Past Lords of Gifu Castle

1　Nikaido Yukimasa (birth and death dates unknown)

Nikaido Yukimasa was a member of the noble Fujiwara clan and lived during the twelfth and part of the thirteenth century. He was related to the first Kamakura Shogun (1147–1199), and through his family ties was made an official in the Kamakura Shogunate’s government. Yukimasa had considerable political influence, and old records show that between 1201 and 1204 he built a fortress known as Inabayama Castle here on Mount Kinka (known at the time as Mount Inabayama). That fortress would eventually be rebuilt as Gifu Castle.

2　The Nagai Clan

The Nagai clan were originally retainers of the Saito clan, the deputy military governors of Mino (present-day Gifu). The Nagai clan seized power during a period of political turmoil for the Saito clan, and by the end of 1525 the Nagai had overthrown them entirely and sent them into exile along with domain ruler, Toki Yoshinori (1502–1582). Nagai Shinzaemonnojo (life dates unknown) was one of the Nagai clan samurai who participated in the coup. Shinzaemonnojo was not born a samurai, but grew up as a monk in Kyoto, became a successful oil merchant, and then joined the Nagai clan. He eventually became the head of the Nagai clan and took control of Inabayama castle. His son, Saito Dosan (1494–1556), would succeed him as ruler of Inabayama castle after Shinzaemonnojo’s death in 1533.

3　Saito Dosan (1494–May 28, 1556)

Known as the “Viper of Mino,” Saito Dosan was renowned for his ruthless tactics. His defeat of Oda Nobuhide (1510–1551) at the Battle of Kanoguchi in 1547 brought him national recognition. After the battle, Dosan’s daughter, Nohime (1533~35–1612), and Nobuhide’s son Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) were married as part of the peace treaty negotiations.

By 1556, Dosan found himself surrounded by speculation concerning who would be made his heir. Some rumors claimed that his firstborn, Saito Yoshitatsu (1527–1561), was not his natural son; others suggested that Dosan was considering his more talented son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga as his heir. Aware of the doubts about his paternity and determined to secure his position as rightful heir, Yoshitatsu killed his two siblings and attacked his father at the Battle of Nagaragawa in 1556.

Yoshitatsu was able to rally the majority of the Saito clan samurai to himself and defeated his 62-year-old father in a one-sided battle. Nobunaga sent reinforcements to aid his father-in-law, but they arrived after the battle had already ended. Dosan’s head, taken during battle, was interred in the Dosanzuka head mound near Sofukuji temple north of Gifu Castle.

4　Saito Yoshitatsu (July 8, 1527–June 23, 1561)

Saito Dosan’s (1494–1556) son was named Saito Yoshitatsu. Yoshitatsu an imposing man who stood 197 cm tall when the average height at the time was 157 cm, and just as ruthless as his father. In 1554, Dosan was 60 years old, and the question of who would succeed him was becoming more and more pressing. Rumors were circulating that Yoshitatsu was not Dosan’s natural son, but the son of Toki Yoshinori (1502–1582), Dosan’s former lord. Other rumors suggested that Dosan was considering his other sons, or even his son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582). Yoshitatsu was based at Sagiyama Castle, not far from Gifu, and he recognized the opportunity to have a decisive influence on his father’s decision. In 1556, Yoshitatsu killed his brothers, brought the majority of Saito clan warriors to his side, and attacked his father in the Battle of Nagaragawa. Dosan was killed in the battle and Yoshitatsu became the ruler of Gifu Castle.

Nobunaga attempted many times to kill Yoshitatsu in revenge, but was defeated each time. In 1559 Yoshitatsu sent a matchlock gunner to assassinate Nobunaga while he was traveling to Kyoto, but the attempt failed. Yoshitatsu died from an illness in 1561 and was succeeded by his teenage son, Saito Tatsuoki.

5　Saito Tatsuoki (1548–August 14, 1573)

Saito Tatsuoki was just thirteen when he succeeded his father in 1561. In 1564, the Saito clan’s military advisor Takenaka Hanbei (1544–1579) was insulted by a Saito clan samurai, and he demanded that Tatsuoki punish the offender. Tatsuoki refused, and Hanbei retaliated with a false attempt on Tatsuoki’s life, attacking the castle with sixteen samurai. Thinking he was under attack from a much larger army, Tatsuoki fled, abandoning his castle and men. Hanbei took the castle easily, but later returned it to Tatsuoki, whose cowardly retreat was seen as a great humiliation.

When Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) attacked in 1567, many of Tatsuoki’s troops remembered their lord’s cowardice and either fled or defected to the Oda forces. Nobunaga took the Saito fortress handily, and he chose to relocate it and rename it “Gifu.” Tatsuoki also fled the castle and was later killed during the Siege of Ichijodani Castle in 1573.

