Ii Naomasa: Difference between revisions
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{{succession box | title=[[Hikone Domain|Lord of Hikone]] | before=none | after=[[Ii Naokatsu]]| years=1600–1602}} |
{{succession box | title=[[Hikone Domain|Lord of Hikone]] | before=none | after=[[Ii Naokatsu]]| years=1600–1602}} |
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==Trivia== |
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* In [[Kouta Hirano]]'s new manga [[Drifters (manga)|DRIFTERS]], he is mentioned as having the title of {{nihongo|''jijū''|侍従||lit. "chamberlain"}} only moments before he is wounded by [[Shimazu Toyohisa]] during the [[Battle of Sekigahara]]. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 17:59, 16 October 2010
Ii Naomasa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lord of Takasaki | |
| In office 1590–1600 | |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Sakai Ietsugu |
| Lord of Hikone | |
| In office 1600–1602 | |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Ii Naokatsu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 4, 1561 Tōtōmi Province, Japan |
| Died | March 24, 1602 (aged 41) Edo, Japan |
Ii Naomasa (井伊 直政) (March 4, 1561 – March 24, 1602) was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu.[1] His family, like Tokugawa's, had originally been retainers of the once-powerful Imagawa clan, and Naomasa, then a very small child, was personally lucky to escape death in the confusion and general chaos which followed the death of the clan's leader, Imagawa Yoshimoto, in the Battle of Okehazama in 1560.[1] Naomasa joined the ranks of the Tokugawa clan in the mid 1570s, rising swiftly through the ranks to eventually become the master of a sizable holding in Ōmi Province, following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600).[1] His court title was Hyōbu-dayū.
Naomasa the General
Ii Naomasa is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa along with Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu, under the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu. He initially gained notice at the Battle of Nagakute (1584), commanding around three thousand musketeers with distinction. His finest hour was to come at the Battle of Sekigahara, where his unit outpaced those of other generals such as Fukushima Masanori, drawing the "first blood" of that battle. However, Naomasa was shot and wounded by a stray bullet as the fighting was dying down, a wound from which he would never fully recover. The wound also prevented his personal involvement in quelling the last vestiges of the anti-Tokugawa faction in the coming months.[1]
The units Ii commanded on the battlefield were notable for being outfitted almost completely in blood-red armour for psychological impact, a tactic he adopted from Yamagata Masakage, one of Takeda Shingen's generals.[1] As such, his unit became known as the "Red Devils", a nickname he shared.
Death and legacy
Ii Naomasa's premature death in 1602 has been widely blamed on the wound he received at Sekigahara. Naomasa was highly regarded by Tokugawa Ieyasu, so it is no surprise that his sons Naotsugu and Naotaka succeeded him in his service and title. However, Naotsugu managed to anger Tokugawa by refusing to take part in his campaign to reduce the Toyotomi clan stronghold at Osaka. Nonetheless, the Ii remained influential in Japanese politics throughout the Edo period.
Ii Naomasa in Popular Culture
See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture.
Trivia
- In Kouta Hirano's new manga DRIFTERS, he is mentioned as having the title of jijū (侍従, lit. "chamberlain") only moments before he is wounded by Shimazu Toyohisa during the Battle of Sekigahara.
Notes
External links
- Ii family information (in Japanese)
- Painting and brief bio of Naomasa (in Japanese)
- Information on Naomasa, including images of his flag, battle standard, and armor (in Japanese)