Tachibana Dōsetsu is the name by which Hetsugi Akitsura is more widely known; the name of this lineage is also found read as Hekki or Bekki. For a long period, Akitsura served the Ōtomo clan, the daimyō of Bungo Province, and took part in wars against the Ōuchi family, the principal enemies of the Ōtomo in northwestern Kyushu. In the 1560s, Akitsura seized the castle of the Tachibana clan, which had rebelled against the Ōtomo, and thereafter adopted the surname Tachibana. Around the same time, he took Buddhist vows and assumed the name Dōsetsu, which means “Snowy Road.”
Dōsetsu’s domains were located in Chikuzen Province, at the junction of the lands of the Mōri clan (who had displaced the Ōuchi in 1555), the Ōtomo, and the Shimazu, northeast of what is now the city of Fukuoka. For many years, Dōsetsu fought on the side of the Ōtomo and was regarded as one of the most prudent and experienced advisors to the daimyō Ōtomo Sōrin. However, after the severe defeat suffered by the Ōtomo army in 1578 at the Battle of Mimigawa, serious tensions arose between Dōsetsu and Sōrin, most likely connected to the active spread of Christianity in Bungo and other territories under Ōtomo rule. Tachibana Dōsetsu composed an “open letter” addressed to the most influential vassals of the Ōtomo clan, in which he sharply criticized the Christianization of Ōtomo lands. In this letter, he accused Sōrin of pursuing policies that had turned the samurai of Bungo away from “praying to the gods and the Buddha, defending faith and virtue, and following the way of the bow and the arrow.” According to Dōsetsu, what was happening in Bungo was unheard of since ancient times: “young and old, men and women are converted into followers of something like an Indian sect; temples and shrines are destroyed; images of the Buddha and the gods are drowned in rivers or burned.”
Despite such a harsh denunciation, Dōsetsu remained loyal to the Ōtomo clan, something that could not be said of many other vassals, who began to seek the patronage of either the Shimazu or the Ryūzōji. In time, the crisis eased, and in 1584 Ōtomo Sōrin was even able to assemble an army to subdue Ryūzōji Masaie, the heir of the recently killed Ryūzōji Takanobu. Command of the army was entrusted to Tachibana Dōsetsu, considered the most capable commander of the Ōtomo, but this campaign proved to be his last: in 1585, Dōsetsu was killed during the assault on Neko Fortress. The Ōtomo army retreated to Bungo, and soon afterward the rule of Ōtomo Sōrin came to an inglorious end.
According to tradition, Tachibana Dōsetsu took part in thirty-seven battles over the course of his life and was wounded many times. After one of these injuries, he was left partially paralyzed, yet he continued to participate in battles and military campaigns; for his ferocious character, he even earned the nickname Oni Dōsetsu—“Demon Dōsetsu.” Dōsetsu had no sons, and therefore bequeathed his domains to his daughter, Tachibana Ginchiyo. At the same time, he adopted Senkumaru, the son of Takahashi Shigetane, another vassal of the Ōtomo clan. Senkumaru later married Ginchiyo and became the head of the Tachibana clan under the name Muneshige.
See also
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Taira no Masakado
Taira no Masakado embodied the quintessential samurai of his era—self-assured, harsh, and unyielding. In his youth, he served in the palace guard and repeatedly proved his bravery while suppressing unrest. Thanks to these achievements, Masakado sought the post of chief of the capital’s military-police office (the kebiishi-chō), but he was rejected: by that time, nearly all court positions—now little more than privileged sinecures—were controlled by members of the powerful Fujiwara clan.
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Sakakibara Yasumasa
Yasumasa was the second son of Sakakibara Nagamasa and was born in Ueno in Mikawa Province. From a young age, he began serving Tokugawa Ieyasu and eventually rose to the position of one of his most trusted generals. His wife was the daughter of Osuga Yasutaka. Ieyasu first noticed the young Yasumasa during the suppression of the Ikkō-ikki uprising in Mikawa in 1564. Thanks to his demonstrated abilities, Yasumasa was granted the privilege of using the character “yasu”—the second character of Ieyasu’s own name—in his own. Although he was the second child in his family, he became his father’s heir, though the exact reasons for this remain unknown.
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Sakai Tadatsugu
Tadatsugu was one of the most renowned generals serving Tokugawa Ieyasu. After Ieyasu broke ties with the Imagawa clan, Tadatsugu—an ardent supporter of this decision—was granted command of Yoshida Castle in 1565, which controlled the coastal road from Tōtomi to Mikawa. During the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573, he held the right flank of the Tokugawa forces even when the troops sent by Oda fled under the assault of the Takeda army. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, he personally requested permission to carry out a night attack on the Takeda camp, which he executed brilliantly together with Kanamori Nagachika.
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Ryuzoji Takanobu
Takanobu was the eldest son of Ryūzōji Takaie and the great-grandson of Ryūzōji Iekane. His father was killed by a man named Baba Yoritiku in 1544. At a young age, Takanobu took Buddhist vows and received the monastic name Engetsu. However, around the age of eighteen, he returned to secular life, and in 1548, after the death of Ryūzōji Tanehide, he became the head of both branches of the Ryūzōji family.
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Ouchi Yoshihiro
Ōuchi Yoshihiro was the second son of Ōuchi Hiroyo, who headed the Ōuchi clan in the western part of Honshu. In 1363, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu confirmed the Ōuchi family in the position of shugo of Suō and Nagato Provinces. In his youth, Yoshihiro assisted his father in strengthening the influence of the Northern Court on the island of Kyushu — they served under Imagawa Ryōsun, who had been tasked with subjugating the nine provinces of Kyushu.
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Ouchi Yoshioki
Ouchi Yoshioki, the ruler of the provinces of Suo, Nagato, and Iwami, was one of the most capable military commanders and politicians of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The son of Ouchi Masahiro, he governed from his residence in Yamaguchi in the province of Suo. In 1499, Yoshioki gave refuge to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane, who had been driven out of Kyoto by Hosokawa Masamoto. Shogun Yoshizumi, Masamoto’s protégé, ordered the lords of Kyushu to unite their forces against Yoshioki; however, they did not dare to do so, fearing the power of a man who by that time controlled six provinces. Having gathered a substantial army, Yoshioki marched from his native Suo toward Kyoto in order to restore Shogun Yoshitane to power.
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Otomo Sorin
Ōtomo Yoshishige came from a noble lineage, being the eldest son of Ōtomo Yoshiaki, the ruler of Funai Province. The roots of the Ōtomo family traced back to Fujiwara Hidesato, the adopted son of Nakahara Chikayoshi. Fujiwara served Minamoto Yoritomo during the Genpei War and took part in battles in Mutsu Province in 1189. In 1193, he was appointed shugo of Buzen and Bungo Provinces, after which he adopted a new surname—Ōtomo.
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Okudaira Sadamasa
Sadamasa was the son of Okudaira Sadayoshi and took part in several battles under Tokugawa Ieyasu, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570, where he took two heads. Around 1572 he was forced to enter the service of the Takeda clan, but after the death of Takeda Shingen in 1573 he returned to Tokugawa, leaving Tsukude Castle together with his men. As a result of this defection, Takeda Katsuyori ordered the execution of Sadamasa’s wife and brother, who were being held as hostages.
