was a Japanese ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of the early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. His court title was '' Musashi no Kami''. Terumasa was also known by the nickname ''saigoku no shōgun'', or, "The ''Shōgun'' of Western Japan". Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the 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 Nob ...

, and due to his service at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, he received a fief at

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

. His childhood name was Araokojimaru (荒尾古新丸). He was the son of

Ikeda Tsuneoki , also known as Ikeda Nobuteru (池田信輝), was an Ikeda clan ''daimyō'' and military commander under Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama periods of 16th-century Japan. He was a retainer of the famous warlords Oda No ...

and brother of Ikeda Sen.

Biography

Terumasa was the second son and heir of Ikeda Nobuteru (Ikeda Tsuneoki). Terumasa held the Ikejiri Castle (

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

). In 1579, during the Siege of Itami (1574), Terumasa was stationed at Settsukura Bridge with his father. Then later in 1580, during the Siege of Hanakuma castle, they camped at Kitasuwagamine, and on March 2, Terumasa performed notable action where he personally killed six enemies during the battle. Due to his military exploits, he was awarded a letter of commendation from

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. In 1584 on April 9, during the Battle of Nagakute, Terumasa served under the

and

Mori Nagayoshi was a samurai officer under the Oda clan following Japan's 16th-century Sengoku period, and the older brother of the famous Mori Ranmaru. His wife Ikeda Sen, was the daughter of Ikeda Tsuneoki. Nagayoshi was known to have such a bad temper an ...

who commanded 3,000 and 2,000 soldiers respectively. During this battle, Nagayoshi was shot and killed in action, while Tsuneoki was also killed by

Nagai Naokatsu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period to early Edo period. He was a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, first serving under Ieyasu's son Tokugawa Nobuyasu, Nobuyasu. After Nobuyasu's execution, Naokatsu left Tokugawa service, but la ...

's spear and died in battle. Terumasa was then persuaded by his vassals to retreat. Eventually, the Tsuneoki and Mori forces were crushed, and the battle ended in victory for the Tokugawa forces. In 1590, following the transfer of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

to the Kanto, Terumasa was established at Yoshida in Mikawa, a 152,000-''koku'' fief. In 1594 Terumasa married one of Tokugawa's daughters, and after Hideyoshi died in 1598, the Ikeda drifted into Ieyasu's camp. In 1592, Terumasa participated in Japanese invasions of Korea. He stays in the castle and is in charge of guarding the East Country. As for his duties regarding the dispatch of troops to Korea, Terumasa was ordered to build large ships and transport provisions and rice to

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

. He also worked on constructing

Fushimi Castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residen ...

and Toyotomi Hideyasu's Yamatotanai Castle. In 1594, Terumasa married to Tokuhime, the daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu with Hideyoshi's mediation.

Conflict with Ishida Mitsunari

According to popular theory In 1598 after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the government of Japan have an accident when seven military generals consisted of Fukushima Masanori,

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was . His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi's Seven ...

, Ikeda Terumasa, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Asano Yoshinaga,

Katō Yoshiaki was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period; he served as lord of the Aizu Domain. As a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Katō fought in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583 and soon became known as one of the ''shich ...

, and Kuroda Nagamasa planned a conspiracy to kill Ishida Mitsunari. It was said that the reason of this conspiracy was dissatisfaction of those generals towards Mitsunari as he wrote bad assessments and underreported the achievements of those generals during the Imjin war against Korea & Chinese empire. However, despite the classical historiography depiction of the event as "seven generals against Mitsunari", modern historian Watanabe Daimon has pointed out there were more generals involved such as

Hachisuka Iemasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Iemasa, the son of Hachisuka Masakatsu or ''Koroku'', was the founder of the Tokushima Domain. He was one of some daimyo who have bad terms with Ishida Mitsunari. His father was a retain ...

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master ...

, and

Kuroda Yoshitaka , also known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku through the early Edo period. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda b ...

also brought their troops and entourage to confront Mitsunari. At first, these generals gathered at Kiyomasa's mansion in

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

, and from there they moved into Mitsunari's mansion. However, Mitsunari learned of this through a report from a servant of

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

named Jiemon Kuwajima, and fled to Satake Yoshinobu's mansion together with Shima Sakon and others to hide. When the seven generals found out that Mitsunari was not in the mansion, they searched the mansions of various feudal lords in Osaka Castle, and Kato's army also approached the Satake residence. Therefore, Mitsunari and his party escaped from the Satake residence and barricaded themselves at

. The next day, the seven generals surrounded Fushimi Castle with their soldiers as they knew Mitsunari was hiding there.

