Arima Toyouji was a prominent figure in the late Sengoku and early Edo periods, holding the titles of Daimyo and Lord of Tamba Fukuchiyama. He also had the distinction of being the inaugural Lord of Kurume Domain. Born in Mitsuda Castle at Miki, Arima-gun, Harima Province (present-day Hyogo Prefecture), Toyouji's early years were marked by service to the daimyo Watarase Shigeaki, where he held the position of chief councilor. This allegiance remained until the Watarase clan's involvement in the Toyotomi Hidetsugu incident of 1595, which culminated in their collective seppuku. Subsequently, Toyouji realigned himself with Hideyoshi, earning him a stipend of 30,000 koku and lands in Totomi (now Shizuoka Prefecture).
During Hideyoshi’s Korean Campaign, Toyouji dispatched a contingent of 200 men to safeguard Nagoya Castle in Kyushu. Following Hideyoshi's passing, he allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu and led 900 troops in the Battle of Sekigahara. This included a pre-battle assault on Gifu Castle and active involvement in the main confrontation itself.
For his exceptional contributions, Toyouji received the newly established Tamba Fukuchiyama domain, along with an allocation of 60,000 koku. He further distinguished himself in the 1614 winter Siege of Osaka.
Earlier, in 1606, he had been called upon to contribute manpower, resources, and funds for the reconstruction of Edo Castle’s central Honmaru precincts. The following year, similar requests were made for Sunpu Castle, and in 1618, Osaka Castle also received his support. These ventures, while commendable, placed considerable strain on the domain's finances.
Due to their commendable service, the Arima clan was relocated to Kurume Domain in late 1620, receiving an endowment of 210,000 koku. Adhering to the newly enforced Tokugawa law, which permitted only one castle per domain, Arima initiated the reconstruction of Kurume Castle. Salvaging components from the now-defunct Enokizu and Fukushima Castles, he simultaneously improved economic conditions for all within his domain.
Despite his advancing age, between December 1637 and April 1638, Arima Toyouji led 6,300 men in the Shimabara Rebellion under the Tokugawa banner.
Arima Toyouji was not solely a warrior, but a man of culture, distinguished as one of the Seven Great Followers of Sen No Rikyu. He was also an adherent of Zen Buddhism and a scholar of Confucianism.
Upon his demise at the age of 74, two of his most trusted advisors followed suit, committing Junshi—a form of ritual suicide—to serve their lord in the afterlife. His son, Tadayori, assumed leadership of the clan.
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.