6　Oda Nobunaga (June 23, 1534–June 21, 1582)

Oda Nobunaga was the first of the “three unifiers” who brought about the end of the Sengoku Period (1467–1600). A military genius, he developed new tactics for armies using spears and arquebus guns and also greatly improved castle construction techniques.

When his father died in 1551, Nobunaga was able to consolidate power within his own clan and by 1560 he had taken control of the region around what is now Gifu and Nagoya. In the Battle of Okehazama (1560), Nobunaga defeated an invading force of 25,000 Imagawa samurai with just 3,000 men armed primarily with arquebuses. He captured Inabayama Castle in 1567 and renamed it “Gifu.” For about ten years he expanded the castle and used it as his stronghold until he moved again in 1576 to the newly completed Azuchi Castle in modern-day Shiga prefecture.

As his influence and power rose, Nobunaga grew more ambitious and worked to unify all of Japan under his rule. In 1575, Nobunaga defeated the powerful Takeda clan in a large-scale gun battle at Nagashino. He dominated the Uesugi clan after the death of their leader in 1578 and defeated the forces of Hoganji temple in 1580. In 1581 he took control of Iga province, and in early 1582 he had completely destroyed the Takeda clan.

Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) was in Oda Nobunaga’s inner circle of trusted generals. In June 1582 Nobunaga ordered him to bring reinforcements to a battle in Western Japan, but he instead marched his 13,000 men to Honnoji Temple in Kyoto, where Nobunaga was staying at the time. Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga and attacked him. Hopelessly outnumbered and wounded by arrow fire, Nobunaga retreated into the temple’s inner sanctum and committed ritual suicide. Mitsuhide was killed weeks later after the Battle of Yamazaki. Another of Nobunaga’s generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), would continue Nobunaga’s work of national unification.

7　Oda Nobutada (1557–June 21, 1582)

Oda Nobutada was the eldest son and heir of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) and ruled Gifu Castle from 1576 to 1582. Nobutada had become a skilled general after serving his father in many major campaigns, and he went on to lead armies in a number of battles on his own. He was responsible for defeating the powerful rival Takeda clan during the siege of Iwamura Castle in 1575. He also led the sieges of Shigisan Castle (1577) and Takato Castle (1582) against the Takeda. As part of a peace negotiation between the Oda and the Takeda clans in 1567, Nobutada was engaged to be wed to Princess Matsu (1561–1616), a daughter of Takeda Shingen (1521–1573).

The Oda-Takeda peace agreement was broken by Shingen five years later in 1582 when he and his forces invaded neighboring Mikawa, then held by Oda’s ally Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616). During the ensuing warfare, while Nobunaga was staying at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto and Nobutada was with his troops in Nijo Castle, Nobunaga’s trusted general Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) betrayed and attacked him. Having killed Nobunaga, Akechi and his men turned their attention to his son Nobutada at Nijo Castle. Surrounded, Nobutada committed ritual suicide (seppuku)). Like his father, his head was never found.

8　Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583)

Oda Nobutaka was Oda Nobunaga’s (1534–1582) third son and ruled Gifu Castle from 1582 to 1583. As part of Nobunaga’s plan to control the important Ise region, Nobutaka was adopted into the Kanbe clan as their clan leader. In 1582, Nobutaka was ordered by his father to subjugate the island of Shikoku. However, just prior to the invasion,while Nobunaga was in Kyoto his trusted general Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) betrayed and attacked him. Nobutaka quickly joined forces with another Oda general, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), and would kill Akechi during the Battle of Yamazaki in 1582.

On the death of their father and elder brother, Nobutada (1557–1582), a struggle for succession broke out between Nobutaka and his other brother, Nobukatsu (1558–1630). It would be Nobutada’s infant son who was eventually named heir, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi was given custody of the child. Nobutaka did receive Gifu Castle, but seeing Hideyoshi take on his father’s position, he joined forces with Shibata Katsuie (1522–1583), to attack him. During the ensuing Battle of Shizugatake (1583), Nobutaka’s brother Nobukatsu lay siege to Gifu castle, with him inside it. Shibata was killed following the battle, severely weakening Nobutaka’s position and forcing him to surrender Gifu Castle. He was exiled to Utsumi in present-day Aichi, where he was forced by Hideyoshi and Nobukatsu to commit ritual suicide.

