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.
In 1573, Murashige was appointed as the daimyō of Ibaraki Castle and gained further recognition through his military exploits across Japan. In 1571, he and Nakagawa Kiyohide killed Wada Koremasa, a senior retainer of the Ashikaga shogunate, at the Battle of Shiraigawara. Three years later, in 1574, he assisted Hashiba Hideyoshi in capturing Arioka Castle (Itami Castle) from Itami Chikaoki, after which Nobunaga awarded him control over the castle.
Murashige played a key role in Nobunaga’s campaigns, commanding troops during the decade-long siege of Ishiyama Honganji. However, in 1578, during the Siege of Miki, he was accused of harboring sympathies toward the Mōri clan, a major enemy of Nobunaga. He retreated to Itami Castle (in present-day Hyōgo Prefecture), where he withstood a year-long siege before the castle fell in 1579.
Despite his defeat, Murashige managed to escape and spent the remainder of his life as a devoted disciple of Sen no Rikyū, the legendary tea master. He took the tea name "Dokun" and became a respected tea practitioner. Rikyū shared some of his most profound teachings with Murashige, including the well-known manuscript Araki Settsu Kami-ate Densho. In the Teaist Genealogy of All Generations Past and Present (Kokin Chajin Keifu), Murashige is listed among Rikyū’s Seven Sages.
In 1580, he was besieged at Hanakuma Castle by Ikeda Tsuneoki, another of Nobunaga’s generals. Though he managed to escape once again, he ultimately defected to the Mōri clan, while Tsuneoki took over his former domain.
A semi-legendary tale speaks of Murashige’s resourcefulness in evading an assassination attempt by Nobunaga. Summoned by Nobunaga under suspicion of treason, Murashige bowed low at the threshold before entering the room. Sensing a trap, he discreetly placed his iron war fan (tessen) in the sliding door’s groove, preventing it from being slammed shut to break his neck. With his ruse exposed, Nobunaga was forced to abandon the assassination attempt, and reconciliation followed.
Murashige’s son, raised under his mother’s name, became the renowned artist Iwasa Matabei.
See also
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Matsudaira Nagachika
Matsudaira Nagachika (1473–1544?) was a daimyō of Japan’s Sengoku period and the third son of Matsudaira Chikatada. He was also the great-grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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Oishi Yoshio
Oishi Yoshio (April 24, 1659 – March 20, 1703) served as the chamberlain of the Ako Domain in Harima Province, now part of modern-day Hyogo Prefecture, from 1679 to 1701. He is best known as the leader of the Forty-seven Rōnin in their 1703 vendetta and is honored as the central figure in the legendary tale of Chūshingura.
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Asano Nagaakira
Asano Nagaakira (March 18, 1586 – October 16, 1632) was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the early Edo period. He initially ruled Wakayama Domain before being transferred to the Hiroshima Domain, where his family would remain until the Meiji Restoration.
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Takigawa Kazumasu
Takigawa Kazumasu (1525 – October 21, 1586), also known as Takikawa Sakon or Sakonshogen, was a prominent samurai and daimyō of the Sengoku period. He served as a loyal retainer and military commander under Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, the elder brother of Maeda Toshiie, and Kazumasu served alongside Toshiie in Nobunaga’s campaigns.
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Sanada Yukitaka
Sanada Yukitaka (c. 1512 – June 8, 1574) was a renowned samurai warrior of the Sengoku period, best known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen." He was the father of Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masayuki, as well as the grandfather of the legendary Sanada Yukimura, who later served the Toyotomi clan.
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Torii Mototada
Torii Mototada (1539 – September 8, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and daimyo who lived through the Sengoku and late Azuchi–Momoyama periods. A loyal retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is best remembered for his heroic last stand at the Siege of Fushimi, an event that played a crucial role in shaping Japanese history.
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Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori (August 28, 1593 – June 4, 1615) was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first unified Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was Oda Nobunaga's niece.
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Okubo Tadanori
Okubo Tadanori (January 13, 1842 – August 10, 1897) was the 9th daimyo of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) during the late Edo period. Before the Meiji Restoration, he held the courtesy title of Kaga no Kami.
