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.
Motosuke served Oda Nobunaga from an early age. The first mention of his participation in battles dates back to the siege of Itami Castle in 1578. In 1580, Motosuke participated alongside his father and younger brother in the campaign against Araki Murashige. After defeating Araki Motokiyo in the Battle of Hanakuma Castle, he was personally recognized by Oda Nobunaga. As a token of gratitude, Nobunaga presented him with a thoroughbred horse.
In February 1581, Motosuke took part in the Imperial Horse Parade in Kyoto organized by Nobunaga. After that, he left his father and began to act independently as one of the generals of the Ikeda clan. In the same year, on the orders of Oda Nobunaga, Motosuke, together with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, invaded the province of Awaji and laid siege to Iwaya Castle. After their opponent, Atagi Kiyoyasu, surrendered, Toyotomi's troops left the province, while the Ikeda soldiers remained in the conquered territory.
After the betrayal of Akechi Mitsuhide and the death of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, Ikeda Tsuneoki met with Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Himeji Castle and concluded an alliance agreement with him. Tsuneoki and Motosuke then fought against Akechi's troops in the Battle of Yamazaki. In the subsequent wars over Nobunaga's inheritance, Ikeda Motosuke supported Toyotomi Hideyoshi and participated in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583.
At the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute in 1584, Motosuke fought against the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and was killed along with his father and half-brother Mori Nagayoshi.
See also
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Takeda Nobuyoshi
Takeda Nobuyoshi (1128–1186 or later) was a prominent Japanese samurai lord of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and the founder of the Takeda clan.
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Tokugawa Iemochi
Tokugawa Iemochi (1846–1866) was the fourteenth shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1858 until his death. His reign came during the turbulent final years of the shogunate, when Japan faced growing Western pressure and serious internal political conflict.
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Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari (1773–1841) was the eleventh shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1787 to 1837, making him the longest-serving Tokugawa shōgun. He was a great-grandson of the eighth shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshimune.
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Matsudaira Nobuyasu
Matsudaira Nobuyasu was only twenty years old when his father ordered him to commit seppuku. The reason was not a defeat in battle, but a crisis inside the Tokugawa family that had become too dangerous to ignore.
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Yamagata Masakage
Masakage was one of Takeda Shingen’s most loyal and capable commanders. He was included in the famous list of the “Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen” and also belonged to the inner circle of four especially trusted warlords known as the Shitennō.
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Yagyu Munenori
Yagyū Munenori began his service under Tokugawa Ieyasu while his father, Yagyū Muneyoshi, was still at his side. In 1600, Munenori took part in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. As early as 1601, he was appointed a kenjutsu instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son, who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
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Yagyu Muneyoshi
A samurai from Yamato Province, he was born into a family that had been defeated in its struggle against the Tsutsui clan. Muneyoshi first took part in battle at the age of sixteen. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to enter the service of the Tsutsui house and later served Miyoshi Tōkei. He subsequently came under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and in time became a vassal first of Oda and later of Toyotomi.
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Endo Naozune
Naozune served under Azai Nagamasa and was one of the clan’s leading vassals, renowned for his bravery and determination. He accompanied Nagamasa during his first meeting with Oda Nobunaga and at that time asked for permission to kill Nobunaga, fearing him as an extremely dangerous man; however, Nagamasa did not grant this request.
