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Famous Oda Generals 1550-1582 |
Name
Nobunaga was the second son of Oda Nobuhide and united the feuding branches
of the Oda and consolidated his hold over Owari by 1558. In 1560 he won
the decisive Battle of Okehazama, enabling him to expand beyond the borders
of Owari. In 1567 he took Inabayama in Mino and established himself there
(renaming the place Gifu), soon afterwards taking up the cause of Ashikaga
Yoshiaki. He marched to Kyoto in late 1568 and established Yoshiaki as shôgun,
though Nobunaga himself would excercise true power. By 1572, perhaps due
in part to the efforts of Yoshiaki (who chafed under Nobunaga's yoke), the
Oda were engaged in struggles on many fronts - with the Asai and Asakura,
the Takeda, the Honganji, the Miyoshi, and the Nagashima monto. Nobunaga
burned the Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei in 1571; in 1574 he would destroy the Nagashima
monto with great loss of life. He defeated the Takeda at Nagashino
in 1575, and was afterwards involved in a protracted contest with the Môri.
The Honganji fell in 1580 and by 1582 Nobunaga's troops had taken the former
Takeda domain and were deep in Môri territory. He was destroyed in
June 1582 by one of his own generals - Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga was brilliant,
if cruel (even by the standards of the times), and a forward-thinker. His
effforts allowed for the unification of Japan under Hideyoshi.
Nobuyuki conspired against his brother Nobunaga with the Hayashi and Shibata
families. While Hayashi and Shibata were spared, Nobuyuki's Suemori castle
was reduced by Ikeda Nobuteru and he was killed.
Nobumasu was a younger brother of Oda Nobunaga and a well-known tea-master.
He entered the service of Hideyoshi following Nobunaga's death and he later
supported Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Sekigahara Campaign (1600). He joined
the defenders of Osaka Castle in 1614, though he survived the seige and
retired from active life. He was also known as Oda Yuraku, or Oda Yurakusai.
This brother of Oda Nobunaga was killed alongside Mori Yoshinari in battle
with the Asai and Asakura near Ôtsu in 1570.
Nobutada was the eldest son of Nobunaga. He fought in many of his father's
campaigns once he had come of age, and by 1575 was trusted to lead on his
own. He was responsible for bringing down the Takeda's Iwamura Castle in
1575 in a two-part siege and later joined Tsutsui Junkei in forcing Matsunaga
Hisahide to commit suicide in 1577 at Shigizan. In 1582 he led an army into
Shinano as part of the invasion of the Takeda lands and besieged Takato
Castle. He was in Kyoto when Akechi Mitsuhide rose against his father and
killed him at the Honnoji. Nobutada was surrounded at Nijô Castle
and commited suicide.
Nobuo was the second son of Oda Nobunaga. He was adopted into the Kitabatake
family following the submission of that family to the Oda in 1569 and assumed
leadership in 1576. He ordered the 1st (unsuccessful) Invasion of Iga in
1579 and led around 10,000 men in the 2nd Invasion after being rebuked by
his father for his lack of sense. Nobunaga had intended to send him against
Shikoku (as a surviving letter indicates) but was killed before this could
occur (1582). Following the Kiyosu Conference, Nobuo recieved much of Owari
as well as Ise. His claim to his father's position was supported in 1584
by Tokugawa Ieyasu and as a result the Komaki Campaign was conducted, for
the most part in Owari. Nobuo felt compelled to make a seperate peace with
Hideyoshi by the end of the year and as a result was allowed to retain some
of his lands in Owari and went on to lead troops under Hideyoshi's standard
during the 1590 Odawara Campaign. He recieved the title Chûnagon in
1585.
Nobutaka was the third son of Nobunaga and was adopted into the Kambe
family of Ise. After the death of his father he joined Hideyoshi's army
and at the Battle of Yamazaki helped defeat Akechi Mitsuhide. He was supported
as heir to the Oda house by Shibata Katsuie and defied a request by Hideyoshi
to release Sambôshi (the late Oda Nobutada's son) into his custody.
