| Tōdō Takatora | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tōdō Takatora | |
| First Lord of Imabari | |
In office 1600–1608 | |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Matsudaira Sadafusa |
| First Lord of Tsu | |
In office 1608–1630 | |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Tōdō Takatsugu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 16, 1556 Tōdō Village, Ōmi Province, Japan |
| Died | November 9, 1630 (aged 74) Edo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Tōdō Takatora (藤堂 高虎, February 16, 1556 – November 9, 1630) was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through Edo period. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a foot soldier) to become a daimyo. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master seven times and worked for ten people, but in the end he rendered loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became his last master.[1][2]
Statue of Tōdō Takatora at Imabari Castle.
Todo Takatora was promoted rapidly under Hashiba Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he participated in the invasions of Korea as a commander of Toyotomi's fleet. His fiefdom at that time was Iyo-Uwajima. During the Edo period, the wealth of each fiefdom was measured as a volume of rice production in koku. Iyo-Uwajima was assessed at 70,000 koku.[1][2]
At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, although he was one of Toyotomi's main generals, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the war he was given a larger fiefdom, Iyo-Imabari, assessed at 200,000 koku. Later in life he was made lord of Tsu (with landholdings in Iga and Ise), a domain of 320,000 koku.
After the death of Akai Naomasa, some members of the Akai clan became retainers to the Tōdō house.[3]
Todo Takatora is also famous for excellence in castle design. He is said to have been involved in building as many as twenty castles.[1][2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "戦国 出世の方程式 ～藤堂高虎 大坂夏の陣の大勝負～、日本放送協会 (The formula for promotion in the Sengoku ages, Todo Takatora's Challenge in the Osaka Castle Summer War, by NHK" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. http://web.archive.org/20060503041120/www.nhk.or.jp/sonotoki/2005_09.html#03. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "津市 文化課 藤堂高虎 (The city of Tsu official homepage)" (in Japanese). http://www.info.city.tsu.mie.jp/modules/bunkaka/article.php?articleid=108. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ↑ "SamuraiWiki". Samurai Archives. http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Akai_Naomasa. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- Tōdō family information (25 Sept. 2007) (Japanese)
External links[]
- Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Tōdō Takatora
External links[]
- Works by or about Tōdō Takatora in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
The original article can be found at Tōdō Takatora and the edit history here.