Niwa Nagahide, born in 1535 in Aichi, Owari Province (present-day Nishi-ku in Nagoya City), played a crucial role in the historical landscape of feudal Japan. Directly serving Oda Nobunaga, he earned a distinguished position as one of Nobunaga's most esteemed senior vassals.
Throughout his career, Nagahide actively participated in numerous significant battles, showcasing his unwavering loyalty. The Battle of Nagakute in 1584 stands as an exception, as illness prevented his direct involvement in the fighting during that campaign.
Nobunaga held Nagahide in high regard, exemplified by Nagahide's marriage to Nobunaga's adopted daughter. Additionally, his son, Nagashige, wed Nobunaga's fourth daughter. In recognition of his leadership prowess, Nagahide was granted Wakasa Province (currently southern Fukui Prefecture) and Sawayama Castle in Omi (Shiga Prefecture). Nobunaga entrusted him with the construction of Azuchi Castle, showcasing the deep trust between lord and vassal.
A significant honor came in 1581 when Niwa Nagahide was selected to lead a grand military parade orchestrated by Nobunaga. This spectacle served both as a demonstration of authority and as public entertainment for the Emperor, the Imperial Court, foreign missionaries, and the people of Kyoto.
Tragedy struck in 1582 when Nagahide accompanied Oda Nobutaka on a campaign to quell Shikoku, following Nobunaga's orders. However, the campaign was abruptly halted by the Honno-ji Incident, where Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed and felled Nobunaga. Promptly abandoning the campaign, Nagahide joined forces with Toyotomi Hideyoshi to avenge their fallen master. He continued to support Hideyoshi during the Kiyosu Kaigi, a pivotal meeting held at Kiyosu Castle to determine the future of the Oda clan.
Nagahide played a crucial role in the conflict against Shibata Katsuie at Shizugatake under Hideyoshi's leadership. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded Echizen and Kaga Provinces (present-day Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures), attaining daimyo status with an income of 1,230,000 koku.
Regrettably, Niwa Nagahide passed away on May 15, 1585. While some records attribute his death to illness, others suggest that he committed seppuku, driven by a sense of guilt for inadvertently playing a significant role in Hideyoshi's rise to power within the Oda clan.
See also
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Nambu Nobunao
The Nambu clan was an ancient and powerful family that traced its lineage back to the Minamoto shoguns and had controlled a significant part of the Tohoku region in northern Honshu since the 12th century. Nobunao was born in Ikatai Castle, located in what is now the city of Iwate. He was the second son of Ishikawa (Nambu) Takanobu, the 22nd head of the Nambu clan. In 1565, Nobunao’s uncle, Nambu Harumasa, adopted him, brought him to Sannohe Castle, and named him his heir, later giving his daughter in marriage to him.
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Naito Ienaga
Ienaga was the son of Naitō Kiyonaga and served Tokugawa Ieyasu from an early age. Like his father, he was exceptionally brave, and thanks to his remarkable skill with the bow, he earned the nickname “the unrivaled archer.” Although both the elder and the younger Naitō belonged to the Jōdo Shinshū (“True Pure Land”) sect, during the Ikkō-ikki uprising in Mikawa Province in 1565, Ienaga did not support his fellow believers and instead sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu, earning his special trust. He later took part in the battles of Mikatagahara, Nagashino, and many other engagements while accompanying Ieyasu.
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and his second wife, Tokiwa Gozen, as well as the younger half-brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the first shogunate, who had once suffered defeat in the struggle against the Taira clan. Yoshitsune spent his childhood in exile at the Kuramayama Temple. According to legend, he studied not so much Buddhist sutras there as the arts of war. At the age of fifteen, he entered the service of the governor in Mutsu, Fujiwara Hidehira.
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Miyoshi Chokei
The eldest son of Miyoshi Nagamoto (Motonaga), at the age of seventeen and with the support of Miyoshi Masanaga and Matsunaga Hisahide, invaded Kinai, the inner provinces of Japan, and in 1539 seized control of Kyoto. In 1543 he expelled Hosokawa Ujitsuna from the commercial city of Sakai and appointed his own brother, Sōgo Kazunari, as the city’s new leader. In 1548 he took the name Chōkei. When a conflict arose between him and Masanaga, Chōkei appealed to his liege lord, Hosokawa Harumoto, asking him to raise troops in the provinces of Settsu, Izumi, and Kawachi, but Harumoto instead chose to ally with Masanaga against Chōkei.
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Matsudaira Ietada
Matsudaira Ietada, also known as Tomomo-no Suke, was the eldest son of Matsudaira Koretada, the head of the Fukozu branch of the Matsudaira clan. Ietada was born in 1555 at Fukozu Castle. When he reached adulthood (for samurai children this age range was between 11 and 17), the Fukozu-Matsudaira clan was under the authority of Tokugawa Ieyasu and commanded by Sakai Tadatsugu. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, Tadatsugu’s unit, which included both Ietada and his father, took part in the assault on the fort on Mount Tobigasu-yama. During the fighting, Koretada was killed, and twenty-year-old Ietada became the new head of the clan.
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Matsudaira Tadaakira
Tadaakira was the fourth son of Okudaira Nobumasa, a vassal of the Tokugawa clan, and his mother was Kame, the eldest daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1588, Tadaakira was adopted by Ieyasu and received the Matsudaira family name; at that time, he bore the name Kiyotada.
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Mashita Nagamori
Nagamori possessed remarkable diplomatic and administrative talent while remaining a brave warrior. He is believed to have come from the village of Mashita in the province of Owari, which today is part of Aichi Prefecture. He was a vassal of Oda Nobunaga and later served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Battle of Komaki–Nagakute in 1584, Nagamori took at least two enemy heads. Later, he was entrusted with overseeing major public construction projects, including the reconstruction of Fushimi Castle and the building of the large Sanjō and Gojō bridges in Kyoto.
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Magara Jurōzaemon Naotaka
Magara Jurōzaemon Naotaka was a vassal of Asakura Yoshikage from the province of Echizen, and very little is known about his life, including even the exact year of his birth. Magara gained his renown through his heroic death at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. In this battle, the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu confronted the armies of Asai and Asakura, with Ieyasu taking command of the left flank and fighting against the Asakura forces. After crossing the shallow Anegawa River, which separated the two armies, Tokugawa’s finest generals — Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa — launched an assault on the headquarters of Asakura Kagetake, the commander-in-chief of the Echizen army. The attack by Honda Tadakatsu was so swift that Kagetake found himself almost completely surrounded by enemy troops.
