Komeda Kenmotsu – Article 61
Unknown dates; a retainer of the Hosokawa clan. At the Summer Siege of Osaka Castle, he joined the Toyotomi side together with his lord, Hosokawa Okiaki, while Okiaki’s father, Tadaoki, fought for the Tokugawa side. After the siege, Tadaoki ordered Okiaki – the lord – to kill himself but Komeda was allowed to come back to serve the Hosokawa clan as a senior councillor at a later date.
Konishi Manbei – Article 26
?–1579; a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Kozukuri Taizen Tomoyasu – Article 38
Unknown dates; he served Oda Nobukatsu and then Oda Hidenobu. At the Battle of Sekigahara he advised Hidenobu to take sides with Tokugawa, but Hidenobu would not listen to him and went to the West side and they were annihilated. Afterwards, he went into service for Fukushima Masanori at a salary of 20,000 koku.
Kuroda Josui Nyudo Masanari – Article 23
1546–1604; close retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he, together with Takenaka Shigeharu (Hanbei), were said to be the best strategists under Hideyoshi. He first served Kodera Masamoto as a senior councillor but thought much of Oda Nobunaga’s talents and advised his lord to approach Nobunaga. When his lord intended to support Araki Murashige, who rebelled against Nobunaga, Kuroda Masanari went to Murashige’s castle to persuade him to surrender but was captured and imprisoned in the castle for one year. However, as he did not come back immediately, Nobunaga thought Masanari had betrayed him and ordered his son to be killed. However, Takenaka Hanbei sheltered his son and had Hideyoshi (Nobugaga’s son) present a false (or rather a substitute) head in place of the boy’s. One year later, when the castle was captured, Masanari was saved and thanked Hanbei deeply for what he did and took Takenaka’s family crest as his own. He served Nobunaga and Hideyoshi with his gifted strategies and after Nobunaga’s death, he served as a close associate of Hideyoshi and was rewarded with a fief of 120,000 koku in Buzen.
Kurokawa Kahyoe – Article 53
Unknown dates; a retainer of Kato Yoshiaki.
Maeda Magoshiro Hizen-no-kami Toshikatsu (also Toshinaga) – Article 30
1562–1614; the son and heir to Maeda Toshiie, who was the most important associate of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the founder of Kaga province. After Hideyoshi and his father’s death, he was expected to lead the anti-Tokugawa forces, but chose to take sides with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the Battle of Sekigahara, because of his devotion, he was given extra fief from Tokugawa Ieyasu, which added up to 1,020,000 koku. He died at the age of 53 from disease, however the Kaikei Yawa document says he killed himself by taking poison to solve the conflicts between his family and the shogun.
Machino Nagato-no-kami Yukikazu – Article 37
?–1647; he served Gamo Ujisato, and was the lord of Nihonmatsu Castle. He moved to Shirakawa accompanying Ujisato, who was transferred there. Later he was expelled from the clan due to some dispute with a colleague and became ronin and was subsequently hired by the shogunate as the captain of musketeers with a fief of 5,000 koku.
Maeda Matazaemonnojo Toshiie – Article 50
1539–1599; he started his service for Oda Nobunaga as a page and records1 say he was a sexual partner to Nobunaga when he was young. He was in the Aka Horo Shu, or Red Cape Unit, in Nobunaga’s bodyguards but had a fight with Nobunaga’s half-brother and killed him. As a result Nobunaga suspended him from service. During the two years while he was suspended, he joined two battles without permission and succeeded to get three and two heads respectively. After the second battle, Nobunaga allowed him to come back to service. He was assigned to conquer the Hokuriku area under Shibata Katsuie’s command and given Noto province with a fief of 230,000 koku by Nobunaga in 1581. After Nobunaga was killed in 1582, he was politically sandwiched between Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie and in the battle Shizugatake, Toshiie was at first under Katsuie’s command but suddenly retreated, which made Hideyoshi the victor. He was appointed as the head of the council of Five Elders by Hideyoshi, so he would serve as a guardian for Hideyoshi’s young son after his death, but Toshiie died one year after Hideyoshi did.
Matsudaira Genzaburo – Article 57
1554–1586; the half-brother of Tokugawa Ieyasu by a different father and taken in to the Imagawa clan as a hostage at a very young age but he escaped. Two years after, in 1568, he was delivered to the Takeda clan which is the story repeated in Article 57 of this book. When he escaped Koshu he did so in severe coldn and lost almost all of his toes from frostbite.
