Historical Background
Upon hearing the news of Motonao’s death, Takeda Motoshige grew furious. He left only 700 men to continue the siege on Arita Castle and diverted his main force of 5000 to confront Mouri Motonari’s forces near Matauchikawa (Matauchi River). It was said that Motoshige organized his men in 5 ranks in a crane’s wing formation. The Mouri/Kikkawa and allied forces fought valiantly but were severely outnumbered and gradually started showing signs of routing. Motonari tried his best to inspire the soldiers and was able to hold the line. Meanwhile, Oda Nobutada, the owner of Arita Castle, moved out of the castle and attacked the Takeda from the rear while the Takeda were distracted. Takeda Motoshige was once again angered by the lack of battle progress and decided to ride to the forefront of the battle and fight personally to set an example for his men. As the Takeda army crossed the Matauchi River, Motonari ordered his archers to fire, killing Motoshige. The Takeda army panicked and quickly collapsed. The remaining retainers of Takeda Motoshige were split on whether to withdraw or fight to the death in order to avenge their lord. While most decided to retreat, some men did launch an additional attack against the Mouri and their allies, which ended in a failure and led to their deaths. The siege of Arita Castle was relieved.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. Can you change history?
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| 1 | 11 | 8 |
Takeda Army
4 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
2 H&F Tokens
Move First
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| 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Mouri Army
6 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
4 H&F Tokens
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| 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Victory
8 Banners
►Eliminating Takeda Motoshige grants the Mouri Player 3 Victory Banners.
Special Rules
►At the start of each Takeda turn, the Takeda player loses 1 H&F token if Takeda Motoshige is on the Takeda side of the Matauchigawa River (or on the river hexes themselves). If the Takeda player cannot pay the token, make a loss of honor roll with 5 dice (4+ the 1 that cannot be paid just like in combat).
►Efficient Command: As long as Mouri Motonari remains on the board, the Mouri player may order 2 additional units from any section when playing a command card. The two additional units may move but not battle (see the first scenario for details).
►Takeda Motoshige inspires units with +2 dice. The cost is still 1 token and is still one inspiration per unit per combat.
►When Aiou Mototsuna is attached to a samurai foot unit, the unit may move 1 hex and battle or 2 hexes and not battle.
►The Matauchigawa River is fordable.
Source:
https://sengokubattles.blogspot.com/2021/08/battle-of-arita-nakaide-1517-part-3.html
Yuki's Post-Battle Notes and Trivia
• This is the remake of official scenario #3.
• Takeda Motoshige was often compared to Xiang Yu, a fierce warrior in Western Chu of ancient China, both for his ferocity in battle and for his explosive temper.
• The Battle of Arita-Nakaide is often compared to the Battle of Okehazama, with some calling it "Okehazama of the West" (the location of this battle was in western Japan).
The analogy is that both Mouri Motonari and Oda Nobunaga defeated formidable foes with armies that significantly outnumbered them. In Motonari' s case it was Takeda Motoshige and in Nobunaga' s case it was Imagawa Yoshimoto. However, the Battle of Arita-Nakaide came several decades before the Battle of Okehazama. Perhaps the Battle of Okehazama should have been called "Arita-Nakaide of the East" .
• The battle of Arita Castle marked the beginning of Mouri Motonari' s rise to power. Soon the Mouri would replace the Takeda as the dominant local power and eventually grow to a
major lord of western Japan.
• Ankokuji Ekei (gz-pg4t11), a monk who was a descendent of Takeda Motoshige, shared a similar life story as Kumagai Nobunao. Ekei would later serve as an important diplomat and strategist who was instrumental in shaping Mouri' s politics for generations to come. He diligently served the Mouri family until the very end of the battle of Sekigahara, nearly 100 years after the battle of Arita-Nakaide, where he was beheaded after West Army' s defeat. Ekei and Nobunao' s loyalty to the Mouri Clan despite of familial vendettas are often cited as testament to Mouri Motonari' s charisma and diplomatic skills that led to his success.
• The Kikkawa served as an ally to the Mouri in this battle.
The two families would establish an even closer relationship in years to come, with one of Motonari' s sons inheriting the Kikkawa family and carrying the Kikkawa name. The Kikkawa clan would become a major component of the Mouri power conglomerate and produce numerous important figures such as Kikkawa Motoharu and Kikkawa Hiroie. Just like Ankokuji Ekei, Kikkawa Hiroie participated in the Battle of Sekigahara about 100 years after the battle in this scenario.
The decisions Hiroie made in Sekigahara arguably changed the course of Japanese history.
• Arita Castle' s owner was named Oda Nobutada. This may cause some confusion in English because the name "Oda (/.I\HH)" is not written the same as the "Oda(0i)" in Oda Nobunaga, and is therefore a different family name. Of note, Nobunaga' s son was actually named "Oda Nobutada" , which unfortunately causes even more confusion. Therefore, as a general rule it helps to keep in mind the timeline of events when examining these battles (the battle of Arita-Nakaide happened before Nobunaga was even born).