Afterwards he plotted with Katsuie against Hideyoshi but jumped the gun
by raising his banners at Gifu before the Shibata were in a positon to help
him. Faced with Hideyoshi's army, he submitted, only to rebel the following
Spring. He was briefly besieged at Gifu, then commited suicide when he learned
that Shibata Katsuie had taken his own life following the Battle of Shizugatake.
Mitsuhide was originally a retainer of the Saito clan, though his past
prior to 1567 is hazy. It is often recorded that he took up with the Asakura
of Echizen before joining Nobunaga around 1567. As well as being a competant
general, he was a noted poet and practitioner of the tea-ceremony, which
may have helped his rise within the Oda ranks. He was tasked with land-survey
duties during the 1570's, especially in the Yamato region and in 1577 he
was assigned the mission of subduing Tamba province and defeated the Hatano
clan. During the siege of Yakami Castle, Mitsuhide is said to have promised
Hatano Hideharu safe conduct if he surrendered, an offer Nobunaga later
withdrew by executing Hideharu and his brother - The Hatano retainers then
kidnapped and murdered Mitsuhide's mother in vengeance. Whether or not the
latter half of this story is true, Nobunaga is said to have taken every
opportunity to humiliate Mitsuhude, possibly out of jealousy for the latter's
poetic skills. Mitsuhide's army attacked and killed Nobunaga on June 1582
but, failing to gain support from local lords, was defeated by Hashiba (Toyotomi)
Hideyoshi at Yamazaki. Mitshide himself was killed fleeing the battlefield.
Mitsuhide, who remains a somewhat enigmatic figure, was regarded as an able
general - a judgment, ironically, which was given weight in a 1580 letter
from Oda Nobunaga to Sakuma Nobumori.
Morinari was originally a retainer of the Saito and, along with Inaba
Ittetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen, had been known as one of the 'Mino Triumvirs'.
He joined the Oda following the death of Saito Yoshitatsu in 1561and fought
at Anegawa (1570) and in the battles for the Ishiyama Honganji. He was dismissed
from Nobunaga's service following the fall of the Honganji in 1580 and evidently
died as a ronin.
Murashige was a Daimyô of Settsu who clashed with the Wada before
joining Oda Nobunaga. He rebelled in 1578 and held out in Itami for a year
before fleeing. He disappeared into the Môri's domain, where he may
have died a year or so later. Murashige was a noted tea master (one of Sen
no Rikyu's Seven Disciples) and a Christian
Kageakira joined Oda Nobunaga when the latter invaded Echizen in 1573
and is said to have betrayed the whereabouts of Asakura Yoshikage. He was
afterwards given Ino Castle in Echizen but was killed in 1574 during a rebellion
of Echizen monto
Mitsuharu was from Mino and at first a retainer of the Toki, and then
the Saitô. He later joined Nobunaga and served him in a largely diplomatic
capacity. He was awarded land in Echizen in 1575 and became became one of
the 'Echizen Triumvirs' (sanninshu) along with Meada Toshiie and
Sassa Narimasa.
Ujisato was the son of Gamô Katahide and fought in his first battle
(Okochi) at the age of 13. He married one of Oda Nobunaga's daughters and
was given a sizable fief in Ise. He later sheltered Nobunaga's widow during
Akechi's uprising and joined Hideyoshi's camp following Yamazaki (1582).
He served in the Kyushu Campaign (1587) and the Odawara Campaign (1590),
after which he was given a huge fief in Mutsu (Aizu). Ujisato served on
Hideyoshi's staff in Kyushu during the 1st Korean Campaign, which which
he returned to Aizu and built Wakamatsu Castle. He died suddenly in 1596
- leading some to suspect that Hideyoshi himself had had a hand in his demise.
Masakatsu originally ruled a small fief in Miyashiro in Owari Province
and may have served the Saitô before joining the Oda some time before
1566. He fought at Anegawa and elsewhere for Nobunaga and later pledged
his loyalty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and recieved a stipend of 10,000 koku.