Matsudaira Kyubei – Article 30
Unknown dates; a retainer of Maeda Toshinaga.
Matsuda Kinshiro Hidenobu – Article 45
?–1600; a retainer of Gamo Ujisato killed in the Battle of Sekigahara.
Matsuda Rokurozaemon-no-jo Sadakatsu – Article 25
Unknown dates; a retainer of Hojo Ujiyasu but later served Tokugawa Hidetada.
Matsukura Ukon-no-dayu Shigenobu – Article 3
?–1593; a general in Tsutsui Junkei’s army. He lived in Yamato province with a fief of 2,500 koku, then transferred to Nabari of Iga with a fief of 8,300 koku.
Matsumura Magosaburo – Article 30
Unknown dates; a retainer to Niwa Nagashige.
Migiwa San’emon – Article 56
Unknown date; a retainer of Mizuno Katsunari.
Mii Yaichiro – Article 56
Unknown dates; all that is known about him is found in Article 56.
Mishuku Kanbei (Echizen-no-Kami) – Articles 14 and 56
?–1615; served Takeda Shingen and Katsuyori, then Hojo Ujinao. After the Hojo clan was ruined, he was employed by Echizen-no-kami with a high stipend of 10,000 koku. But after the lord’s death, he fell into discord with the lord’s son and joined Osaka Castle and died in the Summer Siege of 1615.
Miura Yoji – Article 57
Unknown dates; a retainer to Imagawa Ujizane.
Mizukoshi Nui-no-suke – Article 30
Unknown dates; a retainer of Maeda Toshinaga.
Mizuno Hyuga-no-kami Katsunari – Article 46
1564–1651; starting with Oda Nobunaga, he successively served famous warlords, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and went into service for the Tokugawa clan at the end. Became the first daimyo of Fukuyama domain and died at the age of 88.
Mizuno So-byoe-no-jo Tadashige – Article 50
1541–1600; lord of Kariya Castle of Mikawa. He served Oda Nobunaga, later Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was killed by Kaganoe Shigemasa just before the Battle of Sekigahara.
Mouri Motonari – Article 21, 27 and 41
1497–1571; called the ‘supreme ruler’ of Chugoku region and became valued as the most excellent of generals for generations. When he inherited the Mouri clan, the clan was only a small daimyo faction who had to pay attention to the wishes of other powerful daimyo. To start his rise he decided to oppose the Amago clan and took sides with the Ouchi clan. As well as fighting numerous battles, he increased his powerbase by sending his second son to the Kobayakawa clan and his third son to the Kikkawa clan to be adopted, who were both powerful clans. In 1562 Motonari defeated Sue at the Battle of Itsukushima with only one fifth the forces of those of the Sue army. He defeated the remnants of the Amago clan at the Battle of Gassan Toda Castle and got hold of eight provinces of the Chugoku region and became the most powerful daimyo in that area. He died from disease at the age of 75.
Mouri Shinsuke – Article 56
?–1582; a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. He killed Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama and at the time of the Incident of Honnoji, he was fighting for Oda Nobutada – Nobunaga’s first son – but was killed in Nijo Castle.
Mori Shozo Nagayoshi – Article 56
1558–1584; a retainer of Oda Nobunaga and second son of Mori Yoshinari. He was also the elder brother of Mori Naritoshi. As his father and elder brother were killed in a battle in 1570, he inherited Kanayama Castle at the age of 13. After Nobunaga’s death, he served Hideyoshi and was killed in the Battle of Nagakute after fighting fiercely.
Mori Ranmaru Naritoshi – Article 9
1565–1582; a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. A popular saying says he was also in a sexual relationship with Nobunaga. He was killed at the age of 18 in the Honnoji Incident together with Nobunaga himself.
Mukai Noto-no-kami – Article 58
Unknown dates; the only information for him is listed in Article 58.
Nagai Ukon Naokatsu – Article 56
1563–1625; a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he killed Ikeda Tsuneoki at the Battle of Komaki Nagakute in 1584. Through fighting in the Siege of Odawara, the Battle of Sekigahara, the Sieges of Osaka Castle and elsewhere, he kept being promoted and ended as the first daimyo of Koga domain with a fief of 72,000 koku. He died at the age of 63.
