The battle of Shigeno, fought in the final months of 1614, was one element in the siege of Osaka

Siege of Osaka

The was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages , and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment...

, a series of attempts by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 to quell the last resistance to its power, the Toyotomi clan.

Five thousand Tokugawa troops, led by Uesugi Kagekatsu

Uesugi Kagekatsu

was a daimyo during the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japanese history. The son of Nagao Masakage and husband of Uesugi Kenshin's elder sister, Aya-Gozen. After his father died, he was adopted by Kenshin....

, engaged 2000 troops loyal to the Toyotomi at a place called Shigeno, across the Kizu River from the site of the battle of Imafuku

Battle of Imafuku

The ' was fought in late November of 1614 between the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Toyotomi. This battle was one of the first of the series of battles fought near Osaka over the course of two years. The village of Imafuku stood on the northeast approach to Osaka, and so Tokugawa Ieyasu sent...

, which took place several weeks earlier. The Tokugawa troops received reinforcements from Niwa Nagashige

Niwa Nagashige

was a Japanese daimyo who served the Oda clan. Nagashige was the eldest son of Niwa Nagahide and married an adopted daughter of Oda Nobunaga. He took part in his first campaign in 1583, assisting his father in the battles against Shibata Katsuie...

 and Horio Tadatoki whose forces included a number of arquebus

Arquebus

The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...

iers. They brought orders from the Shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

, Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

, that Uesugi Kagekatsu should withdraw from the battle and take a rest; Kagekatsu insisted that this was an affront to his honor, as the Uesugi traditionally would not retire from a battle in progress.