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Battle of Mimigawa (1578)

Type Event Region Asia Time 1578

In September 1578, Shimazu Yoshihisa defeated an Ōtomo Sōrin coalition along the Mimigawa River in Bungo Province, a decisive late-Sengoku battle in …

Timeline

  1. 1578Banks of the Mimigawa River · Bungo ProvinceŌtomo Sōrin allied with Ryūzōji Takanobu and other Kyushu powers plus Portuguese-supplied firearms, deploying on the north bank of the Mimigawa to block the Shimazu advance; the brothers Shimazu Yoshihisa and Yoshihiro led elite arquebus units south, and both sides formed a decisive-battle posture on the Bungo border.
  2. 1578Mimigawa battlefield · Bungo ProvinceThe Shimazu army broke the Ōtomo coalition with concentrated arquebus fire and flank attacks; famous generals such as Kōno Michinao and Tachibana Dōsetsu were seriously wounded or killed, and the Ōtomo lines collapsed entirely. After this battle the Ōtomo lost their position as overlords of Kyushu, and Bungo's castles fell one after another.

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