Kuroda Nagamasa 黒田長政 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Head ofKuroda clan | |
| In office 1604–1623 | |
| Preceded by | Kuroda Yoshitaka |
| Succeeded by | Kuroda Tadayuki [jp] |
| Daimyō of Fukuoka | |
| In office 1601–1623 | |
| Succeeded by | Kuroda Tadayuki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 3, 1568 |
| Died | August 29, 1623(1623-08-29) (aged 54) |
| Spouse(s) | Itohime (\Hachisuka Masakatsu's daughter) (original legal wife, later divorced) Eihime/Dairyo-in (Hoshina Masanao's daughter, Tokugawa Ieyasu's adopted daughter) (second legal wife) |
| Parents |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Toyotomi clan Eastern Army Tokugawa shogunate |
| Rank | Daimyo |
| Unit | .svg) Kuroda clan |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Shizugatake (1583) Korean campaign (1592-1598) Battle of Sekigahara (1600) Siege of Osaka (1614-1615) |
Kuroda Nagamasa (黒田 長政; December 3, 1568 – August 29, 1623) was a Japanesedaimyō of the lateAzuchi–Momoyama and earlyEdo periods.[1] He was the son ofKuroda Kanbei,[2] who served as a chief strategist and adviser toToyotomi Hideyoshi. Nagamasa is best known for his role as the first lord of Fukuoka Domain in Chikuzen Province and for his participation in major military campaigns, including theBattle of Sekigahara (1600), where he supported Tokugawa Ieyasu, contributing to the establishment of theTokugawa shogunate.
Nagamasa's childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577 his father was tried and sentenced as a spy byOda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was kidnapped and nearly killed as a hostage. With the help ofYamauchi Kazutoyo and his wife,Yamauchi Chiyo andTakenaka Hanbei rescued him. After Nobunaga was killed in theHonnō-ji Incident in 1582, Nagamasa servedToyotomi Hideyoshi along with his father and participated in the invasion ofChūgoku.
In 1583 Nagamasa participated in theBattle of Shizugatake.[3]
In 1587, Nagamasa subdued Takarabe castle inHyuga duringKyūshū campaign. During the campaign Ki Shigefusa, a local daimyo, responded to Hideyoshi's orders ambivalently, incurring Hideyoshi's anger.
On April 20, 1588, Nagamasa invited Shigefusa to Nakatsu Castle with the pretence of hospitality. Shigefusa entered Nakatsu Castle with a few companions and was assassinated by Nagamasa's order while drinking. Nagamasa then dispatched soldiers to Gogen-ji Temple, ordering them to kill the Ki clan's vassals. Nagamasa's forces captured the Ki clan's castle, and killing Shigefusa's father, Ki Nagafusa. Following this, Nagamasa executed his hostage, Tsuruhime, along with 13 maids by crucifixion at Senbonmatsukawara in Hirotsu, on the banks of the Yamakuni River.[4][5]
In 1589, Kuroda Yoshitaka retired as head of Kuroda clan, and Nagamasa inherited the family lordship. During this time, Hideyoshi expelled Christian missionaries, and Nagamasa, who was a Christian like his father, renounced his faith.[6]
Nagamasa participated in Hideyoshi'sKorean campaign,[2] commanding the army's 3rd Division of 5,000 men during the first invasion (1592–1593).[7] On 15 July, following theBattle of Imjin River, Nagamasa led his forces west into Hwanghae Province, participating in thefirst Siege of Pyongyang.[8] After a sally from Korean forces inflicted heavy losses, Nagamasa launched counterattacks to push the Koreans into a river that protected the city. As the Korean forces retreated upstream where the river was shallow enough to cross, Japanese forces followed their trail, discovering a way to reach the city without crossing the deep river. Before entering the city, Nagamasa and Konishi Yukinaga sent scouts ahead. Confirming the city had been abandoned by the defenders, Nagamasa and Japanese forces entered the city, securing food supplies from the warehouses.[9] On 16 October 1597, Nagamasa arrived at Jiksan, clashing against 6,000Ming soldiers in theBattle of Jiksan. After dusk, the battle ended without a clear result.[10] Later, Nagamasa launched a night raid using a crane formation pincer attack to crush enemy forces from each end. However, this raid failed and resulted in a rout that was joined by 2,000 Ming cavalry.[11] During the first Korean campaign, Nagamasa, along with other Japanese generals, mounted a genocidal operation calledNadegiri inJeolla Province, systematically mutilating victims and collecting noses of Koreans they killed.[12]
In the second part of the campaign (1597–1598), he held command in The Army of the Right.[7] At this time, Nagamasa participated in the firstdefense of Ulsan, leading reinforcements forKatō Kiyomasa with 600 men.[13]
During his tenure in the Korean campaign, a famous anecdote attributed toKatō Kiyomasa recounts Nagamasa hunting a tiger during his free time. Recent research revealed that this was falsely attributed to Kiyomasa, while it actually applied to Nagamasa.[6]
