Saito Dosan, renowned as the "Viper of Mino," deviated from the traditional samurai path, beginning his journey as a monk. Born in Yamashiro Province, located in the southern Kyoto region, Dosan amassed wealth as an oil merchant before serving under Nagai Nagahiro in Mino (Gifu). Eventually, he became a devoted retainer of Toki Yorinari, the Governor of Mino, ultimately seizing control from the Toki clan and rising to power in Mino.
With his stronghold at Inabayama Castle, later renamed Gifu Castle, Dosan achieved a significant victory in 1547 by defeating Oda Nobuhide, father of the renowned Nobunaga, in the Battle of Kanoguchi near the Entoku-ji Temple in Gifu City’s Moto-machi area. This triumph elevated Dosan's stature nationally and paved the way for an alliance between his daughter, No-hime, and Nobuhide’s son, Nobunaga, through marriage.
However, despite his reputation for employing ruthless tactics, Dosan's reign came to an end when his own son, Yoshitatsu, ousted him in the Battle of Nagaragawa in 1556. Speculations surrounding Yoshitatsu's legitimacy as Dosan's son and rumors of Dosan's intentions to pass control of Mino to another son or his son-in-law, Nobunaga, fueled the conflict. Yoshitatsu, entrenched in Sagiyama Castle, rallied the majority of the Saito clan's samurai, numbering around 17,500, against Dosan's 2,700 loyal followers. Unfortunately for Dosan, support troops dispatched by Nobunaga arrived too late to alter the battle's outcome.
Following his defeat, Komaki Genta claimed Dosan's head, which now rests at Jozai-ji Temple in Gifu, near Gifu Castle, marking the conclusion of Dosan's tumultuous life at the age of 62.
See also
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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.
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Hosokawa Sumimoto
Sumimoto came from the Hosokawa clan: he was the biological son of Hosokawa Yoshiharu and at the same time the adopted son of Hosokawa Masamoto, the heir of Hosokawa Katsumoto, one of the principal instigators of the Ōnin War. Masamoto was homosexual, never married, and had no children of his own. At first he adopted Sumiyuki, a scion of the aristocratic Kujō family, but this choice provoked dissatisfaction and sharp criticism from the senior vassals of the Hosokawa house. As a result, Masamoto changed his decision and proclaimed Sumimoto as his heir, a representative of a collateral branch of the Hosokawa clan that had long been based in Awa Province on the island of Shikoku. Almost immediately after this, the boy became entangled in a complex and bitter web of political intrigue.
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Honda Masanobu
Masanobu initially belonged to the retinue of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but later entered the service of Sakai Shōgen, a daimyo and priest from Ueno. This shift automatically made him an enemy of Ieyasu, who was engaged in conflict with the Ikkō-ikki movement in Mikawa Province. After the Ikkō-ikki were defeated in 1564, Masanobu was forced to flee, but in time he returned and once again entered Ieyasu’s service. He did not gain fame as a military commander due to a wound sustained in his youth; nevertheless, over the following fifty years he consistently remained loyal to Ieyasu.
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Honda Masazumi
Masazumi was the eldest son of Honda Masanobu. From a young age, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu alongside his father, taking part in the affairs of the Tokugawa house and gradually gaining experience in both military and administrative matters. At the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Masazumi was part of the core Tokugawa forces, a clear sign of the high level of trust Ieyasu placed in him. After the campaign ended, he was given a highly sensitive assignment—serving in the guard of the defeated Ishida Mitsunari, one of Tokugawa’s principal enemies—an obligation that required exceptional reliability and caution.
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Hojo Shigetoki
Hōjō Shigetoki, the third son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, was still very young—only five years old—when his grandfather Tokimasa became the first member of the Hōjō clan to assume the position of shogunal regent.
