Horio Tadauji (1578 - August 8, 1604) Horio Tadauji was the son of Horio Yoshiharu, first lord of Matsue Castle. As his father, Yoshiharu had been badly injured in a brawl at a tea ceremony prior to the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Horio Tadauji took his father’s place in Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern forces. [...]

Ii Naomasa (March 4, 1560-March 24, 1602) Along with the generals Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Sakai Tadatsugu, Ii Naomasa was regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa clan. Naomasa was born in Hoda Village in Totomi Province (modern-day western Shizuoka Prefecture). His family served Imagawa Yoshimoto for many years until [...]

Minamoto no Sanetomo, the 3rd Kamakura Shogun (September 17, 1192 - assassinated February 13, 1219)   Minamoto no Sanetomo was the younger brother of the 2nd Kamakura Shogun, Yoriie, who's power had been usurped by his maternal grandfather and later assassinated, leading to Sanetomo's investment as Shogun. Minamoto no Sanetomo [...]

Minamoto no Yoritomo, The first Kamakura Shogun (May 9, 1147 - February 9, 1199) Minamoto no Yoritomo’s paternal grandfather, Minamoto no Tameyoshi was head of the noble Minamoto clan, while his maternal grandfather, a member of the illustrious Fujiwara clan, was the chief priest at Atsuta Shrine, Japan’s second most venerated [...]

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 - February 11, 1160)   General Minamono no Yoshitomo was the head of the Minamoto clan during the Heian Period, and father of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kanmakura Shogunate. In the sleepy region of Mihama Cho on the Chita Peninsula some 35 kilometers south of Nagoya City, 
stands a [...]

Kuki Yoshitaka, Samurai Of The Sea (1542 - November 17, 1600)   Kuki Yoshitaka was born in Shima, on the coast of southern Mie Prefecture in 1542. Yoshitaka’s family had been master of two castles. He was nine when his father died, and his family fell on hard times, losing [...]

Hijikata Toshizo (May 31, 1835 - June 20, 1869) Hijikata Toshizo, Vice Commander of the infamous Shinsengumi, was born in Hino, in modern day Tokyo on May 31, 1835, and was raised by his older brother and his wife, as Hijikata’s father, a wealthy farmer, died just before his 6th child’s birth. His mother [...]

Kikkawa Hiroie (December 7, 1561 – October 22, 1625)   Kikkawa Hiroie was a master of strategy and diplomacy. He made his battlefield debut aged nine alongside his father, Kikkawa Motoharu, in 1570 against Amago Katsuhisa. In 1587 he became head of the Kikkawa clan following the deaths of both his father and elder [...]

Maeda Toshiie (January 15, 1538 - April 27, 1599)   Maeda Toshiie Maeda Toshiie was one of the most important, influential and successful figures of the Warring States Period. He was born in Arako on January 15, 1538 to Maeda Toshimasa, master of Arako Castle in Owari, (now part [...]

Ishikawa Goemon (1558- October 8, 1594)   Ishikawa Goemon Seen in Kabuki, Bunraku, movies, manga, TV series and novels, the semi-legendary folk-hero and thief, Ishikawa Goemon was believed born in Iga in 1558. An apprentice to the ninja master Momochi Tamba, Goemon trained under him at Mie Prefectures’ famed [...]