Siege of Musashi-Matsuyama (1563)

Siege of Musashi-Matsuyama
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1563 Location Matsuyama Castle, Musashi province Result Siege successful; castle falls to the Hōjō and Takeda
Belligerents
Uesugi clan castle garrison	Combined forces of Hōjō Ujiyasu and Takeda Shingen
Commanders and leaders
Uesugi Norikatsu	Hōjō Ujiyasu Takeda Shingen
Strength
10,000	24,000

In Japanese history, the 1563 siege of Musashi-Matsuyama was a successful attempt by a combined Takeda clan-Hōjō clan army to regain Musashi-Matsuyama castle from the Uesugi clan; the Hōjō had seized the castle from the Uesugi in 1537, but lost it in 1563, and so sought to regain control of it once more.

Musashi-Matsuyama, situated in Japan's Musashi province (today Saitama prefecture), is so called simply to distinguish it from the other locations known as Matsuyama Castle throughout Japan. Retaken by the Uesugi, who held it originally before the Hōjō siege twenty-six years earlier, it came under siege from the Hōjō and Takeda very soon after it was regained. The besieging army, under the command of Takeda Shingen and Hōjō Ujiyasu, employed a team of miners to dig under the castle's defenses, allowing the greater portion of their force easier access to their target.

References

• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.