Takigawa Kazumasu

Takigawa Kazumasu (滝川 一益, 1525 – October 21, 1586), also known as Sakonshōgen (左近将監), was a samurai retainer to Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Toshihisa and later served Nobunaga alongside Kazumasu and Toshimasu's adopted uncle, Maeda Toshiie.

Takigawa Kazumasu
滝川 一益
Takigawa Kazumasu
Born1525 (1525)
Omi Province
DiedOctober 21, 1586 (aged 60–61)
Echizen Province
Allegiance Oda clan
Toyotomi clan
Battles/warsBattle of Anegawa
Battle of Mikatagahara
Siege of Nagashima
Battle of Tedorigawa
Tensho Iga War
Battle of Kanagawa
Siege of Kameyama
Siege of Kanie
In this Japanese name, the surname is Takigawa.

Biography

Originally from Ōmi Province, Takigawa was appointed Kantō-kanrei (Shōgun's Deputy in the East) by Nobunaga; in this post, with a portion of Kōzuke Province as his domain, he was assigned to keep an eye on the powerful Hōjō clan, based at Odawara. Under Nobunaga, he took part in a great many battles, including the battle of Anegawa in (1570), and the campaigns against the Ikkō-ikki of Nagashima (1571–1574).

Kazumasu was sent by Oda Nobunaga to provide reinforcement to Tokugawa Ieyasu when he was attacked by Takeda Shingen at Battle of Mikatagahara (1572), this included Siege of Nagashima (1573) and also fought in Battle of Tedorigawa (1577), and the Tenshō Iga War (1579-1581) in Iga Province.[1]

Following Nobunaga's death in 1582, Takigawa fought in the Battle of Kanagawa (1582) against Hojo clan.[1]:232–233

In 1583, he and Shibata Katsuie along with many of the Oda retainers, initially opposed Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but he was defeated defending Kameyama Castle (Mie), after Hideyoshi used mines to bring down the castle.[2]

Later Kazumasu submitted to Hideyoshi and assisted during the Komaki Campaign (1584) by attacking Kanie castle along with Kuki Yoshitaka. When he performed badly in this campaign, he shaved his head, become a Buddhist monk and retired from battle in shame. He is thought to have died in Echizen around 1586.

Takigawa's standard was three red circles arranged vertically.

References
  1. Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. pp. 223–224, 228, 230. ISBN 1854095234.
  2. Turnbull, S.R. (1977). The Samurai. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 168. ISBN 0026205408.
  • Frederic, Louis (2002). Japan Encyclopedia, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan: 1334–1615, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
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