INTERACTIVE BATTLE
Battle of Norada
September 1560 · Norada in Ōmi Province (now Norada and Hida, Hikone)
Azai Nagamasa marched to relieve Hida Castle, under attack by the Rokkaku, and beat the army of Rokkaku Yoshikata across the Uso River. The battle was the turn at which the Azai became independent of the Rokkaku.
Background
Under Hisamasa the Azai had submitted to the Rokkaku of southern Ōmi. The Shiga Prefectural Board of Education records that his son Nagamasa, with retainers who resented this, forced Hisamasa into retirement. Hida Castle, held by the Takanose on the Rokkaku side, had been attacked by flooding the year before, and the border between the two houses was in dispute.
Outcome
The Rokkaku were beaten, and Azai Nagamasa came to rule northern Ōmi as his own domain. Three years later the Rokkaku house was thrown into disorder by the Kannonji affair.
Course of the battle
1 Summer 1560
The Rokkaku army moves on Hida Castle
The Rokkaku moved against Hida Castle, held by the Takanose, who had gone over to the Azai. The year before, an earthwork had been raised around it in an attempt to flood the castle out.
Attacks Hida Castle
Calls on the Azai for relief
Sources23·Certainty: Medium
2 September 1560
Nagamasa marches south from Odani Castle
Answering the call from Hida Castle, Azai Nagamasa brought his troops south from Odani Castle. The two armies faced each other across the Uso River.
Marches out from Odani Castle
Sources24·Certainty: Medium
3 September 1560
The Azai win at Norada
The Rokkaku, with the greater numbers, pushed at first; then the Azai counter-attacked, the day turned, and the Rokkaku were beaten.
Points of debate
The numbers engaged and the losses differ widely between the war tales; no settled figure exists.
Beats the Rokkaku army
Sources15·Certainty: Medium
4 After the battle
The Azai make northern Ōmi their own domain
Historical significance
The Shiga Prefectural Board of Education writes that after beating the Rokkaku here, Nagamasa ruled northern Ōmi as an independent lordly power. In the same year as Okehazama, the balance in Ōmi shifted too.
Key figures
浅井氏
3
Commander of the Azai army
He marched from Odani Castle, relieved Hida Castle and beat the Rokkaku, making his hold on northern Ōmi secure.
Sources1·Certainty: High
Former head of the Azai
Nagamasa's father, who had submitted to the Rokkaku. He was pushed into retirement by the retainers.
Sources1·Certainty: Medium
Lord of Hida Castle
He went over from the Rokkaku to the Azai and called for relief, which set the battle in motion.
Sources2·Certainty: Medium
六角氏
2
Commander of the Rokkaku army
The great lord of southern Ōmi. He lost despite the greater numbers, and unrest inside his house followed.
Sources1·Certainty: High
Rokkaku general
He is said to have led the van of the Rokkaku army.
Sources2·Certainty: Medium
Other events of 1560
Notes on the data
Dates are given in the Western (Julian) calendar. The sources place the battle in the middle of the eighth lunar month of Eiroku 3; since no source fixes the day, only the month is shown. Troop numbers and casualty figures come from war tales and are left out of the text. Little survives of Hida Castle, and the points on the map are placed at representative positions in Hida and Norada.
Sources consulted
- 滋賀県教育委員会「近江戦国探訪ガイドブック２ 信長の城と戦国近江」
- Wikipedia「野良田の戦い」
- 地理院地図 住所検索（滋賀県彦根市肥田町）
- 城郭マスタ（shiro.geojson）
- 地理院地図 住所検索（滋賀県彦根市野良田町）
The numbers in the text refer to the list above. Certainty indicates how far a statement is supported by the cited sources; it does not refer to the precision of the coordinates or the dating.
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