Tōdō Takatora

Tōdō Takatora (1556-1630) was a samurai warrior active from the Azuchi-Momoyama period into the early Edo period, and is known as one of the most accomplished castle builders in Japanese history. Born as the son of Tōdō Torataka, a local magnate of Ōmi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture), he lived a turbulent life, serving many lords from a young age.

Takatora is said to have changed lords seven times in his life. Under the Edo-period morality that regarded it as improper to serve two lords, he was sometimes rated poorly; yet he served each of his lords faithfully and fully displayed his abilities. He moved from Asai Nagamasa to Atsuji Sadayuki, Isono Kazumasa, Oda Nobuzumi, Hashiba Hidenaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and at last, at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), he fought on the Eastern Army (Tokugawa side), distinguished himself in battle, and became a daimyō of Imabari in Iyo Province with 200,000 koku.

What has carved Takatora's name into history is above all his outstanding castle-building skill. He is said to have been involved in the layout (nawabari) and construction (fushin) of more than twenty castles across the country, including Imabari Castle, Tsu Castle, Uwajima Castle, Sasayama Castle, Edo Castle (in part), Tanba-Kameyama Castle, Iga-Ueno Castle, Zeze Castle, and Ōsaka Castle (renovation). The distinctive feature of Takatora's castles is a practical style of castle building that incorporated innovative techniques such as high stone walls, wide moats, and climbing stone walls (noboriishigaki). In particular, the triple moats and stone wall techniques of Imabari Castle were at the cutting edge of their time and had a great influence on later castle architecture.

As for his connection with Japanese swords, while serving Asai Nagamasa in his youth, he received from Nagamasa a letter of commendation and a wakizashi for his merit in the attack on Usayama Castle. Also, after the Battle of Sekigahara, as thanks for mediating with the Eastern Army, Wakisaka Yasuharu presented him with a tachi by Sadahide. He is said to have been a large warrior, measuring 6 shaku 2 sun (about 188 cm) in height.

After Sekigahara, Takatora served three generations of the Tokugawa: Ieyasu, Hidetada and Iemitsu. By order of the shogunate he took on the role of guardian of the Aizu Domain, the Takamatsu Domain and the Kumamoto Domain, and held considerable weight. Although he was a tozama daimyō, he received favor comparable to that of fudai daimyō and earned Ieyasu's deep trust. His rational thinking and capacity for action, along with his outstanding insight into the times, made him a rare warrior who survived the age of war and lived to see the peaceful era of Edo.