Database: Genba-o Castle and the Battle of Shizugatake
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Genba-o Castle, located on the border of Echizen Province and Omi Province, was constructed as the headquarters for Shibata Katsuie prior to the Battle of Shizugatake. The layout of Genba-o is one of the best among mountain castles of that period. It remains in good condition to this day as the castle was never reoccupied after that battle. The name of the castle "Genba-o" comes from the fact that it was connected to the path that Sakuma Morimasa (Genba-no-jô) might have built to communicate with Katsuie.
After the death of Oda Nobunaga, Katsuie competed with Hashiba Hideyoshi for the position of successor. When Katsuie was stuck in Echizen territory by snowfall from the past winter, Hideyoshi struck at his allies in Omi, Mino and Ise provinces. When Shibata Katsuie was able to come to Genba-o Castle, he ordered his nephew, Morimasa, Maeda Toshiie, and other subordinates to attack Hideyoshi's fortresses in Omi Province, Shizugatake being one of them. Sakuma Morimasa fought hard despite encountering an unexpectedly large number of Hideyoshi's reinforcements. However, he was betrayed by Maeda Toshiie and ultimately suffered defeat. Katsuie retreated to Echizen, where he committed suicide at Kitanosho Castle in today’s city of Fukui.
The Battle of Shizugatake was the first major victory for Hideyoshi in consolidating his position as Nobunaga’s successor and the next great unifier of Japan. To highlight his achievement, he named seven of his personal vassals who played key roles in the battle "the Seven Spears of Shizugatake".