Battle of Okehazama | |||||||
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Forces | |||||||
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Imagawa | Oda | ||||||
Commanders | |||||||
Yoshimoto Imagawa | Nobunaga Oda | ||||||
The Battle of Okehazama (桶狭間の戦い, romaji: Okehazama no Tatakai) is Nobunaga's infamous battle where he destroys the Imagawa army in one decisive battle. It shows the strategic workings of Nobunaga by using a very small force against the comparatively massive Imagawa army.
Role in Games[]
Samurai Warriors[]
In Samurai Warriors, it is a three-way battle including the Imagawa, Oda, and Tokugawa. Both latter clans fight for independence, and the player, if using Hanzō, may use the ninja path leading into the Imagawa main camp. Masamune also interrupts the battle during his story. In order to convince Ieyasu to defect to the Oda, players have to defeat Tadakatsu.
The battle is shown via cutscene in the second game. It returns in the Xtreme Legends expansion as part of Toshie, Katsuie, and Yoshimoto's story. In the Oda scenario, Hideyoshi leaves the field to find a path to ambush the Imagawa main camp, while Nobunaga lulls Yoshimoto's forces into a false sense of security and slowly build up reinforcements. Once the garrisons are taken off the Imagawa, Yoshimoto sends out his second wave, effectively thinning out his forces. But if anyone tries to take the Nakajima garrison, the ambush will be spotted and ruined. Eventually, Hideyoshi reappears with some few peasants, and together they ride down a slope and attack the enemy commander.
In the Imagawa version, Nobunaga has not yet arrived and the Imagawa forces easily overpower the Oda forces. Early on, Katsuie and Toshiie spring an ambush on the Imagawa camp and Marune and Washizu garrison must be taken in order for future events to happen. Once both garrisons have been taken and Morishige and Hidetoshi have been slain, Nobunaga will appear and attack the Imagawa main camp. In the middle of this, Ieyasu and the Tokugawa will defect and decide to advance on Marune and Washizu garrisons, and then advance on the Imagawa camp as well. Once Ieyasu is taken out, his army retreats. When Nobunaga has been defeated, Koroku will appear on the mountains; defeating him will trigger a mission to defeat Hideyoshi. When Hideyoshi is defeated, the road to the Imagawa main camp is blocked and the remaining Oda forces are being pushed further back. Nobunaga is at his main camp, but Katsuie, Toshiie and Hideyoshi reappear to protect their lord. Once they are defeated, Nobunaga will die.
In Samurai Warriors 3, the battle remains relatively same except after Nobunaga's ambush succeeds, Yoshimoto tries to flee away from the field, and also in some scenarios Nagamasa and the Azai aid the Oda. Only the Oda side is available, with it serving as the first stage of all Oda characters who had a story in the original title.
In Sengoku Musou 3: Moushouden, Noh, Toshiie, and Katsuie get Okehazama as the first stage of their respective stories, with slight differences between each battle. Exclusive to the expansion, the Imagawa perspective is also available with a hypothetical twist where Yoshimoto finds Masamune and Muneshige who use their armies to support him against the Oda.
Samurai Warriors 4 has Okehazama played from the eyes of Oda and Tokugawa. In the Tokugawa scenario, after the Oda ambush the Imagawa camp, Ieyasu tries his best to head back to his superior's camp, only to arrive too late. With Yoshimoto dead, the Tokugawa must rescue the surviving Imagawa retainers.
In Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3, the player can speak with Ieyasu before the battle regarding Nobunaga. This will cause Ieyasu to become more cautious and has him place Lady Hayakawa in the reserves in the nearby mountains. When Nobunaga's strike force begins moving, Lady Hayakawa is able to stop their advance and give the Imagawa forces the victory instead.
In Spirit of Sanada, the battle is only given a passing mention by the Takeda forces as Yoshimoto's death had caused chaos within Suruga and made the province ripe for the taking.
During Samurai Warriors 5, the Oda side starts with the a small group of outnumbered Oda commanders in the front holding out against the Imagawa forces. While Yoshimoto is distracted, Nobunaga spearheads an attack through the mountain ridge leading to the back of Yoshimoto's camp. Upon arrival, however, Nobunaga realizes that he only killed a double of Yoshimoto made by Hanzō, and the real Yoshimoto emerges with his army to surround the Oda forces. Toshiie soon arrives to assist the Oda while Nobunaga moves to engage Ieyasu's forces. Upon defeating Sena and the Tokugawa forces, Yoshimoto orders his reserve troops to arrive, but Nobunaga takes advantage of Yoshimoto's fixation on the Oda main camp to ambush the Imagawa reserves, which is only complimented by Ieyasu's defection to the Oda side. Although Sena returns to defend her uncle, she is defeated and Nobunaga soon challenges Yoshimoto. In disbelief that his dreams of conquest would be cut so prematurely, Yoshimoto draws his family heirloom, Samonji, and tries to fight Nobunaga again but is slain. Acknowledging Yoshimoto's ambitions for the land, Nobunaga takes his opponent's blade and promises to inherit his plans of domination.
