Battle of Gifu Castle

Battle of Gifu Castle 岐阜城の戦い
Part of the Sengoku period
Gifu Castle
Date August 23, 1600 Location Gifu, Mino Province Result Victory for the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Belligerents
Forces of Toyotomi Hideyori, clans from western Japan	Forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu, clans from eastern Japan
Commanders and leaders
Oda Hidenobu	Ikeda Terumasa Ikeda Sen Fukushima Masanori

The Battle of Gifu Castle (岐阜城の戦い, Gifu-jō no Tatakai^?) was a battle in August 1600 that led to the destruction of Gifu Castle in Gifu, Mino Province (modern-day Gifu Prefecture), Japan. The battle served as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara the following month. It pitted Oda Hidenobu of the western forces (and loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori) against Ikeda Terumasa,Ikeda Sen and Fukushima Masanori of the eastern forces (and loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu). The castle was destroyed as a result of the battle.

As the eastern forces progressed up the Tōkaidō, Hidenobu was not able to predict where the eastern forces would cross the Kiso River and continue their westward march. To defend against all possibilities, Hidenobu set up fortifications throughout the area, with Gifu Castle at the center, dividing his forces and weakening their total strength.

Hearing of Hidenobu's movements, Terumasa's forces grouped together to combine their strengths. Early on the morning of August 22, 1600, the combined forces moved from Haguri District's Kōda (present-day city of Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture) in Owari Province to the neighboring Haguri District's Kōdajima (present-day city of Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture) in Mino Province. (The two Haguri Districts had previously been one district in Owari Province, hence their same names and proximity.) During their march, they crossed the Kiso River.

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