was a Japanese samurai of the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...

through early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. The son of

Takenaka Hanbei , who was also known as Hanbei (半兵衛), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Hanbei was the castle lord in command of Bodaiyama Castle. He was a chief strategist and adviser of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father wa ...

, Shigekado saw his first action at age 12, taking part in the Battle of Komaki in 1585. Following in his father's footsteps and served

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 ...

, later siding 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 fellow ...

. 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 ...

, Shigekado along with

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography His childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577, when Nagamasa was a ...

attacked the Western Army's main camp and Shigekado succeeded in chasing down and executing

Konishi Yukinaga Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...

. In Shigekado's time, the Takenaka became ''kōtai-yoriai'' hatamoto. Studying Chinese and Japanese philosophy with Hayashi Razan, Shigekado was known for his skill in

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and poetry. Shigekado died in Edo at age 58, and was succeeded by his son Takenaka Shigetsune.

Notes

1573 births 1631 deaths Samurai 17th-century Japanese historians {{samurai-stub