, who was in charge of political affairs in Fushimi Castle trying to arbitrate the situation. The seven generals requested Ieyasu to hand over Mitsunari, which refused by Ieyasu. Ieyasu then negotiated the promised to let Mitsunari retire and to review the assessment of the Battle of Ulsan Castle in Korea which became the major source of this incident, and had his second son,

Yūki Hideyasu was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province, Echizen. Early life Hideyasu was born as in 1574, the second son of To ...

, to escort Mitsunari to Sawayama Castle. However, modern historians such as Daimon, Junji Mitsunari, and Goki Mizuno has stated from the primary and secondary sources text about the accident this was more of a legal conflict between those generals with Mitsunari, rather than a conspiracy to murder him. The role of Ieyasu here was not to physically protect Mitsunari from any physical harm from them, but to mediate the complaints of those generals. Nevertheless, historians viewed this incident not just as simply personal problems between those generals and Mitsunari, but rather as an extension of the political rivalries of greater scope between the Tokugawa faction and the anti-Tokugawa faction led by Mitsunari. Since this incident, those military figures who were on bad terms with Mitsunari would later support Ieyasu during the conflict of Sekigahara between the Eastern army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western army led by Ishida Mitsunari. Muramatsu Shunkichi, writer of "''The Surprising Colors and Desires of the Heroes of Japanese History and violent womens''”, gave his assessment that the reason of Mitsunari failure in his war against Ieyasu was due to his unpopularity among the major political figures of that time. When 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 by a ...

began in the fall of 1600, Terumasa immediately sided with his father-in-law, Tokugawa. He also manages to convince Nakagawa Hidenari to side with Ieyasu during this conflicts. In August 21, the Eastern Army led by Terumasa Ikeda, began crossing the river from Kawada. Terumasa army engaged in a battle at Yoneno against Oda Hidenobu. After the Hidenobu army routed, the Eastern army led by Naomasa and Fukushima crossed the river and directly attacked Takegahana Castle at 9:00 AM on the August 22nd. Shigekatsu himself setting the castle on fire and committed suicide as a final act of defiance. At the

, Ikeda commanded 4,560 troops in the rear guard and saw some desultory fighting with Chosokabe Morichika's contingent as the battle wound down. Following the Tokugawa victory, Terumasa was given a 520,000-''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'' fief and the province of Harima. He also rewarded by his father-in-law, Ieyasu, with Himeji Castle. which he expanded and completed in 1609. In 1603 Bizen was added to Terumasa's territory, and this he assigned to his eldest son, Toshitaka (1584–1616). By the time of Terumasa's death in 1613, the Ikeda had grown to rule over Harima, Bizen, Inaba, and Awaji, with a combined income of around 1,000,000-''koku''. Following the death of Toshitaka, the Tokugawa Bakufu took steps to reduce the alarming power of the Ikeda and eventually reduced the family to Tottori (Inaba) and Okayama (Bizen).

Ōkanehira sword

Ōkanehira is a ''

tachi A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when she ...

'' that was once owned by Ikeda Terumasa. It was forged by the swordsmith Kanehira, a member of the Ko-Bizen (old Bizen) school of the Bizen school during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. Due to the sword's exceptional quality, the prefix "Ō" (meaning "great") was added to the smith's name, resulting in the name Ōkanehira. The sword is often considered the finest Japanese sword from an artistic standpoint and is frequently compared with Dōjigiri as one of the greatest examples of Japanese sword craftsmanship. Together, they are sometimes referred to as the "

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

of Japanese swords," referencing the highest rank in

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestling and implying unmatched excellence. It has been designated a National Treasure and is housed in the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

.. , August 2, 2017

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Zen'ōin *Sister: Ikeda Sen * Wives: ** Itohime, daughter of Nakagawa Kiyohide **

Tokuhime (Tokugawa) Tokuhime (督姫: 1565 – March 3, 1615) (''Hime'' means "princess", "lady") was a princess during the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Edo periods of History of Japan, Japanese history. She was the second daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu; her mother ...

* Concubines: ** Manganin ** Daughter of Ando clan * Children: ** Ikeda Toshitaka (1584–1616) by Itohime ** Ikeda Tadatsugu (1599–1615) by

** Ikeda Teruzumi (1604–1662) by

** Ikeda Masatsuna (1605–1631) by

** Ikeda Tadakatsu (1602–1632) by

** Ikeda Teruoki (1611–1647) by

** Chacha-hime married Kyogoku Takahiro by

** Furihime (1607–1659) married Date Tadamune by

** Ikeda Masatora (1590–1635) by Manganin ** Ikeda Toshimasa (1594–1639) by daughter of Ando clan ** Ikeda Terutaka

Appendix

Bibliography

* Japanese Wikipedia article on Terumasa (23 October 2007) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Terumasa 1565 births 1613 deaths Daimyo Ikeda clan Deified Japanese men