※圖片為示意圖。Katagiri Katsumoto
片桐且元
One of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake — the ill-fated chief retainer whose actions triggered the Siege of Osaka
介紹
Life
Katagiri Katsumoto (1556-1615) was a warrior from Omi Province who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and distinguished himself at the 1583 Battle of Shizugatake, earning a place among the celebrated "Seven Spears of Shizugatake"; his loyal service is said to have earned him the honor of bearing the Toyotomi surname. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he became a direct retainer of Hideyoshi's son Hideyori and served as chief retainer (karo), overseeing the Toyotomi family's internal affairs.
The Hoko-ji Bell Inscription Incident
At Hideyori's order, he directed the reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall at Hoko-ji Temple. When the temple bell, completed in 1614, bore the inscription "Kokka Anko, Kunshin Horaku," the Tokugawa side denounced it as a curse against Ieyasu, sparking the Hoko-ji Bell Inscription Incident. Caught between negotiating with the Tokugawa and being suspected by the Toyotomi of collusion with them, Katsumoto left Osaka Castle and defected to the Tokugawa side — an act widely seen as the direct trigger for the Winter Siege of Osaka.
Final Years and Legacy
He was subsequently made lord of the Ryujo domain in Yamato Province, but died in 1615 shortly after the fall of the Toyotomi house in the Summer Siege of Osaka, as if following it in death. He is remembered as a tragic figure of the late Sengoku period who strove to preserve the Toyotomi family yet could not prevent the final clash between the two houses.