was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Nabeshima Naoshige"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mother was the daughter of . He was a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the

Ryūzōji clan was a Japanese kin group which traces its origin to Hizen Province on the island of Kyushu. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Hōki"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 802. History The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Suekiyo in 1186. The clan was a ...

during 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 ...

of the 16th century. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Ryūzōji,"_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._50_[PDF_54_of_80
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80
/nowiki>">DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80
/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-2.

Biography

Naoshige proved himself in battle as he led forces of Ryūzōji Takanobu. In 1570, Naoshige assisted Takanobu while at

Saga Castle is a Japanese castle located in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is a ''hiraijirō'', a castle built on a plains rather than a hill or mountain, and is surrounded by a wall rather than being built above a stone base. Saga castle was home ...

when it was surrounded by a 60,000-man Ōtomo clan army. However, Naoshige had only 5,000 troops, so he suggested a night raid on the enemies camp which successfully routed them. In 1575, he attacked Suko Castle in western

Hizen was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

and forced its commander, Hirai Tsuneharu, to commit suicide. In 1584, Naoshige also assisted Takanobu during the

Battle of Okitanawate The , also known as the Battle of Shimabara, was fought on May 3 of 1584 between the combined forces of the Shimazu and Arima clans, and the Ryūzōji army. Ryūzōji Takanobu was attacking a number of independent clans close to his territories. ...

but was unable to prevent their rout which later ended in Takanobu's death. Naoshige was the chief retainer for the daimyo of

when Takanobu died, which also included the

In 1587, Naoshige took this chance of having a weak heir to leave the Ryūzōji and to support

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 ...

while during his battle against Kyūshū. Nabeshima distinguished himself in battle by killing hundreds of men. In 1592, he was sent on Hideyoshi's Korean campaigns where he struck up a friendship with

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Biography ...

and upon his return to Hizen, with

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 fello ...

. Naoshige followed in leading over 12,000 men to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in the First Korean Campaign. In 1600, Naoshige fought at Siege of Udo and

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 Tokugawa side. At the Battle of Sekigahara, Naoshige sent his son,

Nabeshima Katsushige (December 4, 1580 – May 7, 1657) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Born to Nabeshima Naoshige, he became lord of Saga-''han''. Biography Katsushige was born in Saga, the son of Nabeshima Naoshige. At the time, Naoshige was a ...

to assist

. Following the victory of 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 ...

, their 357,000-koku fief went untouched by Ieyasu. Afterwards, control of the domain passed to Naoshige, much of the

territory, when Ryūzōji Masaie was killed in battle in 1607.Nussbaum
"Ryūzōji" at p. 802
Following Naoshige's death his family became very well known. Nabeshima's actions and sayings are immortalized in the third chapter of the

Hagakure ''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nab ...

by writer Tsunetomo Yamamoto, a close attendant of Nabeshima Naoshige's grandson, Mitsushige.

Legacy

Naoshige is known for re-settling potters from Korea in Hizen. File:Nabeshima Naoshige by Miura Shisan (Chokokan)2.jpg, 18th century portrait by Miura Shisan. From the Nabeshima family museum File:Grave of Nabeshima Naoshige in Kōden-ji.jpeg, Nabeshima Naoshige's grave at Kōden-ji in Saga

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabeshima, Naoshige Samurai 1538 births 1618 deaths Ryūzōji clan Daimyo People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) Nabeshima clan Deified Japanese people 17th-century military history of Japan

Biography

Legacy

See also

References