9　Ikeda Motosuke (1559/1564–May 18, 1584)

After serving as Oda Nobunaga’s (1534–1582) retainer from childhood, Ikeda Motosuke became the lord of Gifu Castle from 1583 to 1584. He was a skilled warrior who fought in a number of Nobunaga’s battles. He fought alongside Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) during the invasion of Awaji Island, and was fighting in the central regions of Japan when Oda Nobunaga died at Honnoji temple in 1582. Joining Hideyoshi’s forces, he fought against Nobunaga’s treacherous general Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) at the Battle of Yamazaki (1582). During the battle over the Oda clan line of succession, the Ikeda clan supported Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the elder son, Nobukatsu (1558–1630).

In 1583, the Ikeda clan received control of a large part of Mino, and Motosuke was given Gifu Castle. During the 1584 Battle of Komaki, the Toyotomi forces realized that with the bulk of the opposing Tokugawa forces on the field, the Tokugawa’s base, Okazaki Castle, would be short-handed. Ikeda Motosuke was sent as part of a contingent to attack the castle, but the plan was discovered by the Tokugawa. The Tokugawa forces counter-attacked the Toyotomi in what became the Battle of Nagakute (1584). Motosuke was killed during the fighting and Gifu Castle went to his brother Terumasa.

10　Ikeda Terumasa (January 31, 1565–March 16, 1613)

Ikeda Terumasa ruled Gifu castle from 1584 to 1591. As Nobunaga’s retainer, Terumasa took part in many of Nobunaga’s major campaigns. After Nobunaga’s death, Ikeda Terumasu’s family served Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598). When both his father Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536–1584) and elder brother Ikeda Motosuke (1559–1584) were killed during the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute in 1584, Terumasa inherited a large part of Mino (modern-day Gifu), including Gifu Castle.

Terumasa was moved Yoshida Castle in present-day Aichi prefecture in 1590, and in 1594 married Tokugawa Ieyasu’s daughter Tokuhime (1565–1615). When Hideyoshi died in 1598, Terumasa’s loyalties turned to his new father-in-law. In 1600, Ikeda Terumasa and Fukushima Masanori launched a joint attack on Gifu Castle, then held by Oda Hidenobu (1580–1605). The castle fell in a single day.

During the Battle of Sekigahara, which marked the end of this period of war, Terumasa guarded the base of Mt. Nangu to prevent the Western-supporting Mori clan from sandwiching the Eastern forces on the plains. For his services, Terumasa was awarded the strategically important Himeji Castle, which was greatly expanded under his control. By the time of his death in 1613, his power and influence had grown so much that Ikeda Terumasa was nicknamed Saigoku no Shogun, or “The Shogun of the West.”

11　Toyotomi Hidekatsu (1569–October 14, 1592)

Toyotomi Hidekatsu ruled Gifu castle from 1591 until his death in 1592. He was the son of the younger sister of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) and was married to Oda Nobunaga’s niece, Oeyo (1573–1626). An able warrior, Hidekatsu repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, and was previously awarded with Tamba Kaneyama Castle in Kyoto, and Kofu Castle in Yamanashi.

In early 1591, Hidekatsu was made master of Gifu Castle. A little over a year later, however, under orders from Hideyoshi, Hidekatsu and the samurai of Gifu Castle set off to Korea to assist Hideyoshi’s planned Korean Invasion. Hidekatsu fell ill during the sea crossing and died on Geoje Island, southeast of Busan. Following the death of Hidekatsu, Gifu Castle was given to Oda Hidenobu (1580–1605).

12　Oda Hidenobu (1580–July 24, 1605)

The final lord of Gifu Castle was Oda Hidenobu, also known as Samboshi, who ruled the castle from 1592 to 1600. Hidenobu was the son of Oda Nobutada (1557–1582) and grandson of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582). He was just two years old in 1582 when his father and grandfather were betrayed in Kyoto by Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) at Honnoji temple and Nijo Castle. After the death of Nobunaga and his eldest son, his second son, Nobukatsu (1558–1630), and his third son, Nobutaka (1558–1583), disputed who was the rightful heir to the clan. At the clan leadership meeting held at Kiyosu Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) asserted that in fact the infant Hidenobu should be made leader. Hidenobu was ultimately made the head of the clan, but political power was functionally held by Hideyoshi.

Hidenobu controlled Gifu Castle in 1600. The castle was considered an important element to the Eastern forces’ plan to defeat the Western armies. Because of this, Gifu Castle was attacked by Fukushima Masanori (1561–1624) and Ikeda Terumasa (1565–1613) just before the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Upon realizing their defeat, Hidenobu’s samurai committed ritual suicide inside the castle, and the bloodstained floorboards are said to have been later used to construct the ceiling of Sofukuji temple in Gifu city. After the battle Hidenobu renounced the world and became a priest but he died only five years later.