Sakuma Morishige, also known as Daigaku, served as a samurai and held mastery over Gokiso Nishi Castle, which is now known as Biyo Shrine in Nagoya City, during the Sengoku (Warring States) period. Initially, he served under Oda Nobunaga’s younger brother, Nobuyuki, and later directly under Nobunaga himself. His presence is documented in the Shincho-Koki, the Chronicles of Lord Nobunaga, where he is noted to have attended the funeral of Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga’s father, in 1552.
Before the Battle of Ino in 1556, where Nobunaga clashed with his brother, Nobunaga erected Fort Nazuka in Nishi-ku, Nazuka, Nagoya City, placing Sakuma Morishige in charge. During this conflict, Sakuma notably claimed the head of Hashimoto Juzo, a general under Oda Nobuyuki, earning him significant rewards.
Prior to the pivotal Battle of Okehazama in 1560, Morishige was appointed as the castellan of Marune Castle, located in Nagoya City’s Midori Ward. This castle served as a crucial border post in the defense against the forces of the Imagawa clan. It was Sakuma who first alerted Nobunaga to the fortress being under attack.
Marune Castle found itself besieged by the forces commanded by Matsudaira Motoyasu, who would later gain renown as Tokugawa Ieyasu. At the time, Ieyasu was still a hostage of the Imagawa clan until his liberation following the demise of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Employing the newly introduced matchlock guns, which had swiftly gained favor among the samurai class, Ieyasu launched repeated attacks on the small castle. Tragically, on June 11, 1560, Morishige was struck by a bullet and killed instantly. The castle subsequently fell to Ieyasu and the advancing Imagawa forces. Shortly after this event, Oda Nobunaga and his troops would defeat Imagawa Yoshimoto, granting Ieyasu the freedom to return to his hometown of Okazaki.
See also
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Takigawa Kazumasu
Takigawa Kazumasu (1525 – October 21, 1586), also known as Takikawa Sakon or Sakonshogen, was a prominent samurai and daimyō of the Sengoku period. He served as a loyal retainer and military commander under Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, the elder brother of Maeda Toshiie, and Kazumasu served alongside Toshiie in Nobunaga’s campaigns.
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Sanada Yukitaka
Sanada Yukitaka (c. 1512 – June 8, 1574) was a renowned samurai warrior of the Sengoku period, best known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen." He was the father of Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masayuki, as well as the grandfather of the legendary Sanada Yukimura, who later served the Toyotomi clan.
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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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Okubo Tadayo
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.
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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.
