son of Tsutsui Junshō, and a ''

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 ...

'' of the province of

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

. On 1571, Junkei, through the offices of

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 ...

, pledged to service of

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 ...

Military life

Early in his career, in 1565,

Matsunaga Hisahide Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide (松永弾正久秀 1508 – November 19, 1577) was a ''daimyō'' and head of the Yamato Matsunaga clan in Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Biography He was a retainer of Miyoshi Nagayoshi fro ...

, one of the most powerful warriors of the region, defeated Junkei and took Tsutsui Castle, but one year later in 1566, Junkei's Tsutsui castle was reclaimed after the battle againts Hisahide, but shortly afterward he had to abandon it, following an order by Nobunaga. In 1575, he joint the attack against the Echizen

Ikkō-ikki were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly con ...

, he participated in a unit among the forces from

led by

Harada Naomasa Harada (written: ) is the 52nd most common Japanese surname. Notable personalities with this surname include: *, Japanese actor *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese rock climber *, Japanese ...

. In 1577, by joining the forces of

Oda Nobutada was a samurai and the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, who fought in many battles during the Sengoku period of Japan. He commanded armies under his father in battles against Matsunaga Hisahide and against the Takeda clan. Biography Oda Nobutada w ...

, along with

and

Hosokawa Fujitaka , also known as , was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Fujitaka was a prominent retainer of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last Ashikaga shōgun. When he joined the Oda, Oda Nobunaga rewarded him with the fief of Tango and went on ...

, Junkei defeated Hisahide in

Siege of Shigisan The 1577 was one of many sieges during Oda Nobunaga's campaigns to consolidate his power in the Kansai area. The castle was held by Matsunaga Hisahide, Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide and his son Matsunaga Kojirō, Kojirō, both of whom committed sui ...

Mount Shigi is a mountain located in Ikoma District, Nara, Japan. Legends Legend of Prince Shotoku One of the legends of Mt. Shigi tells of Prince Shotoku asking for victory from the gods over his opponents. Prince Shotoku was a descendant of the Soga fa ...

. In 1578, He was then appointed to the position of ''

'' over Yamato, and was allowed to build a new castle, which was called Kōriyama Castle, now in Yamatokōriyama, Nara. He participated in the

Siege of Itami (1579) The second , also called the during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, occurred in 1579, five years after it was seized by Oda Nobunaga in Siege of Itami (1574) from Itami clan, and entrusted the Castle to Araki Murashige. Background In ...

againts

Araki Murashige was a retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, head of the powerful "Setssu-Ikeda clan" of Settsu Province. Under Katsumasa, Murashige sided with Oda Nobunaga following Nobunaga's successful campaign to establish power in Kyoto. Military life Murashige bec ...

and

Tenshō Iga War is the name of two invasions of Iga province by the Oda clan during the Sengoku period. The province was conquered by Oda Nobunaga in 1581 after an unsuccessful attempt in 1579 by his son Oda Nobukatsu. The names of the wars are derived from the ...

in the

Siege of Hijiyama The 1581 was one of the crucial battles in Oda Nobunaga's campaigns to seize Iga province during Japan's Sengoku period. After a lengthy siege, and several successful sallies by the defenders, the castle eventually fell and was destroyed. Gam ...

in (1581) against forces of Iga Sōkoku Ikki. In 1582, during the Battle of Yamazaki, Junkei refused to take either side and remained neutral awaiting the results of the battle at "Hora ga toge". This is the origin of the expression, "To sit on Hora ga toge", when referring to indecision. In 1584, Junkei fought in the

Komaki Campaign The was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu had both served Oda Nobunaga and had not previou ...

againts

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 ...

and after battle, his governance over Yamato was guaranteed by

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 ...

Death

Later on September 15, 1584, he died of illness. After Junkei's death, the Tsutsui clan was succeeded by

Tsutsui Sadatsugu was a cousin and adopted son of Tsutsui Junkei, a feudal lord of the Yamato province. At the death of Junkei in 1584, he was relocated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Iga Province, where he built the Iga Ueno Castle. In 1585, he participated at Hide ...

, a cousin and adopted son of Junkei. The Tsutsui Clan subsequently lost governance of Yamato to

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 ...

, Hideyoshi's half-brother. Sadatsugu themselves were moved to the

Iga Province was a province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. Under the ''Engishiki'' cl ...

by orders of Hideyoshi.

Military life

Death

References

Further reading