He is said to have been of particular use to Hideyoshi in his construction
of the 'One Night Castle' at Sunomata in 1567, though if this incident even
occured is a matter of debate among historians.
Naomasa was appointed as one of the four administrators of Kyoto (along
with along with Matsui Yukon, Murai Sadakatsu, and Takei Sekian) by Oda
Nobunaga after 1568. He was named as one of Nobunaga's Go-umamawari-shû
(bodyguard) and placed in command of matchlockmen at Nagashino (1575). He
was killed leading 10,000 troops against the Ishiyama Honganji the following
year. His original surname was Ban - and he recieved the name Harada from
Nobunaga in 1575.
Hideyoshi was born in the village of Nakumura in Owari and came to serve
Nobunaga, though the historical record does not mention him prior to around
1570. Tradition has that he was at one time a sandle bearer for Nobunaga
and was played a key role in the capture of Inabayama in 1567, though, again,
this is unsupported by any actual evidence. He fought at Anegawa in 1570
and following the defeat of the Asai in 1573 was given a fief in Ômi
Province at Imahama. He served in numerous military campaigns for Nobunaga
in the next few years, commanding troops in the battles for Nagashima and
the Oda victory over the Takeda at Nagashino. He was chosen to lead a campaign
against the Môin 1576 and he was to be occupied with this mission
for the next six years. His forces were delayed by the stubborn resistance
of the Bessho clan of Harima, but following the fall of Miki in 1580 were
able to press deep into Môri territory, thanks in part to an alliance
with the Ukita of Bizen. He was in the process of taking Takamatsu (to which
end he had diverted a nearby river t??o flood the castle compound) in Bitchû
Province when Oda Nobunaga was killed in Kyoto by Akechi Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi
is said to have intercepted a message from Akechi to the Môri informing
them of the said event - enabling Hideyoshi to quickly forge a peace treaty
with the Môri and march back to the Kinai region. He met and defeated
the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki and afterwards
took a prominent part in the 'Kiyosu Conference' to nominate Nobunaga's
successor. He would go on to subdue all of Japan by 1590 and launch two
unsuccesful campaigns in Korea. Following his death in 1598, national hegemony
would pass to Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is better known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
a name adopted after the death of Nobunaga.
Kiyohide served three generations of the Oda family (Nobusada, Nobuhide,
and Nobunaga). He commited suicide in 1553 to protest the young Nobunaga's
outlandish behavior - a surprising gesture that is said to have had the
desired effect.
Hidemasa was from Owari province and began his career in the service of
Nobunaga. In 1581 he was ordered to conduct a land survey in Izumi and during
the course of the survey the Makinoji (a branch temple of the Kongobuji
of Mt. Koyo) took up arms on 11 June - Hidemasa attacked the temple and
burned it. Later that year he was awarded Obama Castle in Wakasa and in
June 1582 joined in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attack on Akechi Mitsuhide. He
fought at Yamazaki and soon afterwards defeated Akechi Mitsuharu at Uchide-hama,
near Otsu. He went on to secure Sakamoto Castle, which became part of a
large fief he was awarded in Omi worth 90,000 koku. Hidemasa participated
in the Komaki Campaign (1584) on Hideyoshi's side, and led 3,000 men at
the Battle of Nagakute. He joined the Toyotomi army besieging Odawara Castle
in 1590 but died in camp during the campaign.
Fujitaka was the son of Mibuchi Harusada and was adopted by Hosokawa Mototsune.
He was a member of the Ashikaga's court and during his service to Yoshiteru
practiced linked verse with Satomura Joha, the noted renga master.
