Mizuno Katsunari

Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651) was a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu and one of the strongest warriors of the Sengoku period, known by the nickname “Oni-Hyūga” (“Demon of Hyūga”). In his youth he lived as a wanderer, leaving his lord and training as a warrior in various places. He earned fame as a typical “wandering warrior” (watari musha) of the Sengoku period.

Katsunari was born in 1564 as a son of Mizuno Tadashige in Mikawa Province (present-day Aichi Prefecture). His father's elder sister was Odai no Kata, the mother of Tokugawa Ieyasu, so he was Ieyasu's cousin. In his youth he had a serious falling-out with his father and left home. He moved from place to place across Kyūshū, Chūgoku, Shikoku and Kinki, seeking to be the first to strike with the spear and the first to take an enemy head in battle. The combat experience and swordsmanship he developed during these years of wandering became the source of the martial prowess that later made him feared as “Oni-Hyūga.”

Because his father Tadashige was killed just before the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), Katsunari inherited the domain of Kariya in Mikawa, worth 30,000 koku, and became a daimyō. At Sekigahara he fought for the Eastern Army (the Tokugawa side) in the capture of Ōgaki Castle. He also distinguished himself in the Osaka Campaigns (1614–1615), including the Battle of Dōmyōji. He later held Kōriyama in Yamato, worth 60,000 koku, and in Genna 5 (1619) he became lord of Fukuyama in Bingo, worth 100,000 koku. In Kan'ei 15 (1638) he took the field in the Shimabara Rebellion at the age of 75.

Katsunari is said to have taken a famous Masamune blade when Ōgaki Castle surrendered after the Battle of Sekigahara. The castle commander, Fukuhara Nagataka, had been given the sword by Ishida Mitsunari, and Katsunari seized it. In Keichō 13 (1608), he is said to have received the secrets of swordsmanship from Miyamoto Musashi. After the Shimabara Rebellion, he gave his own Uda Kunifusa sword to Itakura Shigenori, who had fought valiantly.

Katsunari died in 1651 at the age of 88, having lived a long life. His life embodies the way of a warrior who survived the transition from the chaos of the Sengoku period to an age of peace. His eventful life continues to be taken up as a subject in many historical novels and manga today.