Toyotomi Hidenaga was an outstanding military commander and strategist of his time, who was unjustly overshadowed by his half-brother, the great Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At different stages of his life, he was known by the names Kinoshita Koichiro, Hashiba Nagahide, and Hashiba. Despite his relative obscurity among the general public, Hidenaga was considered one of the best minds of his time, on par with the renowned Kuroda Kanbei.
He not only developed strategic plans, but also personally led the vanguard of Hideyoshi's army in key campaigns. Holding important military and administrative posts, Hidenaga played a key role in the formation and consolidation of Toyotomi's power.
He was born in the village of Nakamura in the province of Owari. He and Hideyoshi had the same mother but different fathers. Unlike his colorful, expansive, and ambitious brother, Hidenaga was level-headed, judicious, and respected by many daimyo. He often acted as a mediator in conflicts, and even Tokugawa Ieyasu, the future shogun, valued his opinion and treated him with the same respect as Hideyoshi.
His brother included Hidenaga in his inner circle of confidants, giving him the freedom to express dissent and influence key decisions. Hidenaga was always at the forefront of battles, both during his service to Oda Nobunaga and during Hideyoshi's heyday.
In 1577, he participated in the conquest of Harima Province. A year later, he suppressed the rebellion of Bessho Nagaharu, captured Takeda Castle in Tajima, participated in the siege of Kuroi Castle and the famous siege of Miki Castle (1578–1580), where he cut off supply routes and forced the enemy to retreat. He captured Ayabe Castle in the province of Tamba, and after the surrender of the Bessho clan, he ended the campaign with a victory.
In the same year, 1580, he established control over Tajima by capturing Arikoyama Castle and became its commander. Hidenaga then played a key role in the siege of Tottori Castle.
In 1582, he participated in the “water siege” of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle. When the Honnoji Incident occurred in Kyoto and Oda Nobunaga was killed, Hideyoshi and his brother marched on the capital and defeated the traitor Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki.
Later, Hidenaga participated in the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the battles of Komaki and Nagakute (1584), and the campaigns in Shikoku (1585) and Kyushu (1586–1587). However, by the end of the 1580s, he had fallen seriously ill and handed over command to his comrade Todo Takatora.
After the victory over the Hojo clan in 1590, which marked the unification of Japan under Hideyoshi's rule, Hidenaga died six months after the siege of Odawara Castle at the age of 50.
He was buried at Daikokuji Temple in Kyoto. Although his name is rarely mentioned alongside the great figures of the era, Hidenaga left an important mark on the history of the Sengoku Jidai as a strategist, diplomat, and indispensable ally of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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.
