed. (1980). "堂洞合戦 信長帰陣 (The Battle of Dodo, the Battle of Seki and Kajita, and the Fall of Seki Castle )". 富加町史 [Tomika Town History] (in Japanese). Vol. 2. 富加町. pp. 198–199.