Battle of Suriagehara

How the battle unfolded

1. Turn Inawashiro Changes Sides

   The 6th month of Tenshō 17. Inawashiro Morikuni, a senior Ashina retainer, secretly goes over to Date Masamune and opens the gates of his castle at Inawashiro. The eastern gateway to Aizu falls in a single night, and the 23-year-old Masamune pours onto Suriagehara at the head of a great army.

2. Lines Face to Face on Suriagehara

   Daybreak on the 5th day of the 6th month. With Mount Bandai at their backs, 23,000 Date troops face 16,000 of the Ashina on Suriagehara. The Ashina head, Yoshihiro, is a sixteen-year-old brought in from the Satake. His elder retainers lack loyalty to the house.

3. West Wind The West Wind Favours the Ashina

   The battle begins with a wind from the west. With the dust at their backs, the Ashina vanguard under Tomita Ujizane smashes the Date front and presses close to Masamune's headquarters. The opening goes to the Ashina.

4. Shift The Wind Turns East

   Toward noon the wind suddenly drops, then blows back from the east. Now the dust beats in the faces of the Ashina. Seeing their chance, Date Shigezane and Katakura Kagetsuna drive in from the flank, and the battle tilts with an audible crack.

5. Rout The Ashina Break

   Once one corner gives way, the patchwork Ashina army proves brittle. The senior retainer Kanagami Moriharu alone stands his ground, charges into the Date and dies fighting. So ends the man they called "the pillar of the Ashina."

6. River Tragedy at the Nippashi River

   The commander-in-chief Yoshihiro flees for Kurokawa. But at the Nippashi River on the line of retreat, soldiers crowding onto a bridge their own side had burned pile up on one another and sink into the torrent. The Ashina killed or drowned are said to have numbered two or three thousand.

7. Aizu Kurokawa Opens Its Gates

   Some days later Yoshihiro abandons his seat at Kurokawa Castle and flees to his family in Hitachi. The great Ashina house that had ruled the four districts of Aizu is destroyed. Masamune's domain reaches its greatest extent, unaware that the following year Hideyoshi at Odawara would swallow everything.

Generals and units

• Date forces Date Masamune Commander-in-chief
• Date forces Katakura Kagetsuna
• Date forces Date Shigezane
• Date forces Shiroishi Munezane
• Date forces Inawashiro Morikuni
• Ashina forces Ashina Yoshihiro Commander-in-chief
• Ashina forces Tomita Ujizane
• Ashina forces Kanagami Moriharu
• Ashina forces Hariu Morinobu
• Ashina forces Sase Tanetsune

FAQ

What was the Battle of Suriagehara?

The day the wind changed. Date Masamune beats Ashina Yoshihiro at the foot of Mount Bandai, destroys the great Ashina house and becomes master of southern Ōshū in the decisive battle for Aizu.

When and where did the Battle of Suriagehara take place?

It took place in 1589 at Suriagehara, Aizu, Mutsu Province (5th day of the 6th month, Tenshō 17).

Who fought in the Battle of Suriagehara?

Date Masamune of the Date forces, Ashina Yoshihiro of the Ashina forces were among the commanders.

Can I watch the Battle of Suriagehara in 3D?

Yes. This page plays a free three-minute 3D animated overview showing the deployments, the movements of each army and how the battle was decided.