was the son of Sakuma Moritsugu, cousin of Sakuma Nobumori, a prominent Oda retainer to Oda Nobuhide and

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 ...

. 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 Japan, 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 ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

(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 w ...

), He was a retainer of Shibata Katsuie 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, he was 15 years old. Morimasa continued joining various battles, including the Siege of Tezutsuyama Castle in

Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, 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 Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...

against

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

in 1570, the Battle of Yasugawara against Rokkaku Yoshikata and the Battle of Makishima Castle against

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he ...

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. In 1581, he beats Uesugi Kagekatsu from Shirayama Castle at Kaga Province. Later, Morimasa headed for a rescue in response to a demand by Maeda Toshiie and beat the Uesugi army stationed at the back of the Arayama Castle at Noto Province. 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. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

which led to the death of both

and his heir Oda Nobutada, Morimasa sided with Shibata Katsuie over making Oda Nobutaka (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, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

) 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.

Death

Battle of Shizugatake

In 1583, Morimasa led an offensive force against Takayama Ukon in Iwasakiyama. Morimasa then proceeded against Shibata Katsuie's orders, killing Nakagawa Kiyohide in the early stages of the

battle of Shizugatake The took place during the Sengoku period of Japan between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Nagahama, Shiga, Shizugatake, Ōmi Province over a period of two days beginning on the 20th day of the fourth month of ...

. However, he ignored Shibata Katsuie's orders to fall back and this 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 and prevented the support of Sassa Narimasa and Takigawa 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

(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