Battle of Kōnodai (1564)

In the second Battle of Kōnodai, fought in 1564, Hōjō Ujiyasu led his men to victory against Satomi Yoshihiro. Both Ujiyasu and Yoshihiro were the sons of the commanders at the first battle of Kōnodai, in which Hōjō Ujitsuna defeated the combined forces of Satomi Yoshitaka and Ashikaga Yoshiaki (Oyumi).^[1]

2nd Battle of Kōnodai
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1564 Location Kōnodai, Shimōsa Province 35°45′37.0″N 139°53′42.4″E Result Decisive Hōjō victory
Belligerents
forces of Hōjō Ujiyasu	forces of Satomi Yoshihiro
Commanders and leaders
Hōjō Ujiyasu Hōjō Ujimasa Hōjō Tsunashige Hōjō Ujiteru	Satomi Yoshihiro Satomi Chokuro † Ōta Sukemasa
Strength
20,000	8,000
Location within Chiba Prefecture Show map of Chiba Prefecture Battle of Kōnodai (1564) (Japan) Show map of Japan

Battle

Outnumbered 20,000 to 8,000, Satomi fell back when the Hōjō vanguard advanced. But this was a feint, and an attempt to draw his enemy into a trap. However, Hōjō Ujiyasu expected a trap of this sort, and had sent his son, Ujimasa, with a small force to attack the Satomi rear, surrounding, and later Ujiyasu defeated Yoshihiro. In the ensuing battle, Satomi Yoshihiro saw his son, Chokuro, killed by Matsuda Yasuyoshi, a Hōjō retainer.

Aftermath

Hōjō Ujiyasu celebrated his victory with a poem:

Conquering the foe

As I wished at Kōnodai

Now do I behold

The evening sunshine of Katsuura

After the battle, Matsuda Yasuyoshi who had killed Yoshihiro's son, entered a life of monkhood, feeling remorse for the death of the young boy.