was the son of Sakuma Moritsugu, cousin of

Sakuma Nobumori was a retainer for the Oda clan. He was thus treated as Nobunaga's most important retainer and would come to fight in every important battle under Nobunaga's command such as the 1567 Siege of Inabayama Castle, the 1571 and 1573 Siege of Nagas ...

, a prominent Oda retainer to

Oda Nobuhide was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy '' shugo'' (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of the ...

and

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese '' daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unif ...

. After several campaigns in which he had fought, he was given the nickname ''oni-genba'' which literally means "Demon Genba", Genba being his middle name.

Biography

Morimasa was born in what is now

Shōwa-ku is one of the 16 wards of the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2019, the ward had an estimated population of 110,436 and a population density of 10,095 persons per km². The total area was 10.94 km². Shōwa-ku W ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

(situated in contemporary Aichi District,

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces we ...

), He was a retainer of

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

and one of his top generals in many of his campaigns. Morimasa's first battle was the Battle of Kannonji Castle in 1568 against

Rokkaku Yoshikata was a samurai head of the Rokkaku clan during Japan's Sengoku period. He was ''shugo'' (governor) and later ''daimyō'' of an area of southern Ōmi province, he served as castellan of Kannonji Castle. He later became a Buddhist monk, under th ...

. Morimasa continued joining various battles, including the Siege of Tezutsuyama Castle in

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...

against

Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 DF 7 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-4. History Th ...

in 1570, the Battle of Yasugawara against

and the Battle of Makishima Castle against Ashikaga Yoshiaki in 1573, and performed distinguished war service. Morimasa was given the former Ikko Sect fortress Oyama Gobo in the Kaga prefecture by Oda Nobunaga; the fortress was subsequently named Oyama Castle in 1580 but went on to become

Kanazawa Castle is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, r ...

. In 1582, after the betrayal of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

which led to the death of both

and his heir

Oda Nobutada was a samurai and the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, who fought in many battles during the Sengoku period of Japan. He commanded armies under his father in battles against Matsunaga Hisahide and against the Takeda clan. Biography Oda Nobutada ...

, Morimasa sided with

over making

Oda Nobutaka was a samurai and member of the Oda clan. He was adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which ruled the middle region of Ise Province and so he was also called Kanbe Nobutaka (神戸信孝). Biography Nobutaka was born as the third son of Od ...

(the third son of Nobunaga) as heir to the Oda clan whereas Hashiba Hideyoshi (later

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

) supported Lord Sanboshi. Sanboshi was the heir to Oda Nobutada and was still an infant at that time. This argument led to the split of the Oda clan retainers into the two main factions led by Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba Hideyoshi. Armies of the two factions eventually came to war.

Battle of Shizugatake

In 1583, Morimasa led an offensive force against

Takayama Ukon , born and also known as Dom Justo Takayama (c. 1552 – 3 or 5 February 1615) was a Japanese Catholic Kirishitan daimyō and samurai who lived during the Sengoku period that witnessed anti-Catholic sentiment. Takayama had been baptized int ...

in Iwasakiyama. Morimasa then proceeded against Shibata Katsuie's orders, killing Nakagawa Kiyohide in the early stages of the

battle of Shizugatake The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Ōmi Province in May 1583. Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga in ...

. However, He ignoring Shibata Katsuie orders to fall back and led to his defeat as

's forces approached the next morning. Morimasa was captured and beheaded. The charge by Morimasa was the spark necessary for the

where Hideyoshi's troops were able to suppress any resistance led by

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 ...

and prevented the support of

Sassa Narimasa , also known as Kura-no-suke (内蔵助), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama period.Takigawa Kazumasu , also known as Sakonshōgen (左近将監), was a samurai retainer and military commander of Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Toshihisa and later Kazumasu ...

. In all, Hideyoshi's troops swelled to 120,000 whereas Shibata Katsuie's troops had only reached 25,000. This eventually forced Shibata Katsuie to commit ''seppuku'' along with his wife Lady

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu Nagamasa had no hope of winning, and chose to commit seppu ...

(younger sister of Nobunaga) following the betrayal of Maeda Toshiie.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakuma, Morimasa 1554 births 1583 deaths Samurai People executed by Japan by decapitation