Battle of Miyajima 1555

In 1555, Mori Motonari rebelled against Sue Harukata, the powerbroker behind the Ouchi clan, of whom the Mori were previously vassals. Motonari built Miyao Castle on a hill on the sacred island of Miyajima, near Itsukushima Shrine, and spread rumours of its vulnerability in order to lure Harukata into a trap.
Harukata took the bait, and in October 1555 made an amphibious assault on Miyao Castle. While Motonari took advantage of Harukata’s absence to seize his stronghold on the mainland, he sent his three sons to trap the enemy on Miyajima. His two eldest sons, Kikkawa Motoharu and Mori Takamoto, landed surreptitiously on the east of the island and marched overland, while Motonari’s youngest son, Kobayakawa Takakage, landed before the castle with a small force to make a frontal assault on the Ouchi troops. Caught by surprise between the two Mori forces, the Ouchi routed, some drowning trying to swim to the mainland. Many of the others committed seppuku, including Sue Harukata.
To restore the sacred site, Motonari had the entire battlefield cleansed of blood and removed all bodies of the fallen to the mainland, where Sue Harukata was afforded an honourable funeral and burial. The Mori became the preeminent clan of western Honshu and the Battle of Miyajima established their reputation as naval strategists.

Set-Up Order 3 2

Mori Samurai Army (Red)
Move First
5 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
8 Honor & Fortune

4	2	1	2	2	1

Ouchi Samurai Army (Yellow)
4 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
 6Honor & Fortune

3	2	1	2	1	1

Victory
5 Banners
1 Victory Banner for each enemy unit or leader eliminated

Special Rules
* Sacred Ground
Any time a battle or battle back roll inflicts a block loss on an enemy unit that is within 3 hexes of Itsukushima Shrine, including the shrine hex itself, the commander of the unit inflicting the block loss must discard one H&F token for each block destroyed.

* Seashore
All river tiles represent ocean hexes and are impassable.