Who Is Imagawa Yoshimoto (Kaido-ichi no Yumitori)?
The eastern daimyo who fell at Okehazama
Imagawa Yoshimoto was a Warring States daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa provinces (today Shizuoka Prefecture and eastern Aichi). A powerful figure in the Tokai region, he was called the finest archer on the Eastern Sea Road, but he was killed by Oda Nobunaga at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560.
According to the Shinchō Kōki, he enters Owari with 45,000 troops and takes the Washizu and Marune forts. Resting his men and horses on Okehazama hill, he has songs chanted, and when Oda's vanguard is cut down he rejoices, saying in effect that not even heavenly demons or fierce gods could come near his spearpoint. But after a violent sudden downpour, Nobunaga charges, and the main camp collapses. Retreating under the protection of three hundred horsemen, he sees them dwindle to fifty, and at last loses his head.
Some suspect the figure of 45,000 is higher than the real number. Theories about the purpose of his invasion also differ: some say he was heading for Kyoto, others that it was a border dispute with Owari. The sword at his waist passed into Nobunaga's hands and survives today as the "Yoshimoto Samonji."
