Battle of Miyajima

Battle of Miyajima
Part of the Sengoku period
View of Miyajima shore, with Itsukushima torii at left, and mainland in the distance (2012).
Date 16 October 1555 Location Itsukushima, Aki Province 34°18′5.8″N 132°19′20.3″E / 34.301611°N 132.322306°E / 34.301611; 132.322306 Result Decisive Mōri clan victory
Belligerents
Ōuchi clan Ōtomo clan	Mōri clan
Commanders and leaders
Ōuchi Yoshinaga Sue Harukata † Hironaka Takakane †	Mōri Motonari Mōri Takamoto Kikkawa Motoharu Kobayakawa Takakage Fukubara Sadatoshi Kuchiba Michiyoshi Iida Yoshitake Kodama Narikata Murakami Takeyoshi
Strength
20,000–30,000	4,000–10,000
Casualties and losses
~4,700	light
class=notpageimage| Location within Hiroshima Prefecture Show map of Hiroshima Prefecture Battle of Miyajima (Japan) Show map of Japan

The 1555 Battle of Miyajima (厳島合戦, Itsukushima Kassen)^[1] was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of Miyajima; the entire island is considered to be a Shinto shrine, and no birth or death is allowed on the island. Extensive purification rituals took place after the battle, to cleanse the shrine and the island of the pollution of death.

The Battle of Miyajima was the turning point in a campaign for control of the Ōuchi clan and of Aki Province, a strategically important province for establishing control of western Honshu. It was an important step for the Mōri clan in taking the foremost position in western Japan, and cemented the reputation of Mōri Motonari as a cunning strategist.