January 25, 1573 · Tōtōmi Province Theater
January 25, 1573
Takeda Shingen, marching toward Kyoto with the finest cavalry in Japan, drew Ieyasu's smaller garrison force out of Hamamatsu Castle onto the open plain of Mikatagahara and destroyed it comprehensively. Ieyasu fled back to his castle in such disarray that, by his own later account, he soiled himself in the saddle — and, on arrival, deliberately left the gates open and lit bonfires, a bluff so audacious that the pursuing Takeda scouts suspected an ambush and withdrew.
Commanders