was a ''

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

'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

s. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei,

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 C ...

's chief strategist and adviser.

Biography

His childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577, when Nagamasa was a small child, his father was tried and sentenced as a spy by

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 unif ...

. Nagamasa was kidnapped and nearly killed as a hostage. With the help of Yamauchi Kazutoyo and his wife, Takenaka Hanbei ended up rescuing him. After Nobunaga was killed in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, Nagamasa served

along with his father and participated in the invasion of Chūgoku. Nagamasa also participated in Hideyoshi's

Korean campaign Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language * ...

, where he commanded the army's 3rd Division of 5000 men during the first invasion (1592–1593). In the second part of the campaign (1597-1598), he held command in The Army of the Right.

Battle Of Sekigahara

Nagamasa was one of the daimyo who were on bad terms with

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the ...

, due to the latter supposedly not rewarding all those who took part in the Korean invasions for his own benefits. Later in 1600, he took part in the

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 ...

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 fel ...

's side. His men killed Shima Sakon, thus securing a part of the Eastern Army's eventual victory. As a reward for his performance at the battle, Ieyasu granted Nagamasa Chikuzen – 520.000 ''koku'' – in exchange for his previous fief of Nakatsu in Buzen. Later in 1614-1615, he participated in the Osaka Castle campaigns. Kuroda Nagamasa Battle Standard; Kuroda Takamasa Battle Standard

Kuroda Nagamasa Battle Standard; Kuroda Takamasa Battle Standard

Family

* Father:

Kuroda Yoshitaka , also known as , was a Japanese '' daimyō'' of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christia ...

* Mother: Kushihashi Teru (1553–1627) * Wives: ** Itohime (1571-1645) ** Eihime (1585-1635) * Concubine: Choshu’in * Children: ** Kikuhime married Inoue Yukifusa's son by Itohime ** Kuroda Tadayuki (1602-1654) by Eihime ** Tokuko married Sakakibara Tadatsugu by Eihime ** Kameko married Ikeda Teruoki by Eihime ** Kuroda Nagaoki (1610-1665) by Eihime ** Kuroda Masafuyu by Choshu’in ** Kuroda Takamasa (1612-1639) by Eihime

In popular culture

Nagamasa is a playable character from the Eastern Army in the original '' Kessen''. Kuroda is also a popular historical figure. His life, and his relationship to Tokugawa, has been dramatized many times in the annual NHK Taiga Drama series. * ''Taikoki'' (1965) * ''Hara no Sakamichi'' (1971) * ''Ougon no Hibi'' (1978) * ''Onna Taikoki'' (1981) * ''

'' (1983) * ''Kasuga no Tsunobe'' (1989) * '' Hideyoshi'' (1996) * ''

Aoi Tokugawa Sandai is a 2000 Japanese historical drama television series and the 39th NHK taiga drama. The series respectively stars Masahiko Tsugawa, Toshiyuki Nishida, and Onoe Tatsunosuke II as the first three Tokugawa shōguns. It aired from January 9 to Dec ...

'' (2000) * ''Komyo ga Tsuji'' (2006) * '' Gunshi Kanbei'' (2014)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroda, Nagamasa Samurai 1568 births 1623 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Daimyo People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) Kuroda clan Japanese Roman Catholics People from Himeji, Hyōgo