Takenaka Shigeharu, known today as Hanbei, though historical records suggest he didn't use this name in his lifetime, hailed from Mino (Gifu). Hanbei emerged as a gifted strategist during the tumultuous Sengoku period, serving as a military advisor to both Saito Yoshitatsu and his son, Saito Tatsuoki, the lords of Gifu Castle. Despite his strategic brilliance, Hanbei was reputedly frail and delicate in appearance.
In a remarkable feat, Hanbei, accompanied by just 16 followers, successfully captured the seemingly impregnable Gifu Castle. Legend has it that Hanbei's effeminate demeanor led to a grave insult from a samurai of Gifu Castle, who allegedly urinated on him as he passed beneath a defensive turret. Despite Hanbei's appeals for justice to Saito Tatsuoki, the lord of the castle, no action was taken against the offender.
In a daring move, Hanbei exploited an opportunity to infiltrate the castle under the guise of visiting his ailing brother. Once inside, he seized the chance to launch an assassination attempt on Saito Tatsuoki. Confounded by the sudden attack, the cowardly Tatsuoki mistook Hanbei's actions for a full-scale invasion and fled in panic, abandoning the castle and his forces. Thus, Hanbei secured control of Gifu Castle with ease.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was deeply impressed by Hanbei's strategic prowess and extended an offer for him to join his army. Similarly, Oda Nobunaga sought Hanbei's assistance in securing the castle. However, Hanbei declined Nobunaga's request, opting instead to return the castle to Tatsuoki, who was left humiliated and dishonored by his earlier retreat.
When Oda Nobunaga launched an assault on the castle two years later in 1564, the troops under Tatsuoki's command, still bearing the stigma of his cowardice, either fled or switched sides to support the Oda forces.
Swearing allegiance to the Oda clan, Takenaka Hanbei participated in campaigns against the Azai clan in Omi (now Shiga Prefecture) and the capture of Inabayama Castle in Gifu. Subsequently, Hanbei and another esteemed strategist, Kuroda Kanbei, both served as advisors to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Retiring from active service due to illness, Hanbei assumed responsibility for the nine-year-old son of his colleague and friend, Kuroda Kanbei, while Kuroda was away on a mission to the Araki clan in 1577. However, Kuroda was captured and imprisoned by the Araki, leading Oda Nobunaga to mistakenly believe that Kuroda had betrayed him. In a fit of rage, Nobunaga ordered Hanbei to execute Kuroda's son, Nagamasa. Hanbei, refusing to carry out such a cruel command, patiently awaited his master's temper to subside and for the truth of the situation to emerge, ultimately saving the boy's life.
One year later, Takenaka Hanbei fell victim to illness at the age of 34 while involved in the siege of Miki Castle, a pivotal engagement in Hideyoshi’s military campaign against the Mori clan in the Chugoku region. Despite his fragile health, he was carried in a palanquin. Although he had temporarily left Hideyoshi's side during the campaign to recover in Kyoto, he returned to be by Hideyoshi's side when the latter passed away on July 6, 1579.
Hanbei's son and successor, Shigekado, remained dedicated to serving Hideyoshi. He later aligned with the Eastern forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sekigahara and was subsequently appointed as Hatamoto.
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.
