Hatano Hideharu

Hatano Hideharu (1541–1579) was the final head of the Hatano clan and a sengoku daimyo of Tanba Province, based at Yakami Castle (present-day Tanbasasayama, Hyogo). After the death of Miyoshi Nagayoshi in 1565, he declared independence and established control over central Tanba. He initially submitted to Oda Nobunaga but rebelled in 1576 when Akechi Mitsuhide began pacifying Tanba, even repelling Mitsuhide's assault on Kuroi Castle. He endured a siege of Yakami Castle for roughly eighteen months before being captured through betrayal in June 1579. He and his brother were crucified at Azuchi Castle on Nobunaga's orders. According to tradition, retainers still in Yakami Castle then executed Mitsuhide's mother in retaliation—an incident said to have deepened Mitsuhide's grievance against Nobunaga, contributing to the Honnoji Incident of 1582.