was a Japanese samurai lord of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama periods. He entered

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 ...

's service at the age of 14 and remained in his service throughout Nobunaga's rise to power. He was a member of the so-called Echizen Sanninshu (Echizen Triumvir) along with Maeda Toshiie and Fuwa Mitsuharu. He was also known as Kura-no-suke (内蔵助).

Early life

Sassa Narimasa was born to Sassa Morimasa in what is now Nishi-ku,

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 became a retainer of

in 1550. Narimasa was a military commander under Nobunaga, and the leader of Oda's , a Military group with a black Horo (cloak) on their backs. In 1560, after his brothers were killed in battle, Narimasa took over the family estate and became the lord of the Hirajo Castle.

Military life

Narimasa served Nobunaga throughout the latter's career. He was noted for his ability to lead matchlock forces, a position he regularly held. In 1567, he fought in the Siege of Inabayama Castle against Saito Tatsuoki from the Saitō clan. In 1570, Narimasa participated in the Siege of Kanegasaki, leading a few armed forces of horse guards, and worked to support Hashiba Hideyoshi using a firearms troop. Later, he fought the Azai and

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. ...

s in the Battle of Anegawa, where he was in the rear guard. In 1575, Narimasa fought at the

Battle of Nagashino The was a famous battle in History of Japan, Japanese history, fought in 1575 at Nagashino Castle, Nagashino in Mikawa Province (present-day Nagashino, Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture). The allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu (38,000) ...

against Takeda Katsuyori from Takeda clan. Later, he was given Komaru Castle in Echizen, where he had recently helped put down rioting

Ikkō-ikki were armed military leagues that formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries, composed entirely of members of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism. In the early phases, these ''ikki'' leagues opposed the rule of local Shugo, go ...

, and became a member of Echizen Sanninshu (Echizen Triumvir). In 1577, he participated in the Battle of Tedorigawa against Uesugi Kenshin from the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

. In 1580, he was involved in stabilizing the Etchu Province, against an uprising of Ikko sect followers who supported Jimbo Nagazumi. In 1581, he defended Toyama Castle against Kawada Nagayori in the Battle of Arakawa. In 1582, he and Shibata Katsuie successfully laid siege to Uozu against Uesugi Kagekatsu from the

. He was granted Etchū Province as a reward for helping Shibata Katsuie fight the

. In 1582, after Oda Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji, at the Kiyosu meeting, Narimasa took the side of Shibata, but he could not participate in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583, since he could not leave Etchu where he was preparing for the attack of the Uesugi army at Matsukura Castle (Toyama Prefecture). After the death of Katsuie, Narimasa joined

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 1584, during the battle of Komaki Nagakute, he and the Tokugawa alliance unsuccessfully challenged the Toyotomi force under Maeda Toshiie at the Siege of Suemori. In 1585, he was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Siege of Toyama, and later Narimasa submitted to Hideyoshi and his life was spared. In 1587, after the Hideyoshi

Kyushu Campaign is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, he was given a fief in Higo Province in Kyushu.

Death

In 1588, however, due to difficulties in suppressing a Higo Province local revolt, he committed suicide ( seppuku) by Hideyoshi's instruction. The insurrection stemmed from survey of his province, which resulted in a change in the distance in which farmers transported their tax rice from 3 ''ri'' to 8 ''ri''. Later, after Higo Province was confiscated from Sassa Narimasa, land in Higo (roughly half of the province) and Kumamoto Castle was granted to Kato Kiyomasa.

Family

* Father: Sassa Morimasa * Siblings: ** Sassa Magosuke (distinguished as one of the Seven Spears of Azukizaka. Died in Battle of Inabugahara against Oda Nobuyuki; 1556) ** Sassa "Hayato no Kami" Masatsugu (distinguished as one of the Seven Spears of Azukizaka. Died in battle of Okehazama; 1560) * Wife: ** Haruhime ** Jiko-in * Concubine: ** Sayuri * Children: ** Matsuchiyomaru (died in third siege of Nagashima in 1574). ** Zuizen-in, wife of Narimasa's vassal, Matsubara Gorobe. ** Teruko (d. 1630), married ''

kuge The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th ce ...

'' Takatsukasa Nobufusa and they had a son, Nobuhisa and a daughter, Takako.japan world
/ref> ** Mitsuhide-in, wife of Nobunaga's seventh son, Oda Nobutaka (Oda Nobutaka by Kyōun'in, later Toyotomi Takajuro (1576–1602) adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi) ** Shoju-in, wife of Narimasa's vassal, Jinbo Ujioki.

Early life

Military life

Death

Family

Notes

See also