In 1565 Yoshiteru was assassinated and Hosokawa left the capital, joining
Ashikaga Yoshiaki in his search for a patron. After Oda Nobunaga established
Yoshiaki in Kyoto (1568), Fujitaka continued to act as his advisor. When
Yoshiaki was deposed in 1573, Fujitaka remained in Oda's service and was
given a large fief in Tango in 1580, which he had been tasked with occupying
in 1578 (at the expense of the Isshiki family). when Akechi Mitsuhide destroyed
Nobunaga in 1582, Fujitaka joined Toyotmi Hideyoshi even though his son
Tadaoki was married to Mitsuhide's daughter. He later became a close confident
to Hideyoshi and acted as a cultural assistant, advising Hideyoshi in the
ways of etiquette and verse.
Nobuteru began his career as a common soldier under Nobunaga, to whom
his mother had acted as a wet-nurse. He received his first command in 1557
and served at the Battle of Okehazama that same year. In 1566 he was given
the castle of Kinota in Mino province and in 1570 he was made the commander
of Inuyama Castle following his participation in the Battle of Anegawa (where
he led 3,000 men). He was given Osaka Castle in 1580 and an income worth
as much as 100,000 koku. After the death of Nobunaga in June 1582, he fought
for Hideyoshi at Yamazaki, and the following year formally offered Hideyoshi
his loyalty. He particpated in the Komaki Campaign in 1584, and was a commander
at the Battle of Nagakute against the Tokugawa. In the course of the fighting
a certain Nagai Denpachiro ran Nobuteru through with a spear and killed
him. He was the father of the powerful early Edo Period daimyô, Ikeda
Terumasa. He was also known as Ikeda Tsuneoki and Ikeda Shonyû.
Ienaga, the brother of Oda Nobunaga's concubine Kitsuno, became a trusted
Oda retainer and served in a number of Nobunaga's battles, including Moribe
(1561) and Anegawa (1570). After Nobunaga's death, he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Ittetsu was at first one of the three top retainers of the Saitô
daimyô of Mino but joined Nobunaga around 1561. He was present at
the Battle of Anegawa (1570) and transferred his loyalties to Hideyoshi
following Nobunaga's death.
Nagachika served Nobunaga and fought at Nagashino (1575) and a number
of other battles. Following Nobunaga's death in 1582, Nagachika at first
sided with Shibata Katsuie, then gave his loyalty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
In 1585 he was dispatched to destroy the Anegakoji of Hida Province and
was afterwards given their castle of Takayama. He later gave his support
to Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Sekigahara Campaign (1600) and led 1,140 men
to the Battle of Sekigahara.
Yoshitaka, of Shima Province, was the son of Kûki Sadataka and gave
his loyalty to Nobunaga sometime around 1570. An experienced commander of
ships, he lent his naval strength to the Oda at Nagashima in 1574 but was
defeated by the Môri admiral Murakami Takeyoshi attempting to blockade
the Ishiyama Honganji. Nobunaga commisioned him to design warships capable
of defeating the Môri and he produced six massive vessels that he
used to win the 2nd Battle of Kizugawaguchi. Following Nobunaga's death
in 1582, Kuki served Hideyoshi and was given Toba Castle in Ise. He sided
with Ishida Mitsunari during the Sekigahara Campaign (1600) and afterwards
commited suicide.
Gen-i was a Buddhist priest for Mt. Hiei who entered the service of the
Oda sometime before 1570 and was named his deputy for Kyoto in 1582. After
Nobunaga's death he served Hideyoshi and recieved a 50,000 koku fief at
Takamai in Tamba province and was tasked with laying the groundwork for
Fushimi Castle in 1592. He was named one of the Five Bugyô (magistrates)
by Hideyoshi before the latter's death.
Toshiie was born in Arako Village in the Aichi District of Owari province
and was the 4th son of Maeda Toshiharu. He entered Nobunaga's service in
1551 as a page and eventually rose to be a commander of samurai. He fought
at Anegawa and Nagashino, and was given a fief in Echizen in 1574 (Fuchû,
30,000 koku). He became known as one of the so-called Echizen Triumvir,
and was eventually given Noto (1581). After Nobunaga's death he initially
supported Shibata Katsuie but shifted his alleigance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
and as a reward he had the province of Kaga added to his domain. By 1595
the Maeda fief was valued at roughly 445,000 koku by 1595, and Toshiie was
named one of the five regents responsible for keeping the realm in order
while Toyotomi Hideyori came of age.
