Takenaka Shigeharu

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(1544–1579, also known as Hanbei (半兵衛) was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. He served the Saito clan of Mino province, but later plotted an uprising and took over the Saito castle at Mount Inaba. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was so impressed by this tactic that he invited Shigeharu to join his forces as a strategist. Shigeharu made many contributions to Hideyoshi with his exceptional talent in that field.

He died during Hideyoshi's attack against the Mōri in the Chūgoku region of Japan, while Miki Castle was being besieged. Takenaka Shigekado, Shigeharu's son and successor, continued to serve Hideyoshi after his father's death. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he fought on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and his holdings at Bodaisan were secured. The Takenaka family thus became a family of hatamoto, and would soon move from their old castle of Bodaisan to the new Iwate Castle. Rather ironically, the holdings of the Takenaka included Sekigahara Village.

In the mid-19th century, Shigeharu's descendant Takenaka Shigekata served as commander of the Tokugawa forces in Fushimi at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.

Trivia

Shigeharu is often likened to Zhuge Liang of Romance of Three Kingdoms. This is mostly due to a romanticized tale of Hideyoshi needing to visit Shigeharu many times before gaining his services, much similar to Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang.
Shigeharu (as Hanbei) is featured in the game Sengoku Basara 2 by Capcom. Voice actor Akira Ishida voices him. He wields a whipsword, much like Ivy from Soul Calibur.

Notes

External links

Information on Iwate Castle (in Japanese)
Information on Bodaisan Castle (in Japanese)
Woodblock print
Photo of Shigeharu's Grave

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Last updated on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 20:29:21 PST (GMT -0800)
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