was a Japanese samurai and

feudal lord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or s ...

of the late Sengoku and early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

s. His father served as one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' in the late

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nob ...

. Asano Yoshinaga was born at Odani, in the Asai district of

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

, in 1576, the eldest son of Asano Nagamasa, the brother of O-Ne,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

's wife. He married a daughter of

Ikeda Tsuneoki , also known as Ikeda Nobuteru (池田信輝), was an Ikeda clan ''daimyō'' and military commander under Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama periods of 16th-century Japan. He was a retainer of the famous warlords Oda No ...

. His first action was at the Siege of Odawara, in 1590. In 1593, together with his father, he was granted Fuchu, in Kai Province. Though the Asano family was to be sent to Noto Province as a result of their implication in the alleged treason of

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrocities and at ...

, the good offices of

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

kept them in Kai Province. Yoshinaga achieved distinction together with his father in 1597, during the Siege of Ulsan, when they held the fortress under the command of

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was . His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi's Seven ...

. Though the Asano family was secure following its service under

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, it would be moved to

Wakayama Domain Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) file:Wakayama city hall03nt3200.jpg, Wakayama City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had ...

, in

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

. The family would again be moved, to

Hiroshima Domain The was a large domain that owned all of Aki Province and half of Bingo Province. It occupies most of current Hiroshima Prefecture. The domain office was located at Hiroshima Castle in Sato District, Aki Province (renamed Numata District in 1 ...

, in the early 17th century. Yoshinaga's three-dimensional battle standard, a gold-plated basketlike object, was well known during the Korean campaign. His daughters, Hanahime married Matsudaira Tadamasa of

Fukui Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003). The ...

and Haruhime (Haruhime was his daughter with Ikeda Tsuneoki's daughter) married Tokugawa Yoshinao of

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

References

*Berry, Mary Elizabeth. ''Hideyoshi''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982. *Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. Sterling: New Edition, 2000. *Turnbull, Stephen. ''Samurai Invasion''. London: Cassell & Co., 2002.

External links

Genealogy of the lords of Wakayama, including the Asano (in Japanese)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090717142430/http://homepage1.nifty.com/SEISYO/busyo1.htm Biographies of various Azuchi-Momoyama generals, including Asano Yoshinaga {{DEFAULTSORT:Asano, Yoshinaga Samurai 1576 births 1613 deaths Daimyo Asano clan Deified Japanese men People from Shiga Prefecture