Battles of Kawanakajima
There were five battles of Kawanakajima between the Takeda clan of the Kai Province and the Murakami and Nagao clans of the Echigo Province. The Takeda clan was led by Takeda Shingen and the Murakami and Nagao clans were led by Uesugi Kenshin. The battles of the Kawanakajima began in 1553 as Shingen was looking to expand his territory.
Kawanakajima was just 60 kilometers from Kenshin’s home castle and occupying the territory would be a key point to block southern movement by Kenshin. The Kawanakajima plain would be of huge benefit for both daimyo’s as it would be a good starting point for an invasion of Echigo by Shingen or a strike south by Kenshin. Shingen wanted access to the ocean but he had made peace with all the regions south, east and west of him, his only way to get ocean access was through Kenshin’s northern territory. Shingen also saw a benefit to keeping his generals busy with war so that they would not turn on him.
The first battle occurred in June of 1553. The two armies met and clashed for months, but with neither side assured of victory both warlords withdrew. In 1555, Shingen advanced and the two armies took defensive positions on either side of a river, neither making an offensive move for four months. Then both withdrew. In 1557, Shingen tried again and crossed the river and tried to take over fortresses and castles to surround Kenshin’s army. Kenshin counterattacked and Shingen retreated.
In 1561, the Battle of Kwanakajima took place and was the largest and bloodiest war to occur on the plain. This time Kenshin took a force of 18,000 across the plain to attack Shingen’s Kaizu Castle. Shingen immediately responded and rallied a force of 20,000 men to meet Kenshin. The battle raged and both sides took massive casualties. Shingen lost 62% of his forces including his best generals while Kenshin lost 72%. Both sides withdrew and the battle was largely seen as a draw. In 1564, Shingen tried one last time with both armies meeting in defensive positions on either side of the Sai for 60 days before both sides withdrew.