Akiyama Nobutomo (1527 – December 28, 1575) was a prominent samurai during Japan's Sengoku period. He is renowned as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen" and also served under Shingen's successor, Takeda Katsuyori.
Nobutomo was born in 1527 at Tsutsujigasaki Castle in Kai province. His father, Akiyama Nobutou, hailed from a cadet branch of the Takeda clan and was a descendant of Takeda Mitsutomo. When Nobutomo reached adulthood, he entered the service of Takeda Shingen, the leader of the clan and ruler of Kai province in central Japan's mountainous region. In 1547, during the campaign for the Ina district, Nobutomo distinguished himself in battle and was granted a fief in the northern half of Ina, which corresponds to present-day Kamiina District in Nagano prefecture. Nobutomo's military prowess earned him the nickname Takeda no Mogyu.
By 1568, Nobutomo had gained enough respect to be entrusted with diplomatic missions. In that year, he represented his lord, Takeda Shingen, at the wedding ceremony of Oda Nobutada, the eldest son of Nobunaga, and Matsuhime, the daughter of Shingen, held at Gifu Castle.
In 1571, as part of Takeda Shingen's campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobutomo was called back from Iida Castle to lead an invasion of Mino province. His progress was halted by Saigo Yoshikatsu's forces from the Saigo clan. The Battle of Takehiro ensued, resulting in Yoshikatsu's death, but Nobutomo was compelled to retreat.
In 1572, as the Takeda clan launched another campaign, culminating in the Battle of Mikatagahara in January 1573, Nobutomo descended from the north to cut off escape routes and block reinforcements. He laid siege to Iwamura Castle, which eventually surrendered through negotiations with Lady Otsuya, widow of Toyama Kagetou. This strategic move secured Nobutomo's position and aligned Lady Otsuya with him, ultimately resulting in her marriage to Nobutomo.
After Takeda Shingen's passing in 1573, Nobutomo continued to support Shingen's son, Takeda Katsuyori, in his military endeavors.
In 1575, Katsuyori suffered a devastating loss at the Battle of Nagashino, leaving Nobutomo isolated at Iwamura Castle without reinforcement. Despite enduring repeated sieges by Oda Nobutada's forces, Nobutomo and his troops held out until November when Oda Nobunaga arrived with the main army. Realizing that further resistance was futile, Nobutomo signed a truce to surrender the castle. Tragically, Nobunaga violated the truce, resulting in the execution of Nobutomo, his wife (Nobunaga's aunt), and the garrison troops.
On December 28, 1575, Nobutomo and his wife, Lady Otsuya, met their end through crucifixion on the banks of the Nagara River. His holdings in Shinano were then inherited by his eldest son, Akiyama Katsuhisa.
See also
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Araki Murashige
Araki Murashige (1535 – June 20, 1586) was a samurai and retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, the head of the powerful Settsu-Ikeda clan in Settsu Province. Initially serving under Katsumasa, he aligned himself with Oda Nobunaga after Nobunaga’s successful campaign to establish control over Kyoto.
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Yuki Hideyasu
Yuki Hideyasu (March 1, 1574 – June 2, 1607) was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods, serving as the daimyō of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. Born Tokugawa Ogimaru, he was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Oman (also known as Lady Kogō), a handmaiden to Ieyasu’s wife, Lady Tsukiyama. Due to Ieyasu’s fears of his wife’s reaction to Oman’s pregnancy, Ogimaru and his twin brother were born in secrecy at the home of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu’s retainers. Oman’s other son eventually became a priest, while Ogimaru was raised apart from Ieyasu, whom he only met at the age of three, in a meeting arranged by his older half-brother, Matsudaira Nobuyasu.
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
