was a Japanese samurai of the

Sengoku The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various s ...

and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. Originally a retainer of

Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤利政), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Dōsan"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics. His hono ...

, Mitsuharu went on to serve

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, he received a land in

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

and became a member of the so-called Echizen Sanninshu (Echizen Triumvir) along with

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

and

Sassa Narimasa , also known as Kura-no-suke (内蔵助), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama period.">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ..., where he was in the rear guard. In 1575, Narimasa fought at the Battle of Nagashino">DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF ...

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Early life

Mitsuharu served as the lord of Nishinoho Castle in

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

and, from early on as a retainer of the

Saitō clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that ruled Mino province in the Sengoku period. The clan appropriated the name of a defunct samurai clan named "Saitō" that had previously hailed from Echizen province and claimed descent from Fujiwara Toshihit ...

, the sengoku daimyō of Mino. Along with

Inaba Yoshimichi , also known as Inaba Ittetsu (稲葉一鉄), was a Japanese samurai warrior in the Sengoku period. served the Saitō clan of Mino province. Later, he become a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. Biography His childhood name was Hikoshiro (彦四郎) la ...

Andō Morinari , also known as was a Japanese samurai warrior in the Sengoku period. served the Saitō clan of Mino province. Later, he become a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. Biography He served as a head retainer under Saitō Dōsan after Dōsan overthrew Toki Y ...

, and

Ujiie Naotomo , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior. served the Saitō clan of Mino province. Later, he become a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. Naomoto was considered one of the , along with Inaba Yoshimichi and Andō Morinari. In 1567, they agreed tog ...

, Mitsuharu was known as one of the "Western Mino Group of Four". Unlike the other three, Mitsuharu was said to have remained loyal to the Saitō until the end, but after the Saitō were eliminated, he served

. According to one secondary source from the Genroku era in the Edo period, Mitsuharu went to

Odani Castle 280px, Map of Odani Castle was a Sengoku period mountain-top Japanese castle located in the former town of Kohoku, now part of Nagahama city, in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Only the ruins remain today. It was the home castle of the Azai clan and t ...

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...

, and, following consultations with a retainer of the

Azai clan The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period. History The Azai was a line of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern Ōmi Province, located within present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. ...

named Anyōji Keisei, arranged for the engagement of Nobunaga’s younger sister,

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu Nagamasa had no hope of winning, and chose to commit seppuk ...

, to

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering h ...

. Mitsuharu, along with Naitō Shōsuke, attended her bridal procession.

Military life

In 1568, after Nobunaga responded to pleas from

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573.Ackroyd, J ...

(who was under the protection of

Asakura Yoshikage was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period (1467–1603) who ruled a part of Echizen Province in present-day Fukui Prefecture. He was a regent of Ashikaga Shogunate. Yoshikage's conflicts with Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) resulted in his deat ...

of Echizen) to march upon

Kyōto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, Mitsuharu, together with Wada Koremasa, Matsui Sadakatsu, and Shimada Hidemitsu, headed toward Echizen to meet Yoshiaki. After capturing Kōhoku in the battle for the capital, Mitsuharu was sent to meet Yoshiaki who was waiting at the Ryūshō Temple. Thereafter, Mitsuharu participated in the Siege of Ōkawachi Castle in 1569, an attack on

and the Shiga Campaign in 1570, an offensive in Ise-Nagashima in 1571, an encirclement of enemy forces at Katano Castle in 1572, the Siege of Makishima Castle, and the

Siege of Ichijōdani Castle The 1573 was undertaken by Oda Nobunaga, a powerful warlord (''daimyō'') of Japan's Sengoku period. It was one of several actions taken in a series of campaigns against the Asakura and Azai clans, which opposed his growing power. Ichijōdani ...

in 1573. In 1574, after the killing of Maeba Yoshitsugu of Echizen, Mitsuharu deployed with

Hashiba Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Co ...

and

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods of the 16th century. He served as senior retainer to the Od ...

Tsuruga is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Tsuruga is located in central ...

and participated in a subsequent offensive in Ise-Nagashima. In 1575, Mitsuharu participated in the Echizen Ikkō-ikki. After this campaign, Oda Nobunaga awarded

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

control of eight districts in Echizen. Together with

and

, Mitsuharu governed two districts in Fuchū in Echizen while also serving as

metsuke were the censors or the inspectors of Tokugawa shogunate. They were ''bakufu'' officials ranking somewhat lower than the ''bugyō.'' The ''metsuke'' were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration ...

, or overseers, for Katsuie. These three individuals were referred to as the "Fuchū Group of Three". Mitsuharu resided in Ryūmonji Castle in Echizen. In 1577, Owing to ongoing battles against the Kaga

Ikkō-ikki were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly con ...

and

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as ...

, their service as

yoriki were members of the ''samurai'' class of feudal Japan. ''Yoriki'' literally means ''helper'' (ru - помощник) or ''assistant'' (ru - ассистент). Description and history ''Yoriki'' assisted ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) or their desig ...

, or security forces, for Katsuie, became increasingly notable. Each one of the "Fuchū Group of Three" joined in a battle to pacify ikki forces in Kaga under Katsuie as their commander-in-chief. In 1581, Mitsuharu joined Toshiie and others in the Kyōto Mounted Horse Parade as one of the bushō in the Echizen group led by Katsuie, but reports arrived that

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao c ...

had invaded

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea ...

and surrounded Koide Castle, so those from the Echizen group under the command of Katsuie were ordered to deploy. Nevertheless, Mitsuharu was not entirely wed to the command of Shibata Katsuie, mobilizing for the Saika Offensive in 1577, the Siege of Arioka Castle in 1579, a deployment to Etchū, Kaga and the Iga Offensive in 1581.

Death

Mitsuharu died in Echizen Province, but there are various theories concerning the date, around 1580-1583. Mitsuharu was succeeded by his son, Fuwa Naomitsu.

Notes

1580 deaths Daimyo Year of birth unknown People from Gifu Prefecture {{daimyo-stub