Takenaka Shigeharu

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Takenaka Shigeharu
竹中 重治
Takenaka Shigeharu
Head of Takenaka clan
In office
1560–1579
Preceded byTakenaka Shigemoto
Succeeded byTakenaka Shigekado
Personal details
BornSeptember 27, 1544
Mino province
DiedJuly 6, 1579(1579-07-06) (aged 34)
ChildrenTakenaka Shigekado
RelativesTakenaka Shigetoshi (cousin)
Ando Morinari (father in law)
Nickname"Hanbei" (半兵衛)
Military service
Allegiance Saitō clan
Oda clan
Unit Takenaka clan
Battles/warsBattle of Nagaragawa (1556)
Siege of Inabayama (1567)
Battle of Anegawa (1570)
Chūgoku Campaign (1576)
Siege of Miki (1579)
In this Japanese name, the surname is Takenaka.

Takenaka Shigeharu (竹中 重治, September 27, 1544 – July 6, 1579), who was also known as Hanbei (半兵衛), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Hanbei was the castle lord in command of Bodaiyama Castle.[1] He was a chief strategist and adviser of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.[1] His father was a local samurai Takenaka Shigemoto.[1] He initially served the Saitō clan of Mino Province, but later plotted an uprising and took over the Saitō clan's Gifu Castle.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Shigeharu was born in 1544 as the son of Takenaka Shigemoto, the lord of Ōmidō Castle in the Ōno District of Mino Province and a retainer of the Mino-Saitō clan.

In 1556, Shigeharu had his first battle at the Battle of Nagaragawa. He allied with Saitō Dōsan, and replaced his father as the "commander in chief" against Saitō Yoshitatsu.

In 1560, after the death or retirement of Shigemoto, Shigeharu succeeded him as head of the family and became the lord of Bodaisan Castle.

In 1561, after the death of Yoshitatsu, Shigeharu served Yoshitatsu's son and heir, Saitō Tatsuoki, who took over at the age of thirteen. Tatsuoki, however, indulged in a decadent lifestyle and did not pay attention to affairs of governance. As a result, in 1564, Shigeharu joint Mino Triumvirate to attack Tatsuoki at Inabayama Castle, killing Saitō Hida-no-kami, causing Tatsuoki to flee. But later, Tatsuoki appeared to have taken back the castle and Shigeharu abandoning the castle.[1][2]

In 1567, during the Siege of Inabayama Castle, Shigeharu then directed the defense against the forces of Oda Nobunaga. But in the end, Tatsuoki was driven out of Inabayama Castle. After the castle fell, he left the Saitō family, and served as a guest commander under Azai Nagamasa.

In 1570, Shigeharu joint Oda clan, participating at the Battle of Anegawa in forces led by Andō Morinari, his father in law. After battle, Nobunaga ordered Shigeharu to stay in Yokoyama Castle along with Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was so impressed by him that he invited Shigeharu to join his forces as a strategist.

Later in 1576, he joined Hideyoshi and followed Hideyoshi in the Chūgoku Campaign. Shigeharu made many contributions to Hideyoshi with his exceptional talent in that fields.

In 1579, he died of illness during Hideyoshi's attack against the Mōri in the Chūgoku region of Japan, while Miki Castle was being besieged.[2][1] Later, he was succeeded by Kuroda Yoshitaka as strategist.[1]

Grave of Takenaka Shigeharu

Descendants[edit]

Takenaka Shigekado, Shigeharu's son and successor, continued to serve Hideyoshi after his father's death.[2] At the Battle of Sekigahara, he fought on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and his holdings at Bodaiyama Castle were secured. The Takenaka family thus became a family of hatamoto, and would soon move from their old castle of Bodaiyama Castle to the new castle called Takenaka Jinya(Takenaka clan's fortified residence).[3][2] The holdings of the Takenaka included Sekigahara Village.[4]

In the mid-19th century, Shigeharu's descendant Takenaka Shigekata served as commander of the Tokugawa forces in Fushimi at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi.

Popular culture[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Takenaka Hanbei (Takenaka Shigeharu)". kotobank. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Takenaka clan. Harimaya. Accessed October 29, 2007.
  3. ^ "日本の城がわかる事典「竹中陣屋」の解説". kotobank. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. ^ (in Japanese) 交代寄合竹中氏

External links[edit]

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