Battle

Japanese: 合戦 - かっせん

When two armies, enemy and friendly, meet on the battlefield and engage in combat. The word "kassen" already appears in the Shomonki, but the scale and methods of battles have undergone great changes with the development of weapons and equipment and the progress of the times.

During the ancient military corps era, combat methods were mainly based on close-quarters infantry tactics, with soldiers carrying swords, spears, bows and arrows, with some cavalry and crossbowmen deployed. At the end of the 8th century, cavalry kondei were established, but with the collapse of the Ritsuryo system from the mid-Heian period onwards, they became a mere name, and eventually the power over soldiers and horses came into the hands of the samurai class. In the mid-11th century, eastern samurai who excelled in cavalry played an active role in both the Former Nine Years' War and the Later Three Years' War, and in the mid-12th century, following the Hogen and Heiji Rebellions, the time of the Genpei War saw the country enter an era dominated by mounted archery. At that time, battles were mainly individual battles between knights, with enemies and allies facing each other, first yelling a battle cry, then the commander announcing his name, and an arrow battle beginning with an exchange of whistling arrows. When the time was right, the warrior would find a suitable opponent on his horse and shoot him down, or switch from sword fighting on horseback to grappling, and take the enemy's head, which was considered a samurai's honor. However, there were also some cases where the collective mobility of horseback riding was utilized, such as Kiso Yoshinaka's Battle of Kurikara Pass and Minamoto Yoshitsune's Battle of Hiyodori Pass.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

After the Mongol Invasions

During the Mongol invasion of 1274 (Bun'ei 11) in the mid-Kamakura period, the warriors of the western provinces tried to fight back using traditional dueling tactics, but both men and horses suffered heavy losses in the face of the group tactics of the Mongol army. Through this experience, from the end of the Kamakura period to the turbulent period of the Northern and Southern Courts, the foot soldiers began to use group tactics, equipping their attendants and subordinates, who had previously only been auxiliary combatants, with weapons such as naginata and spears, and battles became even more intense. In addition, foot soldiers appeared who could move quickly with only light armaments wearing only a belly warmer, and their mobility drew attention. Furthermore, during the Onin War (1467-77), which lasted for more than 10 years in the mid-Muromachi period, soldiers became short on manpower as the fighting continued, and so they mobilized large numbers of outcasts, field warriors, and local samurai from the early modern period, giving them long-handled spears and forming spear screens to charge, or they used guerilla actions to disrupt the rear, and mass attacks by foot soldiers became one of the factors that led to the victory. During the Sengoku period, combat tactics became even more diverse and underwent rapid change, but the three great surprise attacks in the early to mid-16th century - the night battle of Kawagoe led by Hojo Ujiyasu, the Battle of Itsukushima led by Mori Motonari, and the Battle of Okehazama led by Oda Nobunaga - were all important battles that determined the status of each Sengoku daimyo.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

The introduction of firearms

The main weapon in the Sengoku period was the spear, which had been used since the previous era, but when firearms were introduced to Tanegashima in 1543 (Tenbun 12), feudal lords competed to acquire them, and in 1575 (Tensho 3), Oda Nobunaga's firearms foot soldiers dealt a devastating blow to Takeda Katsuyori's brave cavalry in the decisive battle at Shidaragahara in Nagashino, and the weapon quickly became the star weapon on the battlefield. The spread of this new weapon brought about a major revolution in military organization, tactics, and fortification methods, and eventually became a major force in promoting Nobunaga and Hideyoshi's project to unify the country. From the end of the Sengoku period to the beginning of the early modern period, the control and organization of the vassals of the feudal lords became even more advanced, the division of soldiers became clearer, and the marching ranks (oshi) were organized to become battlefield formations. In this way, the securing of soldiers, weapons, and provisions, and the skill with which they operated their ranks and negotiated became directly linked to the outcome of the entire army, and a system of total mobilization was put in place throughout the domain in times of war.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

敵味方の両軍が軍場(いくさば)（戦場）に出合って戦闘を交えること。合戦の語は、すでに『将門記(しょうもんき)』にみえるが、戦闘の規模や方式は、武器・武具の発達や時代の進展に伴って大きな変化を遂げた。

