Battles & Campaigns · 1582
Siege of Takamatsu
Bitchū Takamatsu Castle, Okayama, Japan
What happened
Hideyoshi's direct attacks on the castle failed twice. His adviser Kuroda Yoshitaka suggested flooding it instead, so Hideyoshi's men built embankments to divert the Ashimori River. When the June rains came, the castle was surrounded by water and nearly fell.
Why it matters
Why it matters: Then news arrived that Nobunaga had been killed in the Honnō-ji Incident. Hideyoshi made peace with the Mōri and ended the siege.
What came next
The siege is dramatised in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Taiko.
Did you know?
A letter Hideyoshi wrote a day after Nobunaga's death was revealed at an auction and made public in November 2025.
Timeline
- 17 May 1582The siege begins.
- 8 June 1582The river floods the castle.
- June 1582Peace is agreed and the siege ends.