Kobayakawa Hidekane

was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

, the ninth son of

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari ...

. His mother was Motonari's concubine, Nomi no Ōkata (乃美の方). Originally he was named Mototsuna and given to Ōta Hidetsuna but later his childless half-brother

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Ko ...

took him as his adopted son. After this he changed his name to Motofusa. When he became one 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 ...

's hostages for some years and granted to use a kanji from Hideyoshi's name, he changed his name again to Hidekane. He married

Ōtomo Sōrin , also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原義鎮) and Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Roman Catholicism (Christianity). The eldest son of , he ...

's daughter Maxentia (Katsurahime) and converted to

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

with the baptized name Simao Findenao (シマオ・フィンデナオ). After the

Sekigahara Campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked ...

, Hidekane changed his family name back to Mōri, to avoid shame caused by his stepbrother

Kobayakawa Hideaki (1577 – December 1, 1602) was the fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada and the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was gained the rank of ''Saemon no Kami'' (左衛門督) or in China ''Shikkingo'' (執金吾) at genpuku and held the court title ...

. He died young at 35 years old. Hidekane was known of his gunnery skill, and

Tachibana Muneshige The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts. People * – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185) * – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...

's sworn brother. Together with him and other

Toyotomi The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

loyalists, Hidekane participated in

Siege of Ōtsu The took place in 1600, concurrent with the battle of Sekigahara. Kyōgoku Takatsugu held Ōtsu castle for the Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison. Mōri Terumoto and Tachibana Muneshige laid siege. The sides negotiated and Takatsugu surren ...

Castle. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mōri, Hidekane Samurai 1567 births 1601 deaths Mōri clan Japanese Roman Catholics Converts to Christianity Deified Japanese people