was the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of Bizen and

Mimasaka Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is northern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū Province, Bitchū, Bizen Province, Bizen, Harima Province, Harima, Hōki Province, Hō ...

s (modern

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

), and one of the

council of Five Elders In the history of Japan, the was a group of five powerful formed in 1598 by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only five years old and a ...

appointed by

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: ...

. Son of

Ukita Naoie was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. He was born in Bizen Province, to Ukita Okiie, a local samurai leader and head of the Ukita clan. He has historical reputation as one of , a nickname which he shared with Matsunaga Hisahide a ...

, he married Gōhime, a daughter 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 ...

. Having fought against

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 ...

in 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, ...

he was exiled to the island prison of

Hachijō-jima is a volcano, volcanic Islands of Japan, Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It is about south of the special wards of Tokyo. It is part of the Izu Islands, Izu archipelago and within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its only municipalit ...

, where he died.

Biography

Hideie's father

was ''

'' of Bizen province and initially opposed, but later sided with

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

and

. Naoie died in 1582, and Hideie became the head of the Ukita clan. As Hideie was still young (10 years old), it was Hideie's uncle (Ukita Tadaie) who acted as leader of the Ukita army until Hideie coming of age, in particular, Tadaie served on behalf of Hideie as a commander in numerous battles (under Toyotomi Hideyoshi). However, during the siege of Bitchū Takamatsu Castle in 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated on June 2 of that year, but the siege continued until the castle fell two days later. Hideyoshi raced back to Kyoto, leaving the

Ukita clan The Ukita clan (宇喜多氏, ''Ukita-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan of daimyos. The Ukita clan ruled Bizen Province and Bingo Province, in the late Sengoku period. History The Ukita were a local samurai clan in Bizen but became powerful da ...

in charge of Bizen, Mimasaka and newly taken parts of

Bitchū Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, in what is today western Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bizen and Bingo Provinces; those three provinces were settled in the late 7th Century, dividing form ...

. The Ukita were also to keep watch on

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overc ...

to the west. In 1585, Hideie's forces under Ukita Tadaie led 23,000 men Toyotomi's forces in the Shikoku campaign against Chosokabe Motochika. In 1586, Hideie was married to Hideyoshi's adopted daughter, Gōhime. (She had been adopted by Hideyoshi from

). Later, he participated in the Kyushu Conquest in 1587. In 1590, Hideie joined Hideyoshi's military campaigns in the Odawara campaign against

Hōjō Ujimasa was the fourth head of the later Hōjō clan, and ''daimyō'' of Odawara. Ujimasa succeeded the territory expansion policy from his father, Hōjō Ujiyasu, and achieved the biggest territory in the clan's history. Early life and rise In 1538 ...

. Following the unification of Japan under Hideyoshi, in 1592, Hideyoshi appointed Hideie as field marshal at First Korean campaigns, he command "Reserves Division". Later in 1597, Hideie became a "Chief Commander Army of the Left" in the Second Korean campaigns, returning in 1598 to serve as one of Hideyoshi's five counselors (

Council of Five Elders In the history of Japan, the was a group of five powerful formed in 1598 by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only five years old and a ...

) along with

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Naga ...

, and

Ukita clan riot

In 1599, a riot occurred within the Ukita clan, as several of Ukita clan vassals such as Togawa Tatsuyasu,[] Sadatsuna Oka, and others rebelled against Hideie. The reason was Hideie's favoritism towards Nakamura Jirobe, which further escalates into an armed rebellion which even Hideie could not resolve. In response,

Sakakibara Yasumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. As one of the Tokugawa family's foremost military commanders, he was considered one of its Shitennō (Tokugawa clan), "Four Guardian ...

and

Ōtani Yoshitsugu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He was also known by his court title ''Junior Assistant Minister of Justice'' or . He was born in 1558 to a father who was said to be a retainer of either Ōtom ...

