Imagawa Yoshimoto, the overlord of Tōkaidō, was a warlord possessed of both ambition and elegance. He mingled with the nobles of Kyoto, his elegant attire radiating aristocratic grace. Beneath his splendid attire, however, beat a fierce aspiration to ascend Kyoto and rule the land. The first stumbling block standing in his way was the unruly young lord of Owari—Oda Nobunaga.
The clouds of war rose. Imagawa Yoshimoto made thorough preparations for this western expedition: he fortified Ōtaka and Narumi castles as outposts and entrusted Kutsukake Castle to his trusted confidant, Asai Masatoshi, to develop it into a stronghold for an offensive into the heart of Owari.
Faced with the impending formidable enemy, Oda Nobunaga demonstrated his exceptional strategic prowess. Rather than sit idly by and wait for death, he meticulously built two forts, Washizu and Marugane, on either side of Ōtaka Castle. Furthermore, he established three strongholds, Tange, Zenshoji Temple, and Nakajima, in front of Narumi Castle. Like a pincer, he abruptly severed the connection between the two Imagawa fortresses.
However, this was still a seemingly hopeless confrontation. Imagawa Yoshimoto commanded a thousand generals, banners adorning the sky, and a force of forty thousand men, while Oda Nobunaga could muster only a mere three thousand defenders. At the military meeting in Kiyosu Castle, his old retainers, faced with the disparity, unanimously advocated a desperate defense of the castle.
But how could this be Oda Nobunaga's style? The stronger the enemy, the more intense the fire that burned in his eyes.
"We must meet the enemy, and meet them outside the country's borders!" He declared, defying all objections. Thus began a decisive battle destined to go down in history—the Battle of Okehazama.
Imagawa Yoshimoto personally led a mighty force of 25,000 elite troops into Kutsukake Castle. From his seat in the central military camp, he calmly orchestrated his plans: he ordered Matsudaira Motoyasu to launch a fierce attack on Marugane, Asahina Tainobu to sweep through Washizu, and Katsurayama Nobumasa to spearhead the advance, pressing directly against Oda Nobunaga's stronghold, Kiyosu Castle.
Flames of alarm blazed on the front lines, and the forts of Marugane and Washizu were on the verge of collapse under the onslaught of the superior enemy. Yet, Oda Nobunaga displayed remarkable composure. He even leisurely visited Atsuta Shrine before the battle, accompanied by several veteran retainers, as if the raging battle around him had nothing to do with him. Only when he gazed into the sky, seeing the flames rising from the sky, symbolizing the fall of Marugane and Washizu, and learning the tragic news of his beloved general, Sakuma Shigeshige, did he utter a heavy sigh.
At Tange and Zensho-ji Temple, Nobunaga assembled nearly 3,000 troops. Upon learning that Generals Sasa Masatsugu and Chiaki Akitada had died in a desperate assault on Narumi Castle, Nobunaga's fury could no longer be contained. He ignored the objections of his veteran ministers and marched his army directly toward Nakajima, vowing to exact revenge on the enemy.
At this crucial moment, a fateful turning point arrived. A scout brought history-altering intelligence:
"Report! Imagawa Yoshimoto's main force is heading for Ōtaka Castle, but their headquarters... is located in Okehazama!"
A sharp gleam suddenly gleamed in Oda Nobunaga's eyes. He laughed heartily, "Godsend!" A daring plan instantly formed in his mind: a surprise attack on the enemy camp, a decapitation! He immediately ordered the Zensho-ji Temple to be filled with his own flags, creating a false alarm. The true sword was about to be unsheathed, piercing the proud heart of Okehazama.