Okubo Tadayo (1532 – October 28, 1594) was a samurai general who served Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and later became the daimyo of Odawara Domain in the early Edo period.
Born in Mikawa Province (modern-day Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture), Tadayo was the eldest son of Okubo Tadakazu, a hereditary retainer of the Tokugawa clan. He was also known by the nickname "Shinjuro." As one of Ieyasu’s sixteen generals, he was entrusted with the defense of Futamata Castle in Totomi Province and played a key role in several major battles.
In 1564, Tadayo fought in the Battle of Azukizaka against the Ikko-ikki in Mikawa Province. During the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573, he and Amano Yasukage led a small but effective group of Tokugawa foot soldiers and matchlock gunners in a surprise attack on the Takeda camp, causing confusion in their ranks.
In 1574, when Oga Yashiro, a minor Tokugawa official, was discovered plotting with the Takeda clan to overthrow Ieyasu, Tadayo was tasked with eliminating him. Acting on orders from the Okazaki magistrate, Ooka Tadasuke, Tadayo swiftly captured Yashiro, paraded him through Hamamatsu Castle, and then carried out a brutal execution—mutilating him alive with a saw. He also ordered the crucifixion of Yashiro’s wife and children as a warning to other would-be traitors.
Tadayo accompanied Ieyasu in nearly all of his military campaigns, including the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. Following Oda Nobunaga’s assassination in 1582, Ieyasu expanded his control into Shinano Province, assigning Tadayo to oversee operations from Komoro Castle.
After the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As a reward for his service, Tadayo was elevated to the rank of daimyo and granted Odawara Domain, with an income of 45,000 koku. He ruled there until his death in 1594, after which his son, Okubo Tadachika, succeeded him.
See also
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Torii Mototada
Torii Mototada (1539 – September 8, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and daimyo who lived through the Sengoku and late Azuchi–Momoyama periods. A loyal retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is best remembered for his heroic last stand at the Siege of Fushimi, an event that played a crucial role in shaping Japanese history.
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Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori (August 28, 1593 – June 4, 1615) was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first unified Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was Oda Nobunaga's niece.
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Okubo Tadanori
Okubo Tadanori (January 13, 1842 – August 10, 1897) was the 9th daimyo of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) during the late Edo period. Before the Meiji Restoration, he held the courtesy title of Kaga no Kami.
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Araki Murashige
Araki Murashige (1535 – June 20, 1586) was a samurai and retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, the head of the powerful Settsu-Ikeda clan in Settsu Province. Initially serving under Katsumasa, he aligned himself with Oda Nobunaga after Nobunaga’s successful campaign to establish control over Kyoto.
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Yuki Hideyasu
Yuki Hideyasu (March 1, 1574 – June 2, 1607) was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods, serving as the daimyō of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. Born Tokugawa Ogimaru, he was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Oman (also known as Lady Kogō), a handmaiden to Ieyasu’s wife, Lady Tsukiyama. Due to Ieyasu’s fears of his wife’s reaction to Oman’s pregnancy, Ogimaru and his twin brother were born in secrecy at the home of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu’s retainers. Oman’s other son eventually became a priest, while Ogimaru was raised apart from Ieyasu, whom he only met at the age of three, in a meeting arranged by his older half-brother, Matsudaira Nobuyasu.
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
