Historical Background
Motonari then gathered various pro-Oouchi factions in the area and put together a force of 1000, 300 of which from the Kikkawa clan led by Miyanoshou Tsunetomo. Among Mouri’s own reinforcements was Motonari’s half-brother Aiou Mototsuna, a fierce young warrior. On October 22nd, Motonari led an attack against the Takeda in an effort to relieve the siege on Arita Castle but was once again pitted against Kumagai Motonao, who led an army of 500 to stop Motonari’s advance. Motonari first ordered his men to refrain from engaging Kumagai directly and attacked with arrows from a distance, but soon realized that his numerical advantage against Kumagai would be proven temporary if Takeda Motoshige’s main forces joined in in a pincer attack.
Motonari then swiftly led a charge against Kumagai in an attempt to end the battle quickly. Kumagai Motonao was actively inspiring his soldiers in the frontline, but was unfortunately hit by a stray arrow and fell from his horse.
Having lost their commander, the Kumagai army was routed and Motonari was able to move onto the next phase of relieving the siege of Arita Castle.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. Can you change history?
 |
 |
| 8 | 6 |
Takeda Army
5 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
2 H&F Tokens
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Mouri Army
6 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
2 H&F Tokens
Move First
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Victory
6 Banners
►The Takeda player gains 1 permanent Victory Banner at the end of each turn in which he plays an “Order One Unit” command card. He cannot gain the last Victory Banner this way.
Special Rules
►When Aiou Mototsuna is attached to a samurai foot unit, the unit may move 1 hex and battle or 2 hexes and not battle.
►Kumagai Motonao may spend up to 2 tokens to inspire each unit, with each token increasing combat dice by 1 for a maximum of 2 per combat.
Source:
https://sengokubattles.blogspot.com/2021/08/battle-of-arita-nakaide-1517-part-2.html
Yuki's Post-Battle Notes and Trivia
• This is the remake of official scenario #2.
• The rise of the Kumagai family can be traced to the end of the Heian Period. Kumagai Naozane (#V6Ed.^ ) served Minamoto no Yoritomo (Mt:04i ). After Yoritomo ' s devastating loss at the Battle of Ishibashiyama in 1180, Kumagai Naozane covered up Yoritomo with Japanese mistletoe to hide him from the enemies. Two pigeons flew over his camouflage. When Yoritomo found his eventual success and reminisced this episode with Naozane, he designed the Kumagai family crest for him based on their shared experience (see picture).
• By the time of Sengoku centuries later, the Kumagai family had many branches across Japan. The one in Aki served the Aki Takeda clan, which was why Kumagai Motonao, a descendent of Naozane, was featured in the conflict depicted in the scenario.
• Motonao' s son Nobunao was left without a father after this battle, and he despised the Mouri for his father' s death. The events following this battle was marked by a series of geopolitical turmoil in which bott the Oouchi and the Amago attempted to take advantage of the people of Aki by using them as pawns for their own political gains. One of Motonari's early goals in his career was to unite with the other minor lords of Aki so they could free themselves from the abuse by their strong and unified neighbors. The Oouchi later attacked the Takeda and surrounded their home castle Kaneyama. Mouri Motonari organized an alliance with the local lords of Aki and successfully repelled the Oouchi was clever tactics, relieving the siege. In this battle, Kumagai Nobunao witnessed the tactical genius and the personal charisma of Motonari first-hand, and his opinion of his slowly began to change. He ultimately decided to give up on avenging his father Motonao and faithfully served the Mouri for the rest of his life.
• Kumagai Nobunao became a founding member of Mouri' s hegemony in western Japan. He lived a very long life of 86 years, spanning the most important years of the Sengoku era. He served three generations of Mouri leaders and played crucial roles in all the history-defining battles of the Mouri.