Katsumoto was born into the family of Katagiri Naomasa, who came from an ancient and noble lineage. The Katagiri clan had served the early shoguns of the Minamoto house for over five centuries and held lands in the northern part of Shinano Province.
From a young age, Katsumoto served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and first distinguished himself in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583. For his bravery, he was included in the famous group known as the “Seven Spears of Shizugatake” (“Shizugatake no Shichihon Yari”). In 1587, he took part in the campaign to conquer Kyushu and was rewarded with land in the Ibaraki area of Settsu Province.
Despite his noble birth and military accomplishments, Katsumoto’s career advanced more slowly than that of other members of the “Seven Spears,” such as Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori. Hideyoshi preferred to keep him in Osaka and did not send him to distant campaigns. After Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, the position of official guardian to his young heir, Toyotomi Hideyori, was first given to Maeda Toshiie, but after Toshiie’s death the following year, Katsumoto assumed the role. Along with this position, he received an income of 28,000 koku of rice from his estate in Tatsuta, located in Yamato Province.
During the Sekigahara campaign in 1600, Katsumoto maintained a neutral stance. Nevertheless, after the Eastern Army’s victory, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted him new lands and increased his stipend. Soon after, Katsumoto was appointed chamberlain to the Toyotomi family — though some sources describe his role as that of chief of staff. For the next fifteen years, he worked tirelessly to mediate peace between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Yodo (Yodogimi), the mother of Toyotomi Hideyori.
Following the peace agreement that concluded the so-called “Winter Campaign of Osaka” in 1615, Tokugawa forces began filling in the moats around Osaka Castle, claiming the fortifications were no longer necessary after the peace settlement. Lady Yodo accused Katagiri Katsumoto of disloyalty to the Toyotomi family and dismissed him from service. He retired to his estate, but during the subsequent siege of Osaka later that same year, part of his retainers fought on the side of the Tokugawa.
Katsumoto died twenty days after the fall of Osaka Castle. It is widely believed that he committed suicide, filled with regret for failing to reconcile the two opposing factions. His direct family line ended in the 17th century, but the descendants of his younger brother continued to bear the Katagiri name. They retained the status of daimyō until the Meiji Restoration and later held the aristocratic title of viscounts (shishaku) until the abolition of the peerage system in 1946.
See also
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Kasuya Takenori
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.
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Kajiwara Kagetoki
One of the finest generals and most loyal allies of Minamoto no Yoritomo, Kagetoki gained a notorious reputation as a jealous rival and persecutor of Yoshitsune, the legendary commander of the Genpei War. Kagetoki was an intelligent, calculating, and cautious man.
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Kawakubo (Takeda) Nobuzane
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.
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Imagawa Sadayo
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.
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Ikeda Motosuke
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.
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Watanabe (Hanzo) Moritsuna
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.
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Ban Naoyuki
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).
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Asakura Toshikage
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.
