| Battle of Kozuki Castle | |
|---|---|
| - - | |
| Conflict: Mori Campaign (1577-1579) | |
| Date: 1578 | |
| Place: Kozuki Castle, Harima Province | |
| Outcome: Mori victory | |
| Combatants | |
 Mori Clan Tachibana Clan
|
 Toyotomi Clan Amako Clan
|
| Commanders | |
| Mori Motonari Tachibana Muneshige |
Toyotomi Hideyoshi Shikanosuke Yamanaka† Amako Katsuhisa† |
| Strength | |
| 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Casualties | |
| very few | 5,000 k/w/c |
The Battle of Kozuki Castle was one of the many engagements that Toyotomi Hideyoshi fought against the Mori Clan. Allied to the Tachibana Clan of Kyushu, the Mori forces prevailed.
Background[]
Hideyoshi was dispatched with 8,000 soldiers by Oda Nobunaga to crush the Mori, who were becoming a large threat. Hideyoshi allied with the Amako Clan of Osaka Bay, boosting his men by a lot. This amounted his force to
Battle[]
Motonari attacked out of Kozuki Castle while Hideyoshi was unprepared. He dispatched his officers to seize three of the unmanned forts to gain an advantage. When he noticed that he was rolling down the slope, Hideyoshi dispatched Kato Kiyomasa and Ishida Mitsunari to attack the enemy commander, Muneshige. Motonari prevented the two from meeting in battle and rescued the young commander from danger. Motonari counterattacked against the enemy forces by attacking the main enemy castle, held by few men. Hideyoshi decided to withdraw, needing no more uneccessary death. He was defeated before he could reach the escape point. Meanwhile, the Amako clan soldiers panicked when Amako Katsuhisa committed suicide. Shikanosuke Yamanaka stood firm and was cut down by force rather than by his own blade. Yamanaka sacrificed his life so that his men could escape death. Motonari dominated the area, keeping a firm alliance with the Tachibana.
Aftermath[]
The Mori clan continued its conquests afterwards, and the Oda returned again with a navy. His forces included the O Ataka Bune-class warship and these were new to battle. The Mori navy won the first battle that followed the Kozuki Castle campaign, but the next battle, they were crushed.