Hisahide, whose exact origins and lineage are a mystery, was a retainer
of the noted Daimyô Miyoshi Chokei from a young age and assisted him
in the defeat of Miyoshi Masanaga in 1549; he afterwards acted as Chokei's
governor in Kyoto and was later tasked with the conquest of Yamato province,
an endeavor that essentially made him an independant Daimyô. He conspired
to undermine Chokei, and is thought to have had a hand in the deaths of
the latter's brothers. He nonetheless allied with Miyoshi Yoshitsugu following
Chokei's death (1564) and sent his troops to help kill the shôgun,
Yoshiteru (1565). He soon went to war with the Miyoshi, and became involved
in a seesaw contest that was halted by Nobunaga's march on the capital.
Matsunaga made peace with Oda (offering him a particularly well-known tea
item as a show of good faith) and assisted him in his wars with the Asai
and Asakura and Miyoshi. He briefly strayed from Oda's camp in 1573, only
to return and join the ongoing siege of the Ishiyama Honganji. He rebelled
again in 1577 but was quickly besieged in Shigi Castle by Oda Nobutada and
Tsutsui Junkei. Before killing himself, he smashed a famous tea item rather
then allow it to fall into Oda's hands. His son Hisamichi was captured and
executed in Kyoto.
Yoshinari served the Saitô of Mino until around 1555, at which point
he entered Oda service. He was killed fighting the Asai and Asakura near
Otsu in 1570. He was the father of Mori Ranmaru, Nobunaga's trusted page,
and Mori Nagayoshi.
Sadakatsu served Oda Nobunaga in a largely administrative capacity, being
named the chief adminstrator of Kyoto in 1573.
Kiyohide was a retainer of Nobunaga under Araki Murashige and originally
held Ibaragi in Settsu Province. In 1578 he joined with his neighbor Takayama
Ukon in following Araki Murashige in rebellion against Nobunaga. Both Kiyohide
and Ukon were convinced to surrender their castles to the Oda and kept their
holdings in the aftermath of the rebellion. Nakagawa joined Hideyoshi's
army following the death of Nobunaga in 1582 and fought at the Battle of
Yamazaki. He was afterwards assigned to hold Shizugatake Castle in N. Ômi
Province and was killed in 1583 under attack by Shibata general Sakuma Morimasa
Nagahide was one of Oda Nobunaga's chief retainers and married to his
niece. He was present at many of Nobunaga's battles (including Anegawa 1570,
Nagashino 1575, the Honganji Campaign 1570-1580, Tedorigawa 1577, and the
2nd Invasion of Iga 1581) and was named one of the administrators of Kyoto
after Nobunaga entered that city in 1568. He was given the task of building
Azuchi Castle and for his efforts was awarded a 100,000-koku fief at Obama
in Wakasa Province. After Nobunaga's death in June 1582 (the same year Niwa
had been given the honor of riding at the head of Nobunaga's army in a parade
in Kyoto), Nagahide may have burned Azuchi Castle to prevent it falling
into Akechi Mitsuhide's hands. He hesitated in attacking Mitsuhide himself,
but did join Hideyoshi's army in Osaka and took part in the Battle of Yamazaki.
Nagahide was essentially neutral during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's war with Shibata
Katsuie, but did support the former the next yeat, marching against Sassa
Narimasa during the Komaki Campaign. After 1575, Niwa was often refered
to as Korezumi Gorozaemon.
Masahisa is thought to have come from Mino. He was in the forefront of
the fighting at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570 and was killed in action.
Nobumori was the son of Sakuma Nobuharu. He became one of Nobunaga's senior
men, although he briefly supported Oda Nobuyuki in his abortive attempts
at rebellion in 1557. He commanded troops at Anegawa and was one of the
three Oda commanders sent to assist Tokugawa Ieyasu against Takeda Shingen
in 1573. At the resulting Battle of Mikatagahara, he joined Takigawa Kazumasu
in fleeing before the Takeda army. Nobumori and his son Jinkûo were
heavily engaged in the siege of the Ishiyama Honganji from 1575 until 1580.
