Battle of Kyoto 1574

Men of Mori, we have walked many miles and fought many battles and now here we stand before the city of Kyoto - the heart of all Japan. The Emperor is there and the Shogun is there. He is shaking with fear, for today we will take his head from him! Men of Mori, this is the decisive battle that will determine the future of Japan. You know what you must do this day. You know your duty, so there is no need for more words. For your clan, for your daimyo, for Japan...go to it men!

(Mori Mototsura's speech to his troops before the battle of Kyoto in 1574)

The victory of the Mori army commanded by the newly promoted general, Shishido Morikane, over the forces of the Shogun in the fields of Kamo sent shockwaves throughout Japan. For the first time the Shogun was personally defeated in battle. In the following season, riding high on the prestige of that battle, Morikane defeated another smaller Yamana force blocking the road to Kyoto. Thus Morikane, in two victorious battles, swept the road to Kyoto clear of enemies. However, his army was depleted and so he was ordered by the Daimyo, against his will, to break off his advance on Kyoto. Morikane and his men, encamped beside the road so near to Kyoto, watched with an aggrieved feeling of disappointment the armies of Mori Akinaga and Mori Mototsura (both recently adopted into the Mori family) pass them by.

The mood of the troops marching on Kyoto was solemn for they were on their way to destroy a Shogunate that had lasted for more than two hundred years. On the one hand it felt as if they were about to do a sacrilegious thing, like cutting the head of a god. On the other hand, they were on they way to forge something new, something never seen before. So everyman, down to the merest ashigeru, felt the hand of destiny heavy upon them. When they finally stood before the walls of Kyoto, it was as if they were about to storm the gates of heaven.

The Shogunate forces defending Kyoto were significant, but they lacked sufficient numbers of archers. Akinaga and Mototsura decided to approach from two directions, to pin down the archers in one direction and attack from the other, making maximum use of their archers to whittle down the defenders before storming the city.

(you can view the battle on Youtube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci5wQlj-H7Q )