, also known as , was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, 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 Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. Fujitaka was a prominent retainer of

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 ...

, the last

Ashikaga shōgun Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

. When he joined the Oda,

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 ...

rewarded him with the fief of

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

and went on to become one of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

's senior generals.

Biography

In 1568, Fujitaka joined

after

captured

Kyoto 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 ...

. In late 1568, Fujitaka along with

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 ...

Hachiya Yoritaka was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Oda clan. First he served the Toki clan and Saito clan. When Oda Nobunaga started campaign on Mino Province, he became a vassal of Nobunaga as a member of "Kuro-horo-shu" (bodyguard ...

Mori Yoshinari was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period and the head of the Mori clan (Genji) family, who served the Saitō clan. The Saitō were the lords of Mino province. Later, he become a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. Military life In 1547, he fought ...

and

Sakai Masahisa was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period, who most notably served the Oda clan. He was born in Mino Province, and first served the Saitō clan. After the fall of the Saitō, he was taken on as a retainer by Oda Nobunaga. He was particula ...

attacking

Iwanari Tomomichi was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century. Also known as Ishinari Tomomichi (石成友通), he was a senior retainer of the Miyoshi clan. He was one of the three great samurai of the Miyoshi clan called ''Miyoshi Sanninshu'' along with Miyoshi ...

one of Miyoshi Sanninshu at Shōryūji Castle, Iwanari subsequently was killed in battle by Fujitaka. In 1569, after Nobunaga and his followers returned from Kyoto, the

Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and the Minamoto clan (Seiwa-Genji). They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan and the Takeda clan. At the beginning of the 14th century AD, Ogasawara Nagafusa settled in Shiko ...

attacked Shogun

at Honkokuji castle, Fujitaka along with

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

defend the shōgun and repulsed the

. In 1576, Fujitaka fought in the ten years campaign against

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 co ...

in the

Ishiyama Hongan-ji War The , taking place from 1570 to 1580 in Sengoku period Japan, was a ten-year campaign by lord Oda Nobunaga against a network of fortifications, temples, and communities belonging to the Ikkō-ikki, a powerful faction of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist m ...

, along with

Harada Naomasa Harada (written: ) is the 52nd most common Japanese surname. Notable personalities with this surname include: *, Japanese actor *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese rock climber *, Japanese ...

and

Araki Murashige was a retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, head of the powerful "Setssu-Ikeda clan" of Settsu Province. Under Katsumasa, Murashige sided with Oda Nobunaga following Nobunaga's successful campaign to establish power in Kyoto. Military life Murashige bec ...

. In 1577, Fujitaka along with

and

Tsutsui Junkei son of Tsutsui Junshō, and a ''daimyō'' of the province of Yamato. On 1571, Junkei, through the offices of Akechi Mitsuhide, pledged to service of Oda Nobunaga. Military life Early in his career, in 1565, Matsunaga Hisahide, one of the most ...

rendered distinguished services in the

Siege of Shigisan The 1577 was one of many sieges during Oda Nobunaga's campaigns to consolidate his power in the Kansai area. The castle was held by Matsunaga Hisahide, Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide and his son Matsunaga Kojirō, Kojirō, both of whom committed sui ...

against

Matsunaga Hisahide Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide (松永弾正久秀 1508 – November 19, 1577) was a ''daimyō'' and head of the Yamato Matsunaga clan in Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Biography He was a retainer of Miyoshi Nagayoshi f ...

, who had raised a standard of revolt against Nobunaga. In 1579, Fujitaka build Tanabe castle under orders from Oda Nobunaga to conquer

Tango province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba to the south, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name was . It was also referred to as or . In terms of the Gokishichi ...

. In 1580, he attacked Tango alone, failing due to a counterattack from the

Isshiki clan is a Japanese kin group of the Sengoku period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Isshiki," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 16 retrieved 2013-5-25. History The clan clai ...

, but he finally succeeded with the help of

. In 1582, after the death of Oda Nobunaga on

Incident at Honnō-ji Incident may refer to: * A property of a graph in graph theory * ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir * Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India * Incident (Scientology), a ...

, Fujitaka refused to join

for the Battle of Yamazaki, despite the fact that his son,

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai warrior of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka with Numata Jakō, and he was the husband of a famous Christian convert (Kirishitan), Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he ...

, was married to Akechi's daughter,

Hosokawa Gracia Akechi Tama, usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara, she was considered to be a political hos ...

. Later, Fujitaka shaved his head in the Buddhist

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

, changed his name to the priestly "Yūsai", and delegated his status as ''daimyō'' to Tadaoki. However, he remained an active force in politics as a cultural advisor, under both

Toyotomi 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 Cour ...

and

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

. In 1585, he joined at the Siege of Negoroji, Hideyoshi granted Fujitaka a retirement estate worth 3,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'' in

Yamashiro Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the ''Engishiki''. Yamashiro Province included Kyoto its ...

in 1586. In 1587, he fought in the

Kyushu Campaign is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

as a general and Hideyoshi added another 3,000 ''koku'' at Osumi Province in 1595. In 1600, Ishida Mitsunari had asked Fujitaka to join the Western Army, but Fujitaka refused due to one of Ishida's schemes which resulted in Gracia's and his granddaughter's death. As a general in the Eastern Army, he garrisoned Tanabe castle with around 500 soldiers. When Tanabe Castle was besieged by the Western Army. The commanding general of the siege had great respect for Fujitaka, because of this, the attack lacked the usual spirit involved in a samurai siege: the attackers amused themselves by shooting the walls with cannons loaded only with gunpowder. Fujitaka laid down arms only after an imperial decree from Emperor Go-Yōzei. However, this was 19 days before

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, and neither he nor his attackers were able to join the battle.

Death

Fujitaka died on October 6, 1610. He was buried in Kyoto but has a second grave in

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

, where his grandson

Hosokawa Tadatoshi was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Hosokawa Tadatoshi"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 359 細川忠利at ''Nihon jinmei daijiten''; retrieved 2013-5-29. He was the head of Kumamoto Domai ...

ruled.

Family

* Grandfather: Hosokawa Motoari (1459 - 1500) * Father: Mitsubuchi Harukazu (1500-1570) * Mother: Chisein * Foster Father: Hosokawa Mototsune * Wife: Numata Jako (1544-1618) * Children: **

** Hosokawa Okimoto (1566-1619) ** Hosokawa Yukitaka (1571-1607) ** Hosokawa Takayuki ** Itohime ** Senhime ** Kurihime ** Kagahime

References

Biography

Death

Family

See also

References

Further reading