Nagao Hayato-no-suke Tanetsune (Kazukatsu) – Article 39
1550–1619; a retainer of Fukushima Masanori. He was one of three Elders of the Fukushima clan. He was given a fief of 13,000 koku when Masanori was given Aki province.
Nagaoka (also, Hosokawa) Yusai Fujitaka – Article 36
1534–1610; he served the thirteenth Ashikaga shogun, Yoshiteru and after Yoshiteru’s death, he gave support to the fifteenth shogun Yoshiaki. Later, he went into the service of Oda Nobunaga and became a daimyo with a fief of 150,000 koku in Tango province. He was a high-ranking retainer of Hideyoshi and Ieyasu and was the founder of the Hosokawa clan as daimyo of Higo domain. Also, he was considered a highly cultured person, adept in various arts and he was especially famous as a poet.
Nagao Tamekage – Article 54
?–1536; a deputy of the Uesugi clan, which was the military governor (shugo) in Echigo province. He died from disease.
Naito Shuri-no-suke Masatoyo – Article 56
1522–1575; a retainer of the Takeda clan. An excellent and most trusted general of Takeda Shingen, killed in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.
Nakagawa Sohan Mitsushige – Article 30
1562–1614; Maeda Toshiie’s son in law and lord of Masuyam Castle in Ecchu province.
Naeo Yamashiro-no-kami Kanetsugu – Article 22
1560–1619; a retainer of Uesugi Kagekatsu of Echigo province. When Kagekatsu was transferred to Aizu with a fief of 1,200,000 koku by Hideyoshi, Kanetsugu (the samurai of this article) was given 60,000 koku in Yonezawa province. After Hideyoshi’s death, the Uesugi clan was attacked by Ieyasu in 1600 and surrendered. The Uesugi clan was again transferred to Yonezawa being curtailed to 300,000 koku. He died in Edo at the age of 60.
Narasaki Jubei – Article 4
Unknown dates; a retainer of Kobayakawa Takakage.
Narita Sukekuro – Article 30
Unknown dates; a retainer of Niwa Nagashige.
Natsuka Okura-no-tayu Masaie – Article 45
1562–1600; a retainer of Hideyoshi and one of the Five Commissioners of the Toyotomi administration. Lord of Minakuchi Castle with a fief of 120,000 koku. Defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara and killed himself at the age of 39.
Nihonmatsu Ukyo Yoshitsugu – Article 34
?–1585; lord of Nihonmatsu Castle, kidnapped Date Terumune and was killed by Terumune’s son, Date Masamune, in 1585, as described in Article 34.
Nishio Nizaemon – Articles 14 and 56
Unknown dates; a retainer of Matsudaira Tadanao.
Niwa Gorozaemon Nagashige – Article 8 and 30
1535–1585; a retainer of Oda Nobunaga and given Wakasa province in 1573. At the Incident of Honnoji and together with Hideyoshi, he hunted down and killed Akechi Mitsuhide. Afterwards, he was given the provinces Echizen, Wakasa and half of Kaga. He died from disease at the age of 51.
Nomoto Ukon – Articles 14 and 56
Unknown dates; a retainer to Matsudaira Tadanao of Echizen province.
Oda Hidenobu – Article 38
1580–1605; son of Oda Nobutada and grandson to Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi appointed him as inheritor of the Oda clan at the age of 3, but was considered Hideyoshi’s puppet. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the West side because he was invited to do so by Ishida Mitsunari, the commander of the West forces. He was fiercely attacked by Fukushima Masanori and surrendered. He became a monk and went to Mt Koya and died there at the age of 26.
Oda Nobunaga – Articles 9 and 57
1534–1582; born in Owari province he is one of Japan’s most famous samurai, practically uniting the country. From a mid-level family, the Oda clan, he started a campaign of war, pitching the Sengoku period into its most bloodthirsty time. His story is exciting, long and complex. However, after all the long years at war against multiple factions, he was betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide and he was caught by surprise in Honnoji temple, where he committed suicide in the burning temple; this is now known as the Honnoji Incident.
