(1545–1589) also known as Satokane 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 ...

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 ...

, who served the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast ...

. Uwai Kakuken was a Shimazu clan chief retainer and one of

Shimazu Yoshihisa was a powerful ''daimyō'' and the 16th Chief of Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province, the eldest son of Shimazu Takahisa. He is a renowned as a great general, who managed to subjugate Kyushu through the deft maneuvering of his three brothers. Eventu ...

's top councilors. Parts of his diary survives as a glimpse into the court of a 16th Century daimyō. In 1561, Kakuken had his first military engagement in the Battle of Meguri Castle. He was named Chief retainer in 1576, and following the 1579 conquest of Hyûga province by the Shimazu, was given Miyazaki castle. Kakuken was active in campaigns in Higo province and against the

Ōtomo clan was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took ...

. He was also active in appreciation of waka poetry and tea ceremony, and is known to have been a highly educated and cultured individual. Kakuken suffered a serious injury in the 1586 Siege of Iwatsurugi castle. The following year, he was attacked and defeated at Miyazaki,

Kagoshima prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

by the forces of

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 ...

. He submitted to Hideyoshi's authority, turned over the castle to him, and took up retirement at Ijūin in

Satsuma province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Durin ...

. Kakuken died several years later, in 1589.

References

Samurai 1545 births 1589 deaths Shimazu retainers Shimazu clan {{samurai-stub