Yoshimoto also receives a reverie version of this stage for the Imagawa perspective. He, Motonobu Okabe and Sena are all usable in this stage. Firstly, he advances his forces against Hideyoshi and the undermanned Oda side, thinking nothing of the small threats and increments of the Oda army he faces. He catches Katsuie Shibata and Oichi trying to sneak through the mountains as Hideyoshi flees and opens up the Oda camp. Once the Oda forces reappear around the Imagawa castle at Dengakuhazama, Yoshimoto commends Nobunaga and spreads his forces to deal with simultaneous threats. One includes Naomori Ii being isolated at the Oda camp, another threat includes Toshiie attacking the Tokugawa forces, should they not be rescued, they will defect. Noh also appears in the south along with Hideyoshi to further inflict damage on the Imagawa. Yoshimoto manages to maintain his forces and keeps them steady, dealing with each threat one at a time. Once Nobunaga is out of tricks, he opens up Dengakuhazama for a final showdown with Yoshimoto, who wins in this timeline and advances towards the capital to restore the shogunate.
Warriors Orochi[]
Its debut in the series is in the Wu story in Warriors Orochi 2. After beating back insurmountable odds at Itsukushima, against Lu Bu's army, the Wu army led by Huang Gai and Goemon finally decides to advance. While doing so, the Date army are camped at Okehazama and a portion of the Wei army led by Xu Zhu and Pang De are already there. The objective is to survive the Date's heavy assault and capture the northwest garrison to take control of the Date cavalry. The player needs to defeat Keiji to do so, then seize the date garrisons and subdue Sima Yi to impress him, and finally overwhelm Masamune in Odaka Castle to finish the stage. After Wu's victory, Xu Zhu and Pang De joins them.
In Warriors Orochi 4, the map appears after the Coalition defeats the Hōjō army at Guangzong, where Nobunaga took the opportunity to send a unit to attack Liu Bei. The resistance first needs to defeat Guo Huai's forces who are barring them from reaching Liu Bei's camp. Once Liu Bei is rescued, he and the rest of the Resistance army will begin moving for the escape point, but Nō and Ranmaru appear to seal the escape path and must be defeated to finish the battle.
The stage reappears again when the Coalition is tasked with launching a surprise attack on Lu Bu and the Demon army. While the main camp is defending Chen Gong and Kanbei's siege, Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, Li Dian and Ina all move to attack Lu Bu's camp. Although Gao Shun attempts to intercept them, the Coalition is able to break past, but only find Kiyomori and an illusion of Lu Bu waiting in the enemy camp, and it is revealed that the real Lu Bu was with Yoshitsune and Munenori were now attacking the camp. While Lu Lingqi appears to stall the Coalition, she is eventually defeated alongside and the Coalition must defeat Lu Bu, Yoshitsune and Munenori to end the battle.
In the side story, Bao Sanniang and Masanori survey the area in search of the land's "Seven Wonders of the World".
Kessen[]
Okehazama is the major battle that concludes chapter 2 in Kessen III. After dealing with his family and other enemies in Owari, Nobunaga's forces are faced with Yoshimoto's massive army along their border. Though facing the opposing odds, the young leader merely naps after judging the consequences of fighting or surrendering. During the night before they ride out to battle, Tokichiro introduces the weather-reading girl, Yoshino, to his master. She foresees a rain storm the following day, which Nobunaga uses to his advantage whilst planning.
On the map, the ally army is split into two forces. One side protects the ally camp in the east, facing the onslaught of Motoyasu, Tadakatsu, and other fierce Imagawa generals. Nobunaga and Yoshino are stationed in the west, a forested and mountain path that opens more opportunities for their march as it rains on the field. In essence, the general plan of the battle is to have the three eastern units take a sturdy defense while Nobunaga's formation moves through the mountains. The shorter time limit and the necessary condition of protecting the ally camp are the main reasons for this strategy. Once an enemy unit in the east is defeated, the downpour will begin and Nobunaga can discreetly move his army through the forested area. Yoshimoto laments at the rain and separates himself from his army to have a reprieve from the battle.
To have the ambush succeed, Nobunaga must defeat Yasumoto Asahina, the enemy general who sees them in the mountain path. Preventing his speedy report to Yoshimoto can ensure that the ambush will work. He retreats quickly from the mountains, so it's ideal to stop him before he crosses into the main field. If he is defeated in time, players may choose to end the conflict quickly by surprising and dispatching the enemy commander. If the enemy general reports his sighting, Yoshimoto and his three closest generals will be alerted to Nobunaga's position and will stand firm together, making it harder to end the conflict.
If players defeat Sessai Taigen, he will join Nobunaga's forces after the battle. He can be routed by either the eastern or western fronts as moving to defeat him will not spoil the ambush.
Nobunaga's Ambition and Taiko Risshiden[]
In Nobunaga's Ambition : Lord of Darkness, this event will begin in June 1560 when Imagawa invaded the Owari suddenly but lost and Yoshimoto was beheaded. Matsudaira then formed a new clan from Imagawa as Tokugawa and requested to be an ally with Oda. In Taiko Risshiden I, player will not meet Yoshimoto directly because player will have to help Kinoshita Tokichiro and Oda to defeat the commander-in-chief of the enemy side is Ii Naomori. When player can defeat and beheaded Naomori, will appear in the cutscene that says Oda's cavalry broke through a rainstorm and killed Yoshimoto in the midst of the Imagawa soldiers.
Historical Information[]
Gallery[]
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