Takigawa Kazumasu

Takigawa Kazumasu (1525-1586) was a Sengoku-era warrior who served as a key figure in Oda Nobunaga's eastern strategy. From the conquest of the Iga and Ise regions to the advance into the Kantō, he played an indispensable role in expanding Nobunaga's domain, and after the Honnō-ji Incident became the tragic protagonist of the "Tenshō Jingo Rebellion."

Kazumasu is thought to have come from Kōka District in Ōmi Province (present-day Kōka, Shiga Prefecture), though another theory holds that he was originally an Owari warrior; his origins are shrouded in mystery — even when he entered Nobunaga's service is unclear. By the Eiroku era (1558-1570), however, he had emerged as one of Nobunaga's leading retainers. His military talent was highly regarded by Nobunaga, who entrusted him with governance of northern Ise and relied on him in battles against the Ikkō-ikki.

In 1582, after the destruction of the Takeda clan, Kazumasu was awarded Kōzuke Province (present-day Gunma Prefecture) and part of Shinano Province, and was appointed Nobunaga's intermediary (toritsugi) for the Kantō, charged with governing the region. This was the cornerstone of Nobunaga's strategy for controlling the Kantō and eastern Japan, and represented the pinnacle of Kazumasu's career. However, on the 2nd day of the 6th month of the same year, the Honnō-ji Incident occurred. When word reached Kazumasu that Akechi Mitsuhide had killed Nobunaga, the powerful Kantō daimyō — including Hōjō Ujimasa — began to defect, despite Kazumasu's position as the leading figure among the Kantō warriors.

At the Kanna River in Kōzuke Province, Kazumasu clashed with the Hōjō's large forces (Battle of the Kanna River, 1582). Heavily outnumbered, Kazumasu fought bravely but was defeated, forced to retreat to Ise Province with only a small force. At the Battle of Shizugatake the following year (1583) he sided not with Hashiba Hideyoshi but with Shibata Katsuie, holding out at Nagashima Castle in Ise. After Katsuie took his own life at Kitanoshō on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month and Oda Nobutaka followed soon after, Kazumasu was left isolated and surrendered in the seventh month. His domains were confiscated in full and he took the tonsure at Myōshin-ji in Kyoto. He was thereafter treated as a retainer of Hideyoshi and held Kanie Castle on Hideyoshi's side during the Komaki and Nagakute campaign of 1584, but was defeated by Tokugawa forces and never recovered his former prestige. He died at Ōno in Echizen on the ninth day of the ninth month of 1586, at the age of 62.

In the realm of Japanese swords, the Shinchō Kōki records that Nobunaga rewarded Kazumasu for the campaign against the Takeda with a short sword (tantō) together with the famed horse Ebi-kage. In addition, the "Ko-Bizen Takatsuna tachi" (known as the "Takigawa Takatsuna," with a red-lacquered uchigatana mounting), said to have been bestowed on him by Nobunaga when he set out for the eastern provinces, is designated an Important Cultural Property and held by the Seikadō Bunko Art Museum.