Takahashi Shigetane

[5][6] The powerful Shimazu had conquered the Ryūzōji at Okitanawate in 1584, and by 1586 had set their aim upon the destruction of the Ōtomo, with whom they had a long, intense rivalry.

[2] However, the forces of Shimazu Yoshihisa arrived and launch Siege of Iwaya Castle earlier than the Shigetane initially anticipated, and therefore Shigetane was desperately placed in a dilemma: on one hand he had no more than 763 men, and as the opposition respectively wielded around 35,000 soldiers, no form of defense could be utterly possible, considering that such a mass of military might was additionally set on solely besieging Iwaya castle, as opposed to splitting and assaulting from a different direction.

[citation needed] During the siege of Iwaya Castle, a commanding officer of the Shimazu stopped his attack and said, "Why do you serve the unjust Ōtomo clan that makes light of Buddhism and has faith in Christianity?

[citation needed] In 1585, Shigetane and Tachibana Dōsetsu were involved in a defense against anti Ōtomo alliance massive invasion which led by Ryūzōji Ieharu.

This alliance has involved many Ōtomo enemies such as Kusano Chin'ei, Nabeshima Naoshige, Tsukushi Hirokado, Ki Shigefusa (also known as Utsunomiya Chinfusa), Nagano Sukemori, and Goto Ienobu.