was a

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 ...

in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He was served

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods of the 16th century. He served as senior retainer to the ...

and later Hideyoshi. He was one of the ''

Go-Bugyō The or Five Commissioners, was an administrative organ of feudal Japan which later evolved into the ''Go-Tairō'' (Council of Five Elders). It was established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi when he became '' kampaku'' (Imperial regent) in 1585. Duty The C ...

'', or ''five commissioners'', appointed 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 ...

Biography

He was born in Owari Province. Masaie served

who was a retainer of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, sever ...

.''Nihonshi yōgoshū B'', p. 126. Later, because the domain of the Niwa clan was badly reduced after Hashiba Hideyoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) ended 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 ...

by reunifying Japan, Masaie served him and was given the rule of Minakuchi, Ōmi Province. Hideyoshi congratulated Masaie on arithmetical faculty and appointed him as one of the

, along with

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 ...

Maeda Gen'i was a Buddhist priest from Mt. Hiei, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ''Go-Bugyō'', along with Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori and Natsuka Masaie. He entered the service of Oda Nobunaga som ...

, Asano Nagamasa and Mashita Nagamori.

Battle of Sekigahara

After Hideyoshi died, in 1600 Masaie and

who was also one of the Go-Bugyō, put up Mōri Terumoto and raised their army against

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 fello ...

. At the

battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, Masaie lined their army on Nangu-san with Mōri Hidemoto and Kikkawa Hiroie. However, Masaie was prevented from fighting by Hiroie and finally routed to Minakuchi. Setting fire to

Minakuchi Castle thumbnail, 260px, layout of Minakuchi Castle thumbnail, 260px, Another view of the ''yagura'' , is a ''hirashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the former town of Minakuchi, in the city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The castle is also ...

, he committed suicide. His grave is at Anraku-ji, in Shiga Prefecture. Natsukamasaieteiato

References

1562 births 1600 deaths Daimyo Toyotomi retainers {{daimyo-stub