Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Mikatagahara

Battle of Mikatagahara was a battle fought on 25 January 1573 at Mikatahara, in what is now Japan. It was part of Operation Nishikami. The recorded result: Takeda clan victory; Tokugawa Ieyasu retreat; Takeda Shingen withdrawal. Recorded strength: 35,000 Takeda against 11,000 total; (8,000 Tokugawa,; 3,000 Oda reinforcements).

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Picture of the Battle of Mikatagahara Genki Third Year 12th Month (1573)
Picture of the Battle of Mikatagahara Genki Third Year 12th Month (1573). Utagawa Yoshitora, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought25 January 1573
WhereMikatahara, Japan34.794N, 137.702E
OutcomeTakeda clan victory; Tokugawa Ieyasu retreat; Takeda Shingen withdrawal
BelligerentsTakeda clanagainstTokugawa clan; Oda clan
Casualties and losses500 to 3,000andAlmost completely annihilated
Part ofOperation Nishikami

Where it sits in Operation Nishikami

Siege of Futamata, 1572Battle of Hitokotozaka, 1572Siege of Noda Castle, 1572Battle of Mikatagahara, 157315721573Battle of Mikatagahara, 1573
4 placed engagements of Operation Nishikami in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date25 January 1573
PlaceMikatahara, Japan
34.794N, 137.702E
KindBattle, early modern
Strength35,000 Takeda11,000 total; (8,000 Tokugawa,; 3,000 Oda reinforcements)
Casualties and losses500 to 3,000Almost completely annihilated
Commanders
Battle of MikatagaharaBattle of MikatagaharaSiege of FutamataBattle of HitokotozakaBattle of NagashinoSiege of Noda CastleSiege of Nirengi CastleBattle of HitokotozakaBattle of NagashinoSiege of Noda CastleNagoyaKyotoYokohamaShizuokaTsuGifuKōfuHachiōji100 km34.794N, 137.702E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Mikatagahara
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Mikatagahara today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 60 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -1 to 282 m, 283 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 47% built-up, 26% tree cover, 15% cropland.

built-up: 47%tree cover: 26%cropland: 15%grassland: 10%built-up 47%tree cover 26%cropland 15%grassland 10%
west to east, 10.0 km2 to 77 mnorth to south, 10.0 km1 to 274 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1573

Battle of Mikatagahara is one of 1,390 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 481 in present-day Japan.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q690464, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Mikatagahara, revision 1378914052, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.