At the age of 15, Hosokawa Tadaoki engaged in his first battle under the command of Oda Nobunaga. In 1580, he was granted the Tango domain in present-day northern Kyoto Prefecture and entered into an arranged marriage with the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide, another trusted general of Oda Nobunaga.
This strategic union aimed to fortify the bonds among Oda's vassals. However, when Mitsuhide betrayed and killed Nobunaga in the Honnoji Incident, seeking aid from Tadaoki and his father Fujitaka, both refused to assist. Tadaoki later fought alongside Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Battle of Komaki Nagakute in 1584 and participated in the Siege of Odawara against the Hojo Clan in 1590.
Renowned for his literary and poetic prowess, Tadaoki, like his father Yusai, was a skilled practitioner of the tea ceremony, having studied under the esteemed tea master Sen no Rikyu. Despite his proficiency in cultured pursuits, Tadaoki was known for his formidable temper.
In 1600, leading up to the Battle of Sekigahara, Tadaoki and his father aligned with the Tokugawa, driven in part by the Western forces' attempt to take Tadaoki's wife, Gracia, hostage, resulting in her tragic death during an attack on their mansion by Ishida Mitsunari's forces. Tadaoki's father defended Tanabe Castle against a substantial Western force, preventing them from joining the main conflict at Sekigahara.
Commanding a force of 5,000 samurai at Sekigahara, Tadaoki engaged in intense hand-to-hand combat, directly clashing with Shima Sakon's troops near the Toyotomi Loyalists' base on Mt Sasao. Post-Sekigahara, Tadaoki received land in Kokura and participated in the Sieges of Osaka in 1614 and 1615 before retiring in 1620. He passed away at the age of 82 and was laid to rest at Kyoto's Daitoku-ji Temple, beside his wife, Gracia. Following her death, he remained single for 46 years.
See also
Nobuzane was the seventh son of Takeda Nobutora and the half-brother of the famous Takeda Shingen. The identity of his mother is unknown, as is the exact year of his birth. It is believed that he was born sometime in the 1530s. When Nobuzane reached adulthood, he was sent to the village of Kawakubo, located in the northern part of Kai Province near the border with the Saku region. His duty was to guard the road leading north. In that village, he built a residence and changed his family name to Kawakubo. Imagawa Sadayo was one of the most outstanding figures of his era. Alongside Kusunoki Masashige and Kitabatake Chikafusa, he was considered one of the greatest generals and strategists of his time. In addition to his military talents, Sadayo was also a poet and historian, and his literary abilities earned him a prominent place at court and in scholarly circles. Motosuke was the son of Ikeda Tsunooki and the older brother of the famous military commander Ikeda Terumasa. Sources differ on his year of birth—it was either 1559 or 1564. Motosuke was married to the sister of Oda Nobutada, the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga. Thus, Nobutada's son, Oda Hidenobu, was his nephew. Moritsuna was the son of Watanabe Takatsuna, a vassal of the Matsudaira clan. He was the same age as Tokugawa Ieyasu and was held hostage with him by the Imagawa clan. In 1557, Moritsuna joined Ieyasu. He was also known as Ban Danemon. In the early stages of his military career, he served under Kato Yoshiaki, one of the so-called “Seven Spears of Shizugatake,” who later became the ruler of the Aizu region in Mutsu Province. Naoyuki held the position of commander of the arquebusiers (teppo taishō). The Asakura family, who claimed kinship with several emperors, lived in the province of Echizen. Its representatives were considered hereditary vassals of the Shiba clan. From the mid-15th century until their defeat by Oda Nobunaga's army in 1573, which resulted in the final destruction of the Asakura clan, they were a significant military and economic force. Yoshikage was the eldest son of Asakura Takakage. He began ruling in 1548 at the age of fifteen, and during his reign he twice defeated the Ikko-ikki forces, in 1555 and 1564. Yoshikage supported the Saito family in their struggle against Oda Nobunaga in 1561–1567. When Ashikaga Yoshiaki fled Kyoto in 1565 after the assassination of his older brother, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Yoshikage gave him refuge. However, he was unable to provide sufficient support for Yoshiaki's claim to the title of shogun, and Yoshiaki had to seek help from Oda Nobunaga. Norikage came from the ancient samurai clan of Asakura, whose members considered themselves descendants of Prince Kusakabe, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). He was the eighth son of daimyo Asakura Takakage and was named Kotaro in childhood. Over time, Asakura Norikage became the pillar of the Asakura clan and was undoubtedly its most talented commander during that difficult period when the clan was experiencing internal difficulties, uprisings by the Ikko-ikki sect, and instability in the lands surrounding the capital. Although Norikage himself was never a daimyo, he served as an advisor to three generations of Asakura clan leaders. He spent his entire life on military campaigns. After his father's death in 1481, Norikage entered the service of his brother, Asakura Ujikage.
Kawakubo (Takeda) Nobuzane
Imagawa Sadayo
Ikeda Motosuke
Watanabe (Hanzo) Moritsuna
Ban Naoyuki
Asakura Toshikage
Asakura Yoshikage
Asakura Norikage
