Conquest of Shikoku

This was the battle in 1585 (Tensho 13) when Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated Chosokabe Motochika and unified Shikoku. Motochika unified Tosa (Kochi Prefecture) in 1575 (Tensho 3), then invaded Awa (Tokushima Prefecture), Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture), and Iyo (Ehime Prefecture), conquering Shikoku in the spring of 1585. During this time, he allied with Shibata Katsuie in the Battle of Shizugatake, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, and cooperated with the Negoro-shu during the Kii Conquest, opposing Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi hated Motochika's actions and raised an army to conquer Shikoku. Motochika sent his vassal Chubei Tani to Hideyoshi to try to reach a compromise by returning only the Iyo province, but Hideyoshi ordered the return of the three provinces other than Tosa, and the negotiations broke down.

Motochika set up his headquarters in Hakuchi (Ikeda-cho, Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture) and strengthened his defenses by stationing soldiers at Kizu, Ichinomiya and Iwakura Castles in Awa, Ueda Castle in Sanuki, and Kaneko and Takao Castles in Iyo. At the time, Hideyoshi was fighting against Sassa Narimasa, so he appointed his younger brother Hidenaga as commander and accompanied him by Miyoshi Hidetsugu. On June 16, 1585, he issued the order to march to Awa with his main force of 60,000 men. An army of 23,000 men led by Ukita Hideie, Hachisuka Masakatsu and Iemasa, Kuroda Yoshitaka, and Sengoku Hidehisa landed in Sanuki, while Mori Terumoto, Kobayakawa Takakage, and Kikkawa Motonaga led by 30,000 men advanced toward Iyo. Motochika was attacked from three sides, and his castles fell in mid-July. Following the advice of Tani Chubei and others, he surrendered on July 25th. The Chosokabe peasant warriors could not compete with Hideyoshi's army, who had completed the separation of soldiers and farmers. Hidenaga gave Motochika the whole of Tosa province, and returned home in triumph with Motochika's third son, Chikatada, as a hostage. Hideyoshi gave rewards based on merit, granting Awa to Hachisuka Iemasa, Sanuki to Sengoku Hidehisa and Sogo Masayasu, and Iyo to Kobayakawa Takakage, thereby gaining control over the entire Shikoku region.

[Yamamoto Dai]

"Yamamoto Dai's 'Chosokabe Motochika' (1960, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Yamamoto Dai's annotated 'Shikoku Historical Materials Collection' ('Second Period Sengoku Historical Materials Series 5', 1966, Jinbutsu Oraisha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1585年（天正13）豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉が長宗我部元親(ちょうそがべもとちか)を討って四国を統一した戦い。元親は1575年（天正3）土佐(とさ)（高知県）を統一、ついで阿波(あわ)（徳島県）、讃岐(さぬき)（香川県）、伊予(いよ)（愛媛県）に侵攻し、1585年春四国を制覇した。その間、賤ヶ岳(しずがたけ)の戦いでは柴田勝家(しばたかついえ)、小牧(こまき)・長久手(ながくて)の戦いでは徳川家康・織田信雄(のぶかつ)と結び、紀伊征伐では根来衆(ねごろしゅう)と通じて秀吉に敵対した。そのため秀吉は元親の行動を憎み四国征伐の軍をおこした。元親は家臣の谷忠兵衛(ちゅうべえ)を秀吉のもとに送り、伊予一国の返納で妥協しようとしたが、秀吉は土佐以外の3国の返上を命じたので交渉は決裂した。

　元親は白地(はくち)（徳島県三好(みよし)市池田町）に本営を置き、阿波の木津・一宮(いちのみや)・岩倉城、讃岐の植田城、伊予の金子・高尾城などに将兵を配し防備を固めた。当時秀吉は佐々成政(さっさなりまさ)と対戦中であったので、弟秀長(ひでなが)を将として三好秀次(みよしひでつぐ)を添え、1585年6月16日出征命令を発し、主力6万を阿波に向かわせた。宇喜多秀家(うきたひでいえ)、蜂須賀正勝(はちすかまさかつ)・家政(いえまさ)、黒田孝高(よしたか)、仙石秀久(せんごくひでひさ)らの軍2万3000は讃岐に上陸、毛利輝元(もうりてるもと)、小早川隆景(こばやかわたかかげ)、吉川元長(きっかわもとなが)の兵3万余は伊予に向かって進撃を開始した。元親は三方から攻撃を受け、7月中旬には諸城が落城したので、谷忠兵衛らの勧告をいれて7月25日降伏した。兵農分離を終えた秀吉の軍に長宗我部の農民的武士は敵しえなかったのである。秀長は元親に土佐一国を与え、元親の三男親忠(ちかただ)を人質として凱旋(がいせん)した。秀吉は論功行賞を行い、阿波を蜂須賀家政、讃岐を仙石秀久、十河存保(そごうまさやす)、伊予を小早川隆景に与え、四国全土を支配した。

［山本　大］

『山本大著『長宗我部元親』（1960・吉川弘文館）』▽『山本大校注『四国史料集』（『第2期　戦国史料叢書5』1966・人物往来社）』

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