Saitō Toshikazu (齋藤俊一) (died 1582), also known as Saitō Toshizo (斎藤歳三), was lord of Ikuchiyama in

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system ...

as well as a member of 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 Toshihit ...

. Toshikazu was Saito Tatsuoki cousin, head of

. In 1567, after the Battle of Inabayama, Toshikazu became a vassal of Akechi Mitsuhide, who was a retainer of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

. In 1582, at the

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Shimamoto, Osaka, Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, ...

, the battle between

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

's two ''de facto'' successors,

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

and

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 ...

. Toshikazu became a commander of

Akechi clan The is a branch of the Toki clan, which is descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Akechi became the head, soryo of the Toki after the Toki fell to the Saitō c ...

forces. During the battle, he tried to flank Hideyoshi's lines but was defeated and executed by Horio Mosuke.

References

Samurai People of Azuchi–Momoyama-period Japan 1582 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Samurai-stub

See also

References