was a Japanese ''

daimyō 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 nominall ...

'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to

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 character ...

s. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''

''.

Biography

During his lifetime he changed his feudal master seven times and worked for ten people, but in the end he rendered loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became his last master. Takatora started working for

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese '' daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathe ...

at the age of 15. In 1576, he served Hashiba Hidenaga, the younger brother of

Hashiba 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 ...

, a senior vassal of Nobunaga, and was granted a

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

of land. Tōdō Takatora was promoted rapidly under Hashiba Hidenaga. In 1581, Takatora defeat a local clan in Tajima Province, his holding was increased and he was made commander of a unit of musketeers. He fought in the Chugoku region and fought at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583. In 1585, he served in the conquest of Kishū and defeated Yukawa Naoharu. He was given more land in Kii Province, and was appointed 'commissioner' for the construction of Saruokayama Castle and Wakayama Castle. These were Takatora’s first castles. In the same year, he made contribution in the Invasion of Shikoku, and was awarded further land by Hideyoshi, becoming a daimyo in his own right. In 1591, after Hidenaga died, Takatora serve under Hideyoshi, he participated in the invasions of Korea as a "Fleet Commander" of Toyotomi's navy. His fiefdom at that time was Iyo- Uwajima. During the Edo period, the wealth of each fiefdom was measured as a volume of rice production in '' koku''. Iyo-Uwajima was assessed at 70,000 koku. Tōdō Takatora is also famous for excellence in castle design. He is said to have been involved in building as many as twenty castles, including

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

, Wakayama Castle, Uwajima Castle, Imabari Castle, Iga Ueno Castle and Sasayama Castle.

Battle of Sekigahara

In 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, although he was one of Toyotomi's main generals, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the battle, 'Eastern' troops under Takatora command, nearly lost against Ōtani Yoshitsugu 'Western' army. However, when Kobayakawa Hideaki army charged down attacking Yoshitsugu's from the west, Yoshitsugu lost his ground and is said to have committed suicide, later the Eastern army won the battle. The Ietada Nikki records;

Shima Sakon , also known as Shima Tomoyuki and Shima Katsutake, was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period. His nickname was (Shima the right hand). Sakon eventually left the service of the Hatakeyama clan, Tsutsui Junkei, Toyotomi Hidenaga and eve ...

fourth son, Shima Kiyomasa within Yoshitsugu's ranks, tried to kill Takatora in one blow, however he was struck down and killed by an 'Eastern' general named Takagi Heizaburō. After the war he was given a larger fiefdom, Iyo- Imabari, assessed at 200,000 koku. Later in life he was made lord of Tsu (with landholdings in

Iga Iga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ambush at Iga Pass, a 1958 Japanese film * Iga no Kagemaru, Japanese manga series * Iga, a set of characters from the Japanese novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' Biology * ''Iga'' (beetle), a g ...

and

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan ** Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria * Ise, Norway, a village in Norway * Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of ...

), a domain of 320,000 koku. Todo Takatora (1556-1630) Banner and Large Battle Standard

Popular culture

Films

* Portrayed by

Kim Myung-gon Kim Myung-gon (born December 3, 1952) is a South Korean actor, screenwriter and music director. He is best known for starring in and writing the screenplay of Korean film classic '' Seopyeonje'', for which he won Best Actor at the 1993 Blue Drago ...

in the 2014 film '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents''.

Comics

*A fictionalized version of Todo (renamed "''Todo Tokotora''") appears in the 2009 comic miniseries '' Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender'', where he is shown in a lover's relationship with fellow general Gurijima Michiyuki. Gurijima's death during the Battle of Hansando becomes Todo's primary motivation to eliminate Yi.

Video games

*Takatora is a playable character in the Samurai Warriors franchise debuting in Sengoku Musou Chronicle 2nd. In Samurai Warriors 4, he is portrayed as an

Azai The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period. History The Azai was a line of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern Ōmi Province, located within present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. ...

retainer and a close friend of Ōtani Yoshitsugu before joining the Toyotomi.

References

Tōdō family information
(25 Sept. 2007)

External links

Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Tōdō Takatora , - * {{DEFAULTSORT:Todo, Takatora Takatora, Todo Takatora, Todo Toda Takatora Toda Takatora 17th-century military history of Japan People from Shiga Prefecture