was a Japanese
Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
and
Daimyo
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...
of 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 ...
through late
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 ...
, who served
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 ...
. Torii died at the
siege of Fushimi
The siege of Fushimi was a crucial battle in the series leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara which ended Japan's Sengoku period. Fushimi Castle was defended by a force loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern army, led by Torii Mototada. ...
where his
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
was greatly outnumbered and destroyed by the army of
Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...
. Torii's refusal to surrender had a great impact on Japanese history; the fall of Fushimi bought Ieyasu some time to regroup and eventually win the
Battle at Sekigahara.
Early life
Torii was born in
Okazaki, the son of
Torii Tadayoshi.
As a boy, he was sent as hostage to the
Imagawa clan
was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.
Origins
Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the ...
.
[ The young Mototada served the then- Matsudaira Takechiyo as a page.][ After Ieyasu's return from the Imagawa clan, and his unification of ]Mikawa Province
was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces.
Mik ...
, Mototada served as one of his chief generals.
In 1572, Mototada succeeded the Torii family headship, following the death of his father.
Service under Ieyasu
In 1573, He fought at the Battle of Mikatagahara
The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573.
Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his cam ...
Hōjō clan
The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...
's force of over 10,000, and defeated them; soon after, Ieyasu granted him Tanimura Castle in Kai Province.
Later, in 1585, he joined Ōkubo Tadayo
was a samurai general in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Azuchi–Momoyama period, subsequently becoming a ''Daimyō'' of Odawara Domain in early Edo period, Japan.
Biography
Ōkubo Tadayo was the eldest son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, a her ...
and Hiraiwa Chikayoshi
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He ruled the Inuyama Domain. According to legend, he was involved in a 1611 plot by Tokugawa Ieyasu to assassinate Toyotomi Hideyori, son and intended successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, through ...
in laying siege to the Sanada clan
The is a Japanese clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80">("Sanada," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 52 DF_56_of_80">("S_...
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's Ueda Castle">DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("S ...