According to popular belief, in 1598, after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the government of Japan had an incident when seven military generals consisting ofFukushima Masanori,Katō Kiyomasa,Ikeda Terumasa,Hosokawa Tadaoki,Asano Yoshinaga,Katō Yoshiaki, and Kuroda Nagamasa planned a conspiracy to kill Ishida Mitsunari. The supposed motivation for the conspiracy was dissatisfaction towards Mitsunari, who had written poor assessments and underreported the achievements of those generals during the Imjin war.[14] However, despite classical historiography depicting the event as "seven generals who conspired against Mitsunari", modern historian Watanabe Daimon noted that many more generals were involved, includingHachisuka Iemasa,Tōdō Takatora, andKuroda Yoshitaka who brought their troops and entourages to confront Mitsunari.[15]
The generals gathered at Kiyomasa's mansion inOsaka Castle. From there, they moved into Mitsunari's mansion. When Mitsunari learned of this from Jiemon Kuwajima, a servant ofToyotomi Hideyori, he fled to hide inSatake Yoshinobu's mansion withShima Sakon and others.[14] When the generals found that Mitsunari had fled, they searched the mansions of other feudal lords in Osaka Castle, while Kato's army approached the Satake residence. During this time, Mitsunari and his party escaped the Satake residence, barricading themselves atFushimi Castle.[16] Learning of Mitsunari's location the following day, the generals surrounded Fushimi Castle.Tokugawa Ieyasu, responsible for political affairs in Fushimi Castle, attempted to arbitrate the situation. The generals demanded Ieyasu hand over Mitsunari, which Ieyasu refused. Ieyasu then negotiated a compromise to allow Mitsunari retire, and for a review of the assessment of the Battle of Ulsan Castle. He had his second son,Yūki Hideyasu, escort Mitsunari to Sawayama Castle.[17] Historian Watanabe Daimon claims this was a legal conflict between the generals and Mitsunari, rather than a conspiracy to murder him. Ieyasu's role to mediate complaints, rather than physically protect Mitsunari from harm.[18]
Nevertheless, historians view this incident as an extension of political rivalries 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.[14][19] Muramatsu Shunkichi, writer of "The Surprising Colors and Desires of the Heroes of Japanese History and Violent Women", assessed that Mitsunari's failure against Ieyasu was due to unpopularity among major political figures.[20]
As theSekigahara Campaign broke out, Nagamasa sided with the Eastern Army led by Ieyasu.
On August 21, The Eastern Army Alliance attacked Takegahana castle, which was defended byOda Hidenobu, a Mitsunari faction ally.[21] The Eastern Army split into two groups, with 18,000 soldiers led by Ikeda Terumasa and Asano Yoshinaga dispatched to the river crossing, while 16,000 soldiers led by Nagamasa, Fukushima Masanori, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Kyogoku Kochi, Ii Naomasa,Katō Yoshiaki,Tōdō Takatora, Tanaka Yoshimasa, and Honda Tadakatsu headed downstream atIchinomiya.[22] The group led by Terumasa crossed Kiso River and battled at Yoneno, routing Hidenobu forces. Elsewhere, Takegahana castle was reinforced by Sugiura Shigekatsu, a Western Army faction general. The Eastern Army group led by Nagamasa and others crossed the river and directly attacked Takegahana Castle at 9:00 AM on August 22. As a final act of defiance, Shigekatsu himself set the castle on fire and committed suicide.[21]
On September 14, theMōri clan of the Western Army, via their vassalKikkawa Hiroie, colluded with the Eastern Army and promised the Mōri clan would change sides during battle, on the condition that they would be pardoned after the war ended. Correspondences between the Mōri clan and the Eastern Army involved Hiroie representing the West, with Nagamasa and his father as representatives of the East. During these discussions they promised to pardon Hiroie and the Mōri clan.[23]
On October 21, Nagamasa participated in theBattle of Sekigahara onTokugawa Ieyasu's side.[2] At the final phase of the battle, with the Eastern Army victorious, Nagamasa directed his attention towardsShima Sakon.[24] As a result, Sakon was fatally wounded by a round from an arquebus;[25] securing part of the Eastern Army's eventual victory. As a reward for his performance in the battle, Ieyasu granted NagamasaChikuzen[2] – 520.000koku – in exchange for his previous fief of Nakatsu inBuzen.[citation needed]
In 1612, Nagamasa went to Kyoto with his eldest son Kuroda Tadayuki, and Tadayuki was given the surname Matsudaira byTokugawa Hidetada, the second shogun of the Edo shogunate.[26]
Later in 1614–1615, he participated in theOsaka Castle campaigns.[2]
Kuroda Nagamasa possessedDō (Japanese armor), traditionally simple on its body pieces. However, Nagamasa's armor is notable for twoKabuto helmets. One has a unique wave-like ornament namedichi-no-tani. The other features buffalo horn shaped ornaments.[27]
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Nagamasa is a playable character from the Eastern Army in the originalKessen.
Kuroda is also a popular historical figure. His life, and his relationship to Tokugawa, has been dramatized many times in the annualNHK Taiga Drama series.
| Preceded by none | Daimyō of Fukuoka 1601–1623 | Succeeded by Kuroda Tadayuki |
"朝日日本歴史人物事典" (Asahi Encyclopedia of Japanese Historical Figures); Rekishi Gunzo Editorial Department, "戦国時代人物事典 / Encyclopedia of Sengoku Jidai Jijinbutsu", Gakken Publishing, 2009;Watanabe Daimon, "黒田官兵衛・長政の野望 もう一つの関ケ原 / Kuroda Kanbei: Nagamasa's Ambition: Another Sekigahara," Kadokawa, 2013.
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