Following the surrender of the Honganji, Nobunaga wrote a scathing leter
to Sakuma, accusing him of both incompetance and negligance and ordering
him to shave his head and give up his lands in Yamato. He and his son thus
wandered as beggars, Nobumori evidently dying of starvation or disease sometime
between late 1581 or early 1582 at or near Mt. Koya.
Morishige was the holder of Marume Castle and came under attack by the
forces of Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) during the Imagawa invasion
of Owari in 1560. He held off an opening attack by the Matsudaira, but was
shot and killed leading a counterattack out of the castle. He is believed
to be the first 'general' killed by gunfire in Japan.
Narimasa served Nobunaga from his early career in Owari. In 1575 he was
given lands in Echizen and became a member of the so-called sanninshû
(Echizen Triumvir) along with Maeda Toshiie and Fuwa Mitsuharu; he was transferred
to Etchu in 1581 and immediatly conducted a land-survey there. While under
the Oda banner, Narimasa fought at Nagashino (1575), Tedorigawa (1577),
Arakawa (1581), and Uzu (1582). After Nobunaga's death he supported Shibata
Katsuie but later submitted to Hideyoshi. He was given a fief in Higo Province
in 1587 but was made to commit suicide the following year for poor administration.
Katsuie served Oda Nobunaga throughout the latter's career, although in
1557 he conspired against him with Oda Nobuyuki; though Nobuyuki was executed,
Katsuie was pardoned and served Nobunaga loyally afterwards. Katsuie married
Nobunaga's sister O-ichi (whom he was later forced to divorce to allow Nobunaga
to give to Asai Nagamasa but would remarry following the suicide of that
warlord in 1573) and fought at Okehazama (1560) and in the war with the
Saito (1561-1567). He commanded an army that defeated the forces of the
Miyoshi and Matsunaga at Sakai in 1568, and held Chokoji in southern Ômi,
thus holding open the road from Mino to Kyoto. Chokoji was attacked by the
Rokkaku in early 1570, and Katsuie defended the castle heroically, at length
driving off the attackers. He commanded a rank of men at Anegawa in 1570,
and was one of the principle commanders in Nobunaga's 1571 attempt to bring
down the Nagashima monto stronghold - an action in which he was badly
wounded. After recovering, he led troops against the rebellious Ikko of
Echizen in 1574, and fought at Nagashino. He was given Kita no Sho in Echizen
and after 1576, and with the help of Meada Toshiie and Sassa Narimasa, pushed
further north and into Kaga province, a campaign short in glory but long
in difficulty. He was present (and may have commanded) at the Oda defeat
at the Tedorigawa in Kaga province (at the hands of the Uesugi). Katsuie
took advantage of the death of Uesugi Kenshin in 1578 to drive into Uesugi
territory, and by 1582 had advanced as far as the eastern districts of Etchû
at he expense of Uesugi Kagekatsu. He was in position to avenge the death
of Oda Nobunaga in June 1572, an honor taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the
aftermath of Nobunaga's death, Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka as his successor,
opposing Hideyoshi, who favored the infant Samboshi. Rivarly between the
two men led to open conflict in the winter of 1582 but, when his army was
defeated at Shizugatake in 1583, he commited suicide along with O-ichi.
Ukon - or Takayama Shigetomo - was the son of Takayama Tomoteru and joined
Oda Nobunaga when the latter entered Kyoto in 1568. He was given Takatsuki
Castle in 1573 and assisted in the siege of the Ishiyama Honganji. He initially
supported Araki Murashige's rebellion against Oda Nobunaga in 1578 but was
persuaded to switch sides at the behest of the Jesuit Padre Gnecchi-Soldo
Organtino (Ukon was a Christian). He was allowed to retain Takatsuki after
Araki fled to the western provinces. After Nobunaga died, Ukon supported
Hideyoshi and took part in the Battle of Yamazaki and in the Shizugatake
Campaign (1583). He was destined to fall out of favor,m however, and at
least in part due to his religious convictions. He was deprived of his domain
in 1587 and eventually ended up with Maeda Toshiie in Kaga. In 1617 he was
exiled to Manila, where he died of illness not long after arriving.
