was a Japanese ''

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 ...

'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama and

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 characteriz ...

s. A native of

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

, Kiyonaga served the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

during its battles, until 1600. he was one of Ieyasu's "three magistrates" (san-bugyō).

Biography

Born in Mikawa, Kiyonaga first served

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 1552. In Mikawa, he served as one of Ieyasu's three magistrates (san-bugyō), together with

Amano Yasukage was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period and early Edo period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Amano Yasukage"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 26. Who served the Tokugawa clan. He served as one of Ieyasu's "three magistrates". Biography Ya ...

and

Honda Shigetsugu (1529 – August 9, 1596), also known as , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through Azuchi-Momoyama Period, who served the Tokugawa clan. He served as one of Ieyasu's "three magistrates". Biography He was known as Hachizo, Sakujur ...

. Yasukage was known for his patience, Shigetsugu for his fortitude, and Kiyonaga for his leniency; this leniency earned him the nickname of "Buddha Kōriki" (''

Hotoke The Japanese noun is a word of Buddhist origin and uncertain etymology. It has several meanings, all but a few directly linked to Buddhism. It can refer to: *A person who has achieved ''satori'' (state of enlightenment) and has therefore become a ...

Kōriki'' 仏高力). Kiyonaga was also active in various battles including

Siege of Terabe The siege of Terabe Castle took place in 1558 in feudal Japan. Terabe Castle was a possession of the Ogasawara clan of Mikawa province. The Siege of Terabe Castle was Matsudaira Motoyasu's first battle, who would later change his name to Tokug ...

1558 and also

Siege of Marune The was a battle during the Sengoku period (16th century) of Japan. Marune was a frontier fortress in the possession of Oda Nobunaga. Matsudaira Motoyasu, who was at the time a forced retainer of the Imagawa, captured the fortress as part of t ...

1560. He transported provisions to

Ōtaka Castle was a Sengoku period flatland-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of Midori Ward of the city of Nagoya, Aichi in the Tōkai region of Japan. The ruins, together with that of the detached fortresses of and have been collectively pr ...

at the

Battle of Okehazama The took place in June 1560 in Owari Province, located in today's Aichi Prefecture. In this battle, the heavily outnumbered Oda clan troops commanded by Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the front-running ...

1560. He helped suppress the

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 ...

of Mikawa Province including Battle of Batogahara 1564, joined in the pacification of

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

Siege of Kakegawa The 1569 siege of Kakegawa was one of many battles fought by Tokugawa Ieyasu campaign at Suruga province and Tōtōmi Province against Imagawa clan during Japan's Sengoku period. Imagawa Ujizane, the son of the late Imagawa Yoshimoto, held Kakeg ...

1569, and took part in the

Battle of Komaki and 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 ...

1584. Kiyonaga also assisted with ship construction for the Seven-Year War (1592-1598). Kiyonaga became a ''

'' in 1590, when he was granted the 20,000 ''

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 ...

'' fief of Iwatsuki. As he was preceded in death by his son Masanaga, Kiyonaga retired after the

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 passed down family headship to his grandson Tadafusa.

References

* Japanese Wikipedia article on Kōriki Kiyonaga 1530 births 1608 deaths Daimyo Samurai People from Aichi Prefecture {{daimyo-stub