, also known as Shima Tomoyuki and Shima Katsutake, was a Japanese samurai of the late

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 ...

. His nickname was (Shima the right hand). Sakon eventually left the service of the

Hatakeyama clan The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle ...

Tsutsui Junkei son of Tsutsui Junshō, and a ''daimyō'' of the province of Yamato. On 1571, Junkei, through the offices of Akechi Mitsuhide, pledged to service of Oda Nobunaga. Military life Early in his career, in 1565, Matsunaga Hisahide, one of the most ...

Toyotomi Hidenaga , formerly known as . He was a half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most powerful and significant warlords of Japan's Sengoku period and regarded as 'Hideyoshi's brain and right-arm'. He was also known by his court title, . He promot ...

and eventually joined and serve under Ishida Mitsunari.

Biography

He was born in the

Yamato province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, the ...

to Shima Matsukatsu, a local lords of Yamato Province. The Shima clan was considered to be a resident landholder around present-day Heguri-cho, Ikoma County,

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...

. Sakon served the

wo were the

Shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

(Governors) of

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

. In 1562, Sakon took part in the

Battle of Kyokoji 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 ...

in which

Hatakeyama Takamasa was a ''daimyō'' of the Hatakeyama clan of Kawachi Province during the late Sengoku period of Japanese history. In 1562, He led Hatakeyama clan at Battle of Kyōkōji, it was one of many battles fought between the Miyoshi and Hatakeyama in J ...

fought

Miyoshi Nagayoshi , eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai and powerful ''daimyō'' who ruled seven provinces of Kansai. Nagayoshi held the court titles of Shūri-dayū (修理太夫) and Chikuzen no Kami (筑前守), and was also known by the more ...

, but Takamasa was defeated. Later in 1577, Sakon became one of the two primary samurai officers under

alongside

Matsukura Shigenobu Matsukura may refer to: Places * Matsukura Castle (disambiguation) * Matsukura Dam, an earthfill dam in Akita Prefecture, Japan * Matsukura Station, a railway station in Kamaishe, Iwate, Japan People *Matsukura Katsuie was a Japanese ''daimyō'' ...

. Since he fought under command of Junkei during this time, he became one of the local lords belonging to the Tsutsui clan, gradually distinguished himself as a ''samurai taisho'' or ''samurai commander'' (a samurai who gives battle orders and maneuvers troops). After the death of Junkei, It has been said that in January 1586, Sakon hired by Ishida Mitsunari and was convinced to serve the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary un ...

under

(

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 ...

’s brother) at

Kyushu Campaign is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. In 1591, after Hidenaga died, Ishida Mitsunari recruited him into his army as a leading strategist. Later in 1598 after Hideyoshi died, Sakon proceeded to help Mitsunari as he struggled against

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 1600, a few days before the battle of Sekigahara, Sakon led an assault on Ieyasu's Eastern army at

Battle of Kuisegawa The was a decisive battle during the Sekigahara Campaign, this battle gave Ishida Mitsunari's Western Army the initial advantage at the Battle of Sekigahara while Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to Sek ...

with great success. As always, he was one of the bravest generals of Ishida Mitsunari on the battlefield. 島左近

Battle of Sekigahara

On October 21, 1600, at 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 ...

, Shima served as one of Ishida's higher-ranking officers, commander of Ishida Mitsunari forces, he commanding a unit of 1,000 men. Some sources suggest Shima led musketmen and that his position had cannons. He fought against

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai warrior of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka with Numata Jakō, and he was the husband of a famous Christian convert (Kirishitan), Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he ...

and was shot by riflemen led by

Kuroda Kanbei , also known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christian w ...

's son, Nagamasa, and forcing him to retreat. His fourth son, Shima Kiyomasa within Otani Yoshitsugu's ranks, killed by an 'Eastern' samurai named Takagi Heizaburō. His fate remains somewhat of a mystery since he or his body was not on the battlefield after the battle. Some say he died of his wounds after the battle or escaped and died a few years later.

References

External links

Portraits of the Samurai: Sakon Shima
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shima, Sakon 1540 births 1600 deaths Samurai Japanese warriors killed in battle

Biography

Battle of Sekigahara

See also

References

External links