Honda Masashige, the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu's trusted advisor Honda Masanobu, began his service alongside his father under Tokugawa Ieyasu and later his son, the future second Shogun, Hidetada. At the age of 18 in 1597, Masashige was involved in a fatal dispute with Okabe Souhachi, leading him to flee. He then served daimyo Otani Yoshitsugu for two years, followed by two years under Ukita Hideie. Despite his unconventional path, his esteemed family name and warrior reputation opened doors to various positions.
Over the next 14 years, Masashige served different lords in seven regions, ultimately establishing the Kaga Honda branch in present-day Ishikawa Prefecture. The Battle of Sekigahara in late 1600 divided the nation into two factions, East led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and West led by Ishida Mitsunari. Despite fighting for the opposition, Masashige's exceptional performance caught the attention of Ieyasu.
The Western forces were defeated, and Lord Ukita Hideie fled to safety, while Masashige sought refuge in Omi Province (now Shiga Prefecture). He received offers from Lord Kobayakawa Hideaki and Lord Maeda Toshinaga before joining Lord Fukushima Masanori. Two years later, he accepted a significant position with Maeda Toshinaga, bridging the Maeda and Tokugawa houses.
In 1604, Masashige left the Maeda clan to become Chief Retainer to the daimyo of Echigo, Uesugi Kagekatsu. He married the daughter of Uesugi's top general Naoe Kanetsugu, aiming to strengthen relations between the Uesugi and Tokugawa clans. After rebuilding trust, he amicably parted ways with the Uesugi and returned to the Maeda clan in 1611, becoming the first head of the Kaga Honda clan.
In 1614, he participated in the Winter Siege of Osaka, facing off against and ultimately losing to Sanada Nobushige (Yukimura) near the Sanada Maru complex south of Osaka Castle.
The unconventional samurai, Honda Masashige, passed away at the age of 68 in 1647. He bore witness to the final major battles of the late Sengoku period, the end of Japan's civil war era, and served as a peacemaker between some of the most significant clans in Japanese history.
See also
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
