There are several versions regarding the origins of Takenori. According to one account, he was the second son of Kasuya Tadayasu, a samurai who served the Bessho clan in Harima Province. In 1577, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched his campaign in Harima, on the advice of his close retainer Kuroda Yoshitaka, also known as Kanbei, he took Takenori into his service as a page. In this position, the young warrior participated in the siege of Miki Castle, which lasted from 1578 to 1580 and was aimed at suppressing the rebellion led by Bessho Nagaharu.
In 1583, during the Battle of Shizugatake, Takenori served as one of Hideyoshi’s bodyguards. When the fighting reached its decisive moment, Toyotomi ordered his guards to charge into battle. Those who displayed the greatest bravery were honored with the prestigious title of the “Seven Spears of Shizugatake” (“Shizugatake no Shichihon Yari”). Among the distinguished warriors was Kasuya Takenori himself. For his valor, his stipend was increased to 3,000 koku of rice.
During the Komaki-Nagakute campaign of 1584, Takenori, together with the other members of the “Seven Spears,” served in an elite unit of 150 cavalrymen assigned to guard the main command post. Later, during the Kyushu campaign in 1587, he was once again called to serve in the same bodyguard detachment.
Kasuya also took part in overseas expeditions. In 1592, he fought in Korea, distinguishing himself during the siege of Jinju Castle. Upon his return to Japan, his income was significantly increased as a reward for his service.
In the famous Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Takenori was the only one among the “Seven Spears” who did not side with Tokugawa Ieyasu. He remained loyal to the Western Army under Ishida Mitsunari and took part in the assault on Fushimi Castle.
After the defeat of the Western forces and the rise of Tokugawa rule, Kasuya’s lands were confiscated. However, some time later, Takenori was pardoned and accepted into Tokugawa’s service, receiving an annual stipend of 500 koku of rice as recognition for his loyalty and past achievements.
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.