　古代軍団制時代の戦闘法は、剣矛弓箭(きゅうせん)を携行する兵士らの歩兵密集戦法が主体で、一部に騎兵や弩手(どしゅ)が配備された。8世紀末、騎兵制の健児(こんでい)が設置されたが、平安中期以降、律令制(りつりょうせい)の崩壊とともに有名無実となり、やがて、兵馬の権は武士階級の掌握することとなる。11世紀のなかば、前九年、後三年の両役に騎馬に優れた東国の武士が活躍し、さらに12世紀の中ごろ、保元(ほうげん)・平治(へいじ)の乱を経て、源平合戦の時代には、騎射戦中心の時代に入った。当時の戦いは、騎士相互の個人戦が主体で、敵味方が対陣して、まず鬨(とき)の声をあげ、ついで主将が名のりをあげ、鏑矢(かぶらや)の応酬によって矢戦を開始し、ころあいをみて一騎駆けでよき相手をみつけ、射合って相手を射落とすか、馬上の太刀(たち)打ちから組打ちに転じ、敵の首級をあげることを武士の名誉とした。しかし一部では、木曽義仲(きそよしなか)の倶利伽羅(くりから)峠の戦いや、源義経(よしつね)の鵯(ひよどり)越えの戦いなど、騎馬の集団的機動力を活用した例もみられた。

［渡邉一郎］

元寇以降

鎌倉中期、1274年（文永11）の元寇(げんこう)に際し、西国の武士は伝統的な懸合(かけあ)い戦法でこれに対抗しようとしたが、蒙古(もうこ)軍の集団戦術の前に、人馬ともに大打撃を受けた。この経験を通して、鎌倉末期から南北朝の動乱期には、これまで補助的な戦闘員であった所従(しょじゅう)・下人(げにん)らに長刀(なぎなた)、槍(やり)などの武器を持たせた徒歩兵の集団戦法も登場し、戦闘は一段と激烈な様相を示すようになった。また腹巻一つの軽武装で機敏に行動する足軽が出現し、その機動性が注目された。さらに、室町中期、10年余にわたった応仁(おうにん)・文明(ぶんめい)の乱（1467～77）では、戦闘の長期化とともに兵員が不足し、あぶれ者や野伏、近世の郷士らを大量に動員し、長柄(ながえ)槍を持たせて、槍衾(やりぶすま)をつくって突撃させたり、ゲリラ行動で後方を攪乱(かくらん)させるなど、足軽歩兵の集団攻撃が決勝要因の一つに数えられるまでになった。戦国時代に入ると戦闘法はいっそう多様化し、めまぐるしい変化を遂げたが、三大奇襲作戦といわれる16世紀前中期の北条氏康(うじやす)の川越(かわごえ)の夜戦、毛利元就(もうりもとなり)の厳島(いつくしま)の戦い、織田信長の桶狭間(おけはざま)の戦いは、それぞれ戦国大名としての地位を決定づける重要な一戦となった。

［渡邉一郎］

鉄砲の伝来

戦国時代の中心武器は、まず前代以来の槍が多用されたが、1543年（天文12）鉄砲が種子島(たねがしま)に伝来すると、諸大名は競ってその獲得に努め、1575年（天正3）織田信長の鉄砲足軽隊が長篠(ながしの)の設楽原(しだらがはら)の決戦で、武田勝頼(かつより)の勇猛な騎兵隊に壊滅的な打撃を与えるや、一躍戦場の花形兵器となった。この新兵器の普及は、軍隊組織と戦術および築城法の一大変革をもたらし、やがては信長、秀吉による天下統一事業を推進させる大きな力となった。戦国末期から近世初頭にかけて諸大名の家臣団の統制と組織化は一段と進み、士卒の区分が明確化し、行軍（押(おし)）の隊伍(たいご)はそのまま戦場における陣立(じんだて)になるように編制された。こうして兵員および武器・兵糧の確保と隊伍の運用や駆け引きの巧拙が、全軍の勝敗に直結することとなり、戦時には領内あげての総動員体制がとられるようになった。

［渡邉一郎］

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