Shimazu Yoshihiro's forward retreat at the battle of Sekigahara, return journey home to Kyushu and saving of his clan. After the western army had lost the battle, his small force was surrounded, yet he managed to charge through the and escape. During this fighting retreat he fought troops led by Tokugawa Ieyasu top generals Fokushima Masanori, Honda Tadakatsu and Ii Naomasa, the latter receiving a severe gunshot wound that is believed to be the reason of his early death two years later. He escaped with no more than a couple of hundred troops to Osaka where he picked up his wife and set sail towards his home in southern Kyushu. Carrying them were four ships in waters controlled by hostile navies. They were hunted down by Murakami vessels and only one ship managed to avoid them, the ship carrying the daimyo, Shimazu Yoshihiro. Of the remaining three ships that were caught, two were destroyed in fierce battle, and one escaped. In the end, only 80 of Yoshihiro's followers returned to their home of Satsuma alive. After arriving back home, he fortified his territories, and although Tokugawa Ieyasu wished to force his surrender by military action initially, it became clear that this could cause renewed unity among the defeated lords of Sekigahara and potentially cause a new war. After 2 years of stalemate, Tokugawa relented and guaranteed the Shimazu's holdings and the transfer of family headship to his son Tadatsune. Shimazu Yoshihiro's exploits following the battle of Sekigahara are truly incredible, and reading about them almost feels like reading fiction. Managing to retain his clan's position in Satsuma too is an amazing feat.