, also known as , was a Japanese ''

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 nominal ...

'' of the late

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 ...

through 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 characte ...

s. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded

Takenaka Hanbei , who was also known as Hanbei (半兵衛), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Hanbei was the castle lord in command of Bodaiyama Castle. He was a chief strategist and adviser of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father wa ...

as a chief strategist and adviser to

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 ...

. Kuroda became a Christian when he was 38, and received "Simeon Josui" as a baptismal name (''rekishijin''). His quick wit, bravery, and loyalty were respected by his warriors.

Early life

Kuroda Yoshitaka was born in

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

(姫路) on December 22, 1546, as Mankichi (万吉), the son of Kuroda Mototaka. The Kuroda clan are believed to have originated in

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 countr ...

. Yoshitaka's grandfather Shigetaka brought the family to Himeji and took up residence at Gochaku Castle (御着城), east of

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network o ...

. Shigetaka served as a senior retainer of Kodera Masamoto, the lord of Himeji, and was so highly praised that Shigetaka's son Mototaka was allowed to marry Masamoto's adopted daughter (Akashi Masakaze’s daughter) and to use the Kodera name. Yoshitaka became the head of the Kuroda family at the age of 21 when his father, Mototaka, retired. Yoshitaka succeeded to the family headship in 1557.

Military life

Service under Nobunaga

In 1567, he fought in the

Siege of Inabayama Castle The of 1567 was the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to defeat the Saitō clan in their mountaintop castle and conquer Mino Province, Japan. It was a short two-week siege, fought between 13 and 27 September 1567, or in the Japanese ...

against 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 Toshih ...

. A few years later, with

spearheading the Oda clan's advance into the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History ''C ...

, he pledged loyalty to the Oda. In 1576, Yoshitaka, together with the sickly

, served as Hideyoshi's strategists and assisted in the Chugoku campaign against the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's pow ...

. In 1578, Arioka/Itami Castle's lord,

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 be ...

, concluded an alliance with the Mōri to revolt against the Oda. An allied Kodera Masamoto also hatched a plot to cooperate with Araki. Then, Kuroda went to Arioka castle to prevail on Araki not to defect. Araki chose to imprison Yoshitaka instead. Araki's revolt eventually concluded in 1579 at the Siege of Itami, culminating in Yoshitaka's rescue. Due to his long imprisonment (with lack of space for sleeping and sitting), Yoshitaka suffered a leg disorder and lost his eyesight in one eye for the rest of his life. In 1582, he fought in the

Siege of Takamatsu In the 1582 , Toyotomi Hideyoshi laid siege to Takamatsu Castle, which was controlled by the Mōri clan. He diverted a nearby river with dikes to surround and flood the castle. He also constructed towers on barges from which his gunmen could ...

against the Mōri clan.

Service under Hideyoshi

He fought at the Battle of Yamazaki in 1582 under Hideyoshi, avenging the death of Oda Nobunaga. He participated in the

Battle of Shizugatake The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Ōmi Province in May 1583. Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga in ...

in 1583 and the

Battle of Komaki-Nagakute The was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu had both served Oda Nobunaga and had not previou ...

in 1584. Also led Toyotomi forced in the campaign to conquer Shikoku in 1585. Shortly before 1587, Yoshitaka was ordered by Hideyoshi to lead an attack into

Siege of Kagoshima The 1587 siege of Kagoshima took place during Japan's Sengoku period, and was the last stand of the Shimazu family against the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This was the final battle in Hideyoshi's campaign to take Kyūshū. Following the Shi ...

at Kyushu. Along with him was the Christian ''daimyō''

Takayama Ukon , born and also known as Dom Justo Takayama (c. 1552 – 3 or 5 February 1615) was a Japanese Catholic Kirishitan daimyō and samurai who lived during the Sengoku period that witnessed anti-Catholic sentiment. Takayama had been baptized i ...

. After seeing the thriving Christian population of Kyushu, under Ukon's influence, Yoshitaka was baptized with the name ドン・シメオン (Dom Simeão = Don Simeon). After a visit to the Jesuit-controlled port of Nagasaki, Hideyoshi became fearful of the powerful influence that Jesuits and the Christian ''daimyōs'' wielded. In 1587, he made his famous edict that expelled foreign missionaries and ordered all the Christian samurai under his rule to abandon their faith. While Ukon resisted the edict and lost his status, Yoshitaka gave up his new religion and adopted a monk's habit, calling himself ''Josui'' (如水). Like Naitō Joan (who took his name from Portuguese João), it is believed that Yoshitaka chose his new name from "Josué", the Portuguese version of "

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

". His most prominent act during his short time as a Christian was his arrangement to save a Jesuit mission from Bungo when the Christian ''daimyō'' of that province,

Ōtomo Sōrin , also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原義鎮) and Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Roman Catholicism (Christianity). The eldest son of , he ...

