Siege of Koriyama

The initial phase of the campaign began in June 1540, which involved an attack by the troops of Amago Hisayuki, his son Masahisa and his nephew Kunihisa on the domain of Motonari's ally, the Shishido clan, a foray that was to prove of little effect except to deny Haruhisa of some of his most capable generals and soldiers for the attack on Koriyama Castle.[2] In August Amago Haruhisa had gathered a force of 30,000 and departed Izumo Province, moving into the vicinity of Motonari's Yoshida-Koriyama Castle and establishing a headquarters nearby.

Meanwhile, Mōri Motonari had evacuated over 5,000 of Yoshida's citizens inside the walls of Koriyama Castle. The castle itself was defended by around 3,000 soldiers, by which time urgent requests for aid were dispatched to the Ōuchi in Suo Province.[4] Two days after arriving, the Amago launched an attack on Koriyama Castle, which continued for several months.

The Ōuchi relief army, consisting of 10,000 men led by Sue Harukata,[2] finally departed Suō Province in the 11th month, pausing on Miyajima to offer prayers for victory at the Itskushima Shrine before landing in Aki and marching towards Koriyama Castle. They arrived outside Koriyama in December 1540, four months after the siege had begun. A series of skirmishes ensued between the opposing armies into the following month (January 1541), which was largely to the detriment of the Amago. By this time the Amago force that had threatened the Shishido arrived and became heavily engaged in an attack by the Mōri and Ōuchi on the Amago's headquarters on Tenjinyama (天神山). In the ensuing action Amago Hisayuki was killed by an arrow and the Amago suffered heavy losses.

In the wake of this fight, the Amago retainers, noting the army's dwindling supplies and poor morale, elected to retreat. The Môri and Ôuchi duly pursued but were hindered by snow.