Siege of Ichijōdani Castle

The 1573 Siege of Ichijōdani Castle (一乗谷城の戦い, Ichijōdani-jō no Tatakai) was undertaken by Oda Nobunaga, a powerful warlord (daimyo) of Japan's Sengoku period. It was one of several actions taken in a series of campaigns against the Asakura and Azai clans, which opposed his growing power.

Ichijōdani Castle, the castle home of Asakura Yoshikage, was one of several lavishly furnished castles which can be said to typify the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Excavations and research at the ruins of the castle have revealed that, much like Toyotomi Hideyoshi's castle at Fushimi, Ichijōdani was a luxury home with a library, garden, and elegantly decorated rooms.

Asakura Yoshikage was defeated, and suffered much the same fate as his comrade-in-arms Azai Nagamasa, whose castle at Oda Nobunaga's Siege of Odani Castle was set aflame and destroyed earlier that year.

References

• Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.