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 ...

'' in

Hizen Province 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 inclu ...

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 ...

. Takanobu was the head 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 al ...

Biography

Takanobu was the grandson of Ryūzōji Iekane (1454-1546). Ryūzōji Takanobu is known for expanding his clan's holdings. He took land from the

Shōni clan was a family of Japanese nobles descended from the Fujiwara family, many of whom held high government offices in Kyūshū. Prior to the Kamakura period (1185–1333), "Shōni" was originally a title and post within the Kyūshū ( Dazaifu) governm ...

. In 1578, Takanobu conquered almost all of

. The following year, the Ryūzōji clan advanced to Chikuzen and Buzen. In 1580, Takanobu retired in Suko castle but he retained the real power until his death. In 1584, Ryūzōji retainer

Arima Harunobu was a Japanese samurai lord who was the daimyo of Shimabara Domain and the head of the Hizen-Arima clan''.''_In_his_early_years,_he_was_a_retainer_of_Ryūzōji_clan.html" ;"title="DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki>">DF ...''.'' In his early years, he was a ...

split from the clan. Seizing upon this opportunity, several of the local small clans in the

Shimabara Peninsula is a peninsula located in Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. The peninsula incorporates the cities of Shimabara, Minamishimabara, Unzen. It was also the site of the Shimabara Rebellion, a 1637-1638 peasant and rōnin revolt, led ...

also rose up in arms. Takanobu personally led an army of around 30,000 against the Shimazu-Arima, but was killed in 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. ...

Shimazu Iehisa was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who was a member of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province. He was the fourth son of Shimazu Takahisa. He served in a command capacity during his family's campaign to conquer Kyūshū. His sons were S ...

's army. Ryūzōji Masaie (1556–1607) was the son of Takanobu. Following Takanobu's death, Ryūzōji clan was taken over by Takanobu's chief retainer

Nabeshima Naoshige 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 moth ...

Biography

References

Further reading