Kazumasu was one of Nobunaga's most loyal men, and served him from about
1558 onward. He was given land in Ise province sometime around 1569 and
supported Oda Nobuo, heir to the Kitabatake house. Aside from serving in
many of Nobunaga's battles (which included being sent to assist the Tokugawa
against the Takeda in 1573), Kazumasu also rendered service to the Oda in
domestic matters, assisting in the construction of Azuchi Castle in 1578
and in land surveys with Akechi Mitsuhide in 1580 in the Yamato region.
Kazumasu's battle record was mixed, as he had fled from Mikatagahara and
acted poorly during the 1st Iga Invasion. Following Nobunaga's death he
supported Shibata Katsuie, but submitted to Hideyoshi after he was besieged
in Kanagawa. He assisted Hideyoshi during the Komaki Campaign by attacking
Kanie Castle along with Kûki Yoshitaka. He afterwards retired into
obscurity.
Junkei was the son of Tsutsui Junsho (1523-1550), a minor Daimyô
of Yamato Province. He fought with Matsunaga Hisahide before coming to be
allied with Nobunaga after the latter entered the Kinai region in 1568.
He assisted in the Seige of the Honganji and in 1577 helped bring down Matsunaga
Hisahide's Shigi Castle (along with Oda Nobutada). He was afterwards made
the lord of Yamato Province and was ordered in 1580 to supervise the destruction
of castles in Yamato and Kwatchi. He participated in the Invasion of Iga
Province in 1581, where he joined Gamô Ujisato in laying siege to
Hijiyama. When Akechi Mitsuhide killed Oda Nobunaga in June 1582, Junkei
seemed ready to assist him, but waited at the Battle of Yamazaki to see
who would win and once Toyotomi Hideyoshi had the upper hand, Junkei attacked
the Akechi. Hideyoshi deprived Junkei of a portion of his domain for hedging
his bets at the battle. Nonetheless, he supported Hideyoshi in the 1584
campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu and took one of Oda Nobuo's castles in
Ise - Matsugashima - in a bloody fight. He died that same year. He was also
known as Tsutsui Fujikatsu.
Naomoto was at first one of the three chief retainers of the Saitô
house and held Ôgaki Castle. He lost faith in Saitô Tatsuoki
after 1561 and defected to the Oda. He fought at Anegawa in 1570 and was
later killed fighting the monto at Nagashima while under the command
of Shibata Katsuie. He is somewhat better known as Ujiie Bokuzen.
Koremasa was the son of Wada Koresuke (d.1546). He was a supporter of
the Ashikaga shogunate who aided Ashikaga Yoshiaki following the murder
of the shôgun Yoshiteru in 1565. He continued to serve the Ashikaga
under the auspices of the Oda and was essential in securing Louis Frois
an audience with Nobunaga in 1569. He supported the Takayama clan and was
later killed fighting with Araki Murashige in their defense.
Kazutoyo was from Owari province and was the son of Yamouchi Moritoyo.
He served Nobunaga from about 1565 until the latter's death in 1582, fighting
at Anegawa (1570) and Nagashino (1575). After Nobunaga's death, he transferred
his loyalties to Hideyoshi and was awarded the 50,000-koku fief of Kakegawa
in Tôtômi province in 1590. He sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu in
the Sekigahara Campaign (1600) and assisted in the capture of Gifu Castle.
He led 2,000 men in the rear guard at the Battle of Sekigahara and was afterwards
given Tosa province. He was forced to call on the assistance of Ii Naomasa
to bring certain unruly warriors of Tosa into line, and the latter sent
a force under Suzuki Hyôe for this purpose.