Siege of Odawara (1590)

Timeline

1. 1581–1589Sagami Province · Kantō region · KantōOver five generations the Late Hōjō clan, centered on Odawara Castle, controlled the eight provinces of Kantō and was one of the most powerful daimyō of the late Sengoku period. After the Honnō-ji Incident of 1582 Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose rapidly, conquering Shikoku (1585) and Kyushu (1587), leaving Kantō as the last obstacle to unification. The Hōjō pursued a closed diplomacy and refused to submit to Hideyoshi, and tensions steadily escalated toward open conflict.
2. 1590Kyoto to the Tōkaidō road · TōkaidōIn early 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi formally issued a campaign order, citing the Hōjō violation of the peace edict and their unauthorized attack on Sanada-held Nuruguri Castle. Hideyoshi assembled some 200,000 troops advancing by land and sea toward Kantō; Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu and other daimyō responded in turn, forming an unprecedented coalition that left the Late Hōjō nearly surrounded.
3. 1590Odawara Castle · Sagami ProvinceToyotomi forces reached Odawara in April 1590 and began a siege lasting about three months. Some 50,000 defenders held the castle, with the Hōjō mobilizing all residents. Hideyoshi abandoned a direct assault for a long blockade, detaching forces to reduce the Hōjō's branch castles across Kantō one by one, cutting off outside aid and grain routes, isolating Odawara and gradually collapsing morale within.
4. 1590Odawara Castle · Sagami ProvinceIn August 1590 Hōjō Ujimasa, persuaded by his senior retainers, decided to surrender the castle. Hōjō Ujimasa, Ujiteru and other senior lords committed ritual suicide; Ujinasu was pardoned and exiled to Mount Kōya. With Odawara's surrender, Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred to Kantō, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended a century of Sengoku warfare, completing national unification and establishing a centralized regime centered on Osaka Castle covering the whole country, marking the zenith of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.