Ōtsu Castle

The siege of Ōtsu took place in 1600, concurrent with the battle of Sekigahara. Kyōgoku Takatsugu held Ōtsu castle for the Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison. This battle required a collaboration between Muneshige Tachibana and the Mori forces in order to gain Takatsugu Kyugoku's surrender. However, in the meantime Tokugawa Ieyasu had won the battle of Sekigahara, assuring his control of all Japan, and so the loss of Ōtsu was ultimately insignificant.

Some records of the time indicate that the local inhabitants brought picnic boxes and gathered at Mii-dera on Mount Hiei to observe the battle.

Role in games
Otsu castle first appears in Samurai Warriors 3 and shares the same map as Oshi Castle. Both Muneshige and Yoshihiro Shimazu work with the undermanned western army in order to seize the castle. Playing it in one's story leads to the rival character attempting to hold off the enemy at the central garrison allowing the player to seize the castle in the meantime. As the castle is seized, Magoichi Saika plants an ambush in the castle and Kanbei Kuroda and Tadakatsu Honda arrive as reinforcements placing the main camp and Sakon Shima in considerable danger. Once the player doubles back to the main camp, defeating all enemy officers will win the battle. Unlike history, in this game the battle takes place well before Sekigahara, ensuring that Muneshige and Yoshihiro can arrive in time for the climatic battle in their respective stories.