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battalions advanced simultaneously, like a moving forest, upon Chausu hill.

The defence of the sector from the Aoya pass to Chausu hill was entrusted to Sanada Saemon and his son, supported—a little to the south—by Iki Shichirōemon Tōotaka, Watanabé Kuranosuke Tadasu, and Otani Daigaku Yoshitane; but the combined strength of these units amounted to little more than 6,000 men.

Among the forces which confronted them the great Echizen army stood out at once for its splendour and immensity. Its general, too, Lord Tadanao, was a conspicuous figure. He gave the impression of a man resolved to achieve glory this day at any cost. His general’s baton had been cast aside, and, brandishing in its stead a huge cavalry lance, he was urging his horse at the gallop closer and closer to the enemy, paying no heed to the caution of his lieutenants.

With their general setting such an example, the rank and file fought with furious enthusiasm, each determined to outshine his neighbour, and the enemy forces facing the Echizen army swayed and broke like trees in a gale. The first great triumph came when Honda Tadamasa of Iyo slew Nenryū Sadayū, the champion swordsman of the castle garrison, and similar feats of arms, by men like Aoki Shinbei, Otobe Kurobei, Ogita Shume, and Toshima Shuzen, followed in quick succession. Sanada Saemon’s troops, defending the line from Chausu hill to the Kōshin Temple were routed in a single assault, Saemon himself falling to Nishio Nizaemon, and his chief lieutenant to Nomoto Ukon. The Echizen forces, pressing close upon the fleeing castle troops, then forced their way through the Senba pass to the Black Gate, raised their standard on the gate itself, and set fires ablaze at a number of places inside the castle.

3,652 enemy heads were taken. In the battle honours of this day there was no one whose share was comparable to that of Lord Tadanao.

Lord Tadanao had drawn up his horse on the crest of Chausu hill. From there he saw the Echizen banners and war-pennants