, were appointed as inspectors to mediate this incident. In the end, Yasumasa successfully reconciled the case, and the armed riot was resolved without bloodshed. However, the aftermath of this incident caused many of Hideie retainers to defect from Hideie's clan. Some retainers, such as

Sakazaki Naomori (1563 – October 21, 1616) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who served as lord of the Tsuwano Domain. Originally called Ukita Akiie (宇喜多詮家) he first served his uncle Ukita Naoie and then his son Ukita Hideie. He ...

, who was Hideie’s cousin, changed their allegiance into the master of Yasumasa, which is Ieyasu Tokugawa. These defections caused massive setback for the Ukita clan politically and militarily while strengthening the Tokugawa clan.

Battle of Sekigahara

After Hideyoshi died in 1598, leaving his five-year-old son Hideyori as his successor and Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to take control. As he was very close to Hideyoshi, Ukita naturally sided with the Toyotomi loyalists under

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

(the Western army). He took 17,000 men to fight in the

. In the field, his army fought against

Fukushima Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period and served as the lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 and soon became known as one of the ...

, what is said to have been one of the bloodiest confrontations in the Sekigahara battle. In early battle, Ukita's troops were winning the battle and pushing back Masanori's army, however, being unaware that his allies stationed nearby had made a secret deal with the enemy, his momentum was halted, when his allies attacked and together with turncoats. Later, Masanori's army took control of, and eastern army won the battle. One of the defectors,

Kobayakawa Hideaki (1577 – December 1, 1602) was the fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada and a nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was gained the rank of ''Saemon no Kami'' (左衛門督) or in China ''Shikkingo'' (執金吾) at genpuku and held the court title of ...

, was granted

Okayama Castle is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The main tower was completed in 1597, destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by ...

and surrounding Ukita territories by the Tokugawa as a reward for his betrayal, which is believed to have been the decisive factor in the Tokugawa victory. Hideie was angered by the betrayal and initially intended to hunt down Kobayakawa for a man-to-man duel but was stopped by his advisors. After escaping the battle, he went into hiding in

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation was . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Dur ...

where his former allies protected him for several years.

Exile

In 1603 however,

Shimazu Tadatsune was a '' tozama daimyō'' of Satsuma, the first to hold it as a formal fief ('' han'') under the Tokugawa shogunate, and the first Japanese to rule over the Ryūkyū Kingdom. As lord of Satsuma, he was among the most powerful lords in Japan at ...

informed the Tokugawa shogunate of Hideie's location. Tadatsune and Hideie's relative Maeda Toshinaga, however, negotiate with Ieyasu and he escaped the death penalty, and he was confined in Mt. Kuno in Suruga Province instead. Later, he was forced to appear before Tokugawa himself where he was sentenced to exile on the island of

, along with several supporters, including his two sons. Gohime, (Hideie's wife) sought refuge with the Maeda clan and was able to correspond and send gifts (rice, sake, clothing) to her husband and sons from there. Hideie eventually outlived his wife and all of the Sengoku Jidai era samurai except

Sanada Nobuyuki was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of ''daimyō'' Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura. Early life He was the first son of Sanada Masayuki and his wife, Kansho-in. His younger brother was Sanada Yu ...

. He was offered a conditional pardon after Ieyasu's death, but declined and never returned to the mainland. His wife had died, the Toyotomi were defeated, there was no place to return to, his sons had fathered children on Hachijojima, and the Shogunate was to be inherited by members of the Tokugawa clan. There is no evidence to suggest that Hideie fathered any further children himself, but many of his sons' descendants emigrated back to the Japanese mainland when a full pardon was granted at the end of the Edo era.

Family

* Wife: Gohime * Children: Ukita Hideitaka, Ukita Hideetsugu,

Yuki no Kata Daughter of Ukita Yasunobu, was a Japanese female warrior ('' onna-musha'') in the Sengoku period. She was the daughter of Ukita Hideie and Gōhime. She also married to Tomita Nobutaka, an officer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Her name, birth and deat ...

(married Yamazaki Nagatomo and Tomita Nobutaka)

Notes

References

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

. (1983). "Ukita Hideie," in ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan''. Tokyo: Kodansha
OCLC 233144013

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukita, Hideie samurai 1570s births 1655 deaths Daimyo Tairō Ukita clan Toyotomi retainers People from Okayama Prefecture