Siege of Fushimi Begins: Japan's Path to Sekigahara

Ishida Mitsunari's Western Army besieged Fushimi Castle, defended by a small Tokugawa garrison under the veteran commander Torii Mototada, who fought to the death to buy his lord time. The ten-day siege delayed the western coalition's advance long enough for Tokugawa Ieyasu to consolidate his forces, setting up the decisive confrontation at Sekigahara. Fushimi Castle sat south of Kyoto, controlling the approaches to the ancient capital and the road network connecting western and eastern Japan. Torii Mototada, one of Ieyasu's oldest and most trusted retainers, was left behind with a garrison of approximately 2,000 men knowing that the western army numbered over 40,000. Before the siege began, Ieyasu and Torii reportedly shared a final cup of sake, both understanding that the garrison would be sacrificed. The Western Army, led by Ishida Mitsunari and supported by several powerful western daimyo, attacked Fushimi on August 27, 1600. Torii's defenders held out for ten days of fierce fighting, repelling multiple assaults on the castle's walls and gates. The defense was sustained by the garrison's determination and the castle's formidable construction, which included multiple baileys and water-filled moats. When the castle finally fell on September 8, Torii committed ritual suicide rather than be captured, and most of his garrison died fighting. The bloodstained floorboards from the castle were later incorporated into the ceilings of several temples in Kyoto, including Yogen-in and Shoden-ji, where they can still be seen today. The ten-day delay was strategically critical: it slowed the Western Army's ability to coordinate its forces and gave Ieyasu time to march his army westward from the Kanto plain, arriving at Sekigahara with a consolidated force on October 21, 1600.