Terazawa Hirotaka

Terazawa Hirotaka (1563-1633) was a warlord who rose to prominence as a magistrate (bugyō) under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the invasions of Korea he was in charge of the construction of Nagoya Castle (in Hizen) and other tasks, and as Nagasaki magistrate he was also involved in foreign relations. At the Battle of Sekigahara he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army, and as a reward for his service he was granted an increase of Amakusa. Together with Karatsu in Hizen, he held approximately 120,000 koku. He built Karatsu Castle and laid the foundations of domain governance. However, during the reign of his successor, Hirotaka's son Terazawa Katataka, the harsh collection of annual taxes from peasants and the persecution of Christians (Kirishitan) became a remote cause of the Shimabara Rebellion (1637-1638). Held responsible for the rebellion, Katataka had his Amakusa domain confiscated, and later he took his own life, and the Terazawa house became extinct. However, it was Hirotaka who assessed the koku of Amakusa at twice its actual value, creating the cause of the harsh tax collection. Hirotaka himself also strictly pressed Christians (Kirishitan) to abandon their faith in his later years.