Oda Shichi-byoe Nobuzumi – Article 56
1555–1582; the nephew of Oda Nobunaga. Nobuzumi’s father was Nobunaga’s brother but was killed by Nobunaga on a charge of treason but Nobuzumi was raised by one of Nobunaga’s close retainers and the boy served Nobunaga. Nobuzumi was married to a daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide – who orchestrated the death of Nobunaga. At the Honnoji Incident where Nobunaga died, Nobuzumi was killed due to an alleged suspicion of secret communications with Akechi Mitsuhide pertaining to this incident.
Ogasawara Kento – Article 8
Unknown dates; a retainer to Nisa Nagashige.
Ogita Shume Nagashige – Article 56
1562–1641; a retainer of the Uesugi clan. At the war of Odate, which was conducted over the succession to the leadership of the Uesugi clan, he took sides with Uesugi Kagekatsu and killed Kagekatsu’s competitor, Uegusi Kagetora. After a period of being a ronin, he went into service for the Matsudaira clan of Echizen and, due to his achievements in the Sieges of Osaka Castle, he was given a fief of 25,000 koku.
Oka Chikuzen-no-kami – Article 41
Unknown dates; a retainer of Mouri Terumoto.
Ono Jin’nojo – Article 30
Unknown dates; a retainer of Ota Nagatomo.
Ono Shuri-no-suke – Article 46
?–1615; a close retainer of Hideyoshi and after Hideyoshi’s death, he served his son Hideyori. He was killed in the Summer Siege of Osaka Castle as he attempted to follow Hideyori to the grave. There was a rumour that he had illicit relations with Yodo-dono (Hideyoshi’s concubine) but there is no evidence for this.
Oroshi Hikozaemon – Articles 37 and 56
?–1582; a close retainer of Oda Nobunaga. He was killed in the Honnoji Incident.
Ota Dokan Mochisuke – Articles 1, 18 and 44
1432–1486; deputy to a Shugo governor of Musashi province and a senior councillor of the Ougiyatsu Uesugi clan. He built Edo Castle in 1457 – not the later one built by Tokugawa Ieyasu – and was assassinated on the order of Uesugi Sadamasa in 1486. He was also famous as a poet.
Otani Gyobu-no-sho Yoshitaka (also, Yoshitsugu) – Article 30
1559/65–1600; a close retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, given a fief of 50,000 koku he became the lord of Tsuruga Castle in Echizen province. After Hideyoshi’s death, he approached Tokugawa Ieyasu and he tried to persuade his close friend, Ishida Mitsunari, to follow Ieyasu. However, Ishida’s resolution was so firm that Otani joined the West side at the Battle of Sekigahara, together with his three sons, for the sake of their friendship. In the battle, Yoshitaka’s army was defeated owing to the betrayal of Kobayakawa Hideaki and so he killed himself at age of 42. His head was taken and buried by a retainer of his so that it could not be found by the enemy.
Ota Tajima-no-kami Nagatomo – Article 30
?–1602; a retainer of the Maeda clan and their premier senior. He was killed by the second senior councillor, Yokoyama Nagachika, by the order of Lord Maeda Toshinaga.
Otomo Shuri-no-tayu Yoshimune – Article 23
1558–1610; the twenty-second inheritor of the Otomo clan in Bungo province. After the Battle of Ishigakihara, he surrendered and was condemned to exile in Hitachi province. He died at the age of 53.
Ouchi Yoshitaka –
Articles 12, 27 and 49
1507–1551; the thirty-first inheritor of the Ouchi clan, a powerful Sengoku daimyo in west Honshu. His close retainer, Sue Takafusa, rebelled against him, which resulted in Yoshitaka killing himself at the age of 45.
Ozeki Iwami-no-kami – Article 39
1571-1618; a chief retainer to Fukushima Masanori and given a fief of 20,000 koku.
Reizei Hangan Takatoyo – Article 27
1513–1551; a retainer to OuchiTakafusa. He killed himself together with his lord, Yoshitaka, during the rebellion by Sue Takafusa.
Sakai Saemon-no-jo Tadatsugu – Article 57
1527–96; a chief retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa who were known as the Tokugawa Shitenno. The other three were Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa.
Sanada Genjiro Nobutada – Article 15
1547–1632; Sanada Yukitaka’s fourth son and uncle to Sanada Nobushige. A retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he fought against his nephew Sanada Nobushige in the Battle of Sekigahara.
Sanada Saemon-no-suke Nobushige – Articles 14 and 56
Samurai War Stories Page 15