INTERACTIVE MARCH
The Great Return from Chūgoku
June 1582 (6th month of Tenshō 10) · From Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū to Himeji Castle in Harima
Just after Oda Nobunaga was killed at Honnōji, Hashiba Hideyoshi — then besieging Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū — came to terms with the Mōri and turned his army east. On the 6th day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10 he marched up the Chūgoku highway and was back at Himeji Castle in Harima. "Chūgoku" here means the Chūgoku region of Japan, not China.
Background
Hideyoshi was besieging Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū as part of the campaign against the Mōri. While the siege was under way, Nobunaga was killed at Honnōji in Kyoto. Hideyoshi pressed ahead with terms, settled them on the 5th day of the 6th month, and turned his army east on the 6th.
Outcome
Hideyoshi reached Himeji Castle and was in position to move on the capital region. He would go on to fight Akechi Mitsuhide's army at Yamazaki in Yamashiro.
Course of the battle
1 6th month of Tenshō 10 (to the 5th)
The siege of Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū
Hideyoshi was besieging Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū as part of the campaign against the Mōri. While the siege was under way, Nobunaga was killed at Honnōji in Kyoto.
Sources12·Certainty: Medium
2 5th day of the 6th month
Terms with the Mōri are settled
On the 5th, Hideyoshi settled terms with the Mōri and related matters, which left him free to move his army while the western front stood.
Points of debate
Accounts differ on whether the terms were settled before or after Hideyoshi learned of Honnōji. This page goes only as far as the settlement on the 5th, which the source records.
Sources12·Certainty: Medium
3 6th day of the 6th month
East up the Chūgoku highway, back to Himeji
On the 6th, Hideyoshi marched east along the Chūgoku highway and returned to Himeji Castle in Harima, from where he would move on the capital region.
Points of debate
The starting date, distance and duration of this march differ between accounts. This page follows the town of Ōyamazaki in dating the eastward move to the 6th.
Sources12·Certainty: Medium
Historical significance
Within a short span after Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi moved from the Chūgoku front back to a position from which he could act in the politics of the capital region. Accounts of the Oda succession that followed usually take this march as their starting point.
Other events of 1582
Notes on the data
Dates follow the Japanese calendar of the source (Tenshō 10). The heading date is given only to the month, because the basis for converting it to the Western calendar has not been sufficiently checked. The starting date, total distance and duration of the march differ between accounts. The map shows only the leg from Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū to Himeji Castle in Harima, which the source confirms; the route from Himeji on to Yamazaki in Yamashiro is not covered here.
Sources consulted
- 大山崎町「秀吉の中国大返し」
- 城郭マスタ（shiro.geojson）
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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