Hachisuka Masakatsu

Hachisuka Masakatsu (蜂須賀 正勝, 1526 – July 8, 1586), also Hachisuka Koroku (蜂須賀小六), was a daimyō and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Azuchi–Momoyama period of Japanese history. He was the son of Hachisuka Masatoshi.

Hachisuka Masakatsu

Hachisuka Masakatsu's birthplace monument（Ama, Aichi Prefecture）

Hachisuka Masakatsu family crest, known as the Hachisuka swastika

The Hachisuka clan were the kokujin of the Kaitō District of Owari Province (in present-day Ama District, Aichi Prefecture). They controlled water transport on the Kiso River. Their knowledge of local terrain made them useful to the Oda and Saitō clans, although they remained independent of control of the powerful clans.

Later, Masakatsu served Oda Nobunaga, under command of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and may have participated in the building of Sunomata Castle (1567) and fought at the Siege of Inabayama (1568), also fought at the Battle of Anegawa (1570) againts Azai and Asakura forces, as well as the campaigns against the Mōri. In 1585, Hideyoshi awarded him Awa Province as a fief, but he declined in favor of his son, Iemasa, serving instead as a close adviser of Hideyoshi.