(1577 – December 1, 1602) was the fifth son of

Kinoshita Iesada was a samurai of the Sengoku through early Edo periods. He was the son of . Born Sugihara Magobei (杉原孫兵衛), he later took the new family name Kinoshita ("under the tree"), possibly to show his support for his brother-in-law, the general ...

and the nephew of

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 ...

. He was gained the rank of ''Saemon no Kami'' (左衛門督) or in China ''Shikkingo'' (執金吾) at

genpuku is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD). /sup> This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participat ...

and held the court title of ''

Chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

'' (中納言), Hideaki was also called ''Kingo Chūnagon'' (金吾中納言).

Biography

He was adopted by Hideyoshi and called himself ''Hashiba Hidetoshi'' (羽柴秀俊). He was then again adopted by

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Koba ...

, becoming ''Kobayakawa Hidetoshi'' (小早川秀俊). He then renamed himself ''Hideaki'' (秀秋) after Takakage's death. Shortly after 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 ...

, he renamed one last time to ''Kobayakawa Hideaki'' (小早川秀詮). During the

Battle of Keicho A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

he led reinforcements to rescue Ulsan Castle from the Ming army. Fighting on the front line with a spear, he managed to capture an enemy commander and broke the siege. However, Hideyoshi saw the danger of a reckless charge by the general commanding an army and deprived him of his domain, Chikugo after returning. Kobayakawa, angered by this, he believed the rumor circulated by

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 ...

that this had been the doing of a jealous

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 A ...

. He never forgot nor forgave Mitsunari and worked to undermine his position. Moreover, Kobayakawa was known to attack women and children during the campaign, an act that is despised by many of his fellow commanders.

Battle of Sekigahara

Before 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 ...

, Kobayakawa happened to be in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and gave aid to Mitsunari in the

Siege of Fushimi The siege of Fushimi was a crucial battle in the series leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara which ended Japan's Sengoku period. Fushimi Castle was defended by a force loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern army, led by Torii Mototada. ...

. He acted as though he would go along with Mitsunari, even though he intended to betray him, having secretly communicated with Ieyasu. Knowing Kobayakawa held ill feelings, Mitsunari and

Ōtani Yoshitsugu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He was also known by his court title, . He was born in 1558 to a father who was said to be a retainer of either Ōtomo Sōrin or Rokkaku Yoshikata. He became one ...

promised him two additional domains around Osaka and the position of kampaku (until

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's second son. The birth of Hideyori cre ...

grew old enough to rule) if he helped them to victory. Even after the battle began, Kobayakawa kept his intentions hidden. Ieyasu's force (east) was not faring well against Mitsunari's force (west);

Ukita Hideie was the ''daimyō'' of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture), and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gōhime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie. Having fought again ...

was winning against

Fukushima Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears ...

and

was also winning against

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. Biography During his lifetime he changed his feudal ...

. Kobayakawa was hesitant to participate with either side. Ieyasu ordered troops to fire blanks against the Kobayakawa troops to force them into action. Kobayakawa then ordered an attack on the Otani troop and while this attack was beaten back temporarily, his action forced the other armies who had pledged betrayal to also turn. The battle was over within a day. Kobayakawa also had success in the mopping up operations that followed, defeating Mitsunari's father,

Ishida Masatsugu was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period who served the Azai clan and held Ishida castle in Omi province. He was the son of Ishida Seishin. He was the father of Ishida Mitsunari. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he and his othe ...

in the Siege of Sawayama. Sekigahara-jin Banner; Kobayakawa Hideaki (1577-1602) Battle Standard

Death

Once the dust had settled, Kobayakawa was given the defeated Ukita clan's former fiefdoms of Bizen and Mimasaka, for a total of 550,000

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 ...

. However, Kobayakawa drank himself to death two years later after supposedly going mad, and with no one to succeed him, the

Kobayakawa clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Taira clan. Their holdings were in the Chūgoku region. They were a powerful clan during the Sengoku period but were disbanded during the Edo period after the Battle of Sekigahara. Ho ...

disbanded, and his fiefdoms were absorbed by the neighboring

Ikeda clan was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) of the Seiwa Genji. Minamoto no Yasumasa, the fourth generation descending from Yorimitsu, and younger brother of Minamoto no Yorimasa (1104-1180), was the first to ...

External links

samurai-archives.com
- page on Kobayakawa Hideaki; contains information on the Battle of Sekigahara as well

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobayakawa, Hideaki 1577 births 1602 deaths Kobayakawa clan Toyotomi clan Daimyo People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) People from Okayama Prefecture