The second , also called the during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, occurred in 1579, five years after it was seized by Oda Nobunaga in Siege of Itami (1574) from Itami clan, and entrusted the Castle to Araki Murashige. Background In October of 1578, during the siege of Miki, Araki Murashige suddenly left the battlefront, returned to his home base at Arioka Castle (also known as Itami Castle), and launched rebellion against Oda clan. Then, Kuroda Kanbei went to Arioka castle to prevail on Murashige not to defect, but Murashige chose to imprison Yoshitaka instead. Later, Nobunaga accused Murashige of sympathizing with the Mōri clan, enemies of Nobunaga. Araki shut himself in his castle and withstood siege by the armies of Oda Nobutada. Siege Throughout the entirety of the siege, though Murashige's defense was able to hold out, his men did not sally forth from the castle or otherwise attack the besieging army. Murashige expected reinforcements from the Mōri or Ishiyama-Honganji armies, but neither arrived, making the castle's fall inevitable. In August of 1579, Araki Murashige slipped through Nobunaga's forces, escaping to Amagasaki Castle. On October 15, 1579, Murashige's lieutenant Nakanishi Shinipachirō betrayed Murashige, defecting to Nobunaga's side and allowing troops led by Takikawa Sakon into the fort of Jōrōzuka, about half a kilometer southwest of Itami Castle. Defenders of the fort fled toward Itami Castle, though many were killed. In a coup de main, Takikawa took control of Itami and captured then razed the town's samurai headquarters. Itami Castle was retaken by Nobunaga's forcs and Kuroda Kanbei was rescued. From all sides, Nobunaga's forces pushed closer and closer to Itami Castle, using siege towers and sappers. Pummeled by the attacks, the defenders pleaded for mercy. "Spare our lives," they begged, but Nobunaga refused to pardon them. Aftermath In November of 1579, after Arioka Castle fell back into Nobunaga's control, "Araki Kyūzaemon and other leading figures" of Itami travelled to Amagasaki in an attempt to persuade Murashige to hand over control of Amagasaki and Hanakuma Castles to Nobunaga. On the condition that these castles were relinquished, Nobunaga agreed to spare the lives of the women and children of Itami Castle, who were being held as political hostages. Finally, Araki Murashige refused to hand over Amagasaki and Hanakuma castles. Nobunaga, "intent on punishing them as renegades," decided that Araki's kin (33 women and 3 men) would be taken to Kyoto,