, was under attack from the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in cont ...

Sekigahara campaign

In 1600, Yoshitaka was seemingly on the Tokugawa side during the Sekigahara campaign, having clashed against

Ōtomo Yoshimune Ōtomo Yoshimune (大友義統, 15581610) was a Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period, heir of Otomo Sōrin at the head of the Ōtomo clan. He was the eldest son and successor of Otomo Sōrin as lord of the Bungo Province. His mother was an ant ...

at the Battle of Ishigakibaru and also, having participated at the

Siege of Yanagawa The 1600 siege of Yanagawa took place just after the decisive battle of Sekigahara in which Tokugawa Ieyasu secured his control over Japan. History Tachibana Ginchiyo and Tachibana Muneshige remained one of the chief opponents to Tokugawa on ...

. In reality, he aimed to conquer the entire region of Kyūshū for his own during the major commotion of the Sekigahara campaign, even momentarily conquering seven of the island's provinces, a feat which ended in failure however due to Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory in the Battle of Sekigahara

Death

After moving to Chikuzen Province which today is part of Fukuoka Prefecture, the Kuroda built a new castle near Hakata-ku, and named it Fukuoka Castle also known as Maizuru Castle or Seki Castle which was completed in the early Edo period for ''tozama daimyō''

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography His childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577, when Nagamasa was a ...

. After his son

succeeded him, Yoshitaka died on April 19, 1604. His grave is in the Namazuta area of

Iizuka, Fukuoka is a city located at the confluence of the Honami and Onga rivers in central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 20, 1932. History Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō during the Edo Era. As Ja ...

, near the original site of Namazuta Castle.

Family

*Father: Kuroda Mototaka *Mother: Akashi Masakaze's daughter (1532–1560) *Wife:

Kushihashi Teru Teruhime or Kushihashi Teru (櫛橋光, 1553 – October 5, 1627) was a Japanese noble lady and Aristocracy (class), aristocrat from the Sengoku period, Sengoku period. She was Kuroda Yoshitaka's only wife. Daughter of Kushihashi Koresada and th ...

(1553–1627) *Sons (all by Kushihashi Teru): **

** Shoujumaru is Kuroda Nagamasa's childhood name **Kuroda Kumanosuke (1582–1597) *Adopted sons: **Kuroda Kazushige (1571–1656)

Human Relations

As depicted in historical writings and contemporary television, it is suggested that Kuroda was simultaneously feared by Hideyoshi, despite his attempts to under-estimate his intelligence and influence. It is alleged that Hideyoshi's fear was due to his overwhelming debt to Yoshitaka, having helped him reign over the whole country as his shadow strategist, with Hideyoshi even believing that the Kuroda might overthrow him eventually. In addition, Kuroda deepened a friendship with

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects ...

, known as the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony "wabi-cha", and who was later put to death by Hideyoshi himself.

Personality

Kuroda was a frugal person, and he sold used military equipment and personal belongings to his vassals. He saved enough money to pay mercenaries in the Sekigahara War due to his thrifty mind. His last words were, "Do not try to gain other people's favor and do not wish for wealth.""Kanbei Kuroda's quotes". Editional. Meigen Kakugen no Housekibako n.d. Web. 7 December 2015. He was also involved in the project to build principal castles: Himeji castle, Nagoya castle, Osaka castle, and Hiroshima castle under the reign of the Toyotomis.

Popular culture

*In the

Sengoku Basara is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom, and a bigger media franchise based on it, including four anime shows, an anime movie, a live action show, a magazine series, a trading card game, and numerous drama CDs, light nov ...

games and anime, he is seen with chains attached to a metal ball around his hands, and running gags occur when he is near unlocking his chains. *He is a playable character in the

Samurai Warriors 3 is the third installment in the ''Samurai Warriors'' series, created by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in Japan on December 3, 2009, in Europe on May 28, 2010, in Australia on June 10, 2010, and in North America on September 28 ...

Samurai Warriors 4 ''Samurai Warriors 4'', known in Japan as , is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and sequel to ''Samurai Warriors 3''. Unlike past ''Samurai Warriors'' games, this one only has Japanese voice overs. A reboot of the series titled '' Samurai Warr ...

video games, he is seen with pale skin and a jade orb as his weapons.

Notes

External links

Kuroda Kanbei Biography at Samurai-Archives.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroda, Yoshitaka 1546 births 1604 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Daimyo Samurai Kuroda clan Toyotomi retainers Former Roman Catholics People from Hyōgo Prefecture People from Himeji, Hyōgo