Sakai Tadayo

Sakai Tadayo (酒井 忠世, July 14, 1572 – April 24, 1636) was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period, and high-ranking government advisor, holding the title of Rōjū, and later Tairō.

The son of Sakai Shigetada, Tadayo was born in Nishio, Mikawa Province; his childhood name was Manchiyo. He became a trusted elder (rōjū) in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's government, alongside Tokugawa Ieyasu. Under Hideyoshi, he was made lord of Kawagoe castle (in Musashi province, today Saitama prefecture) and later of Nagoya castle in Kyūshū's Hizen province. In 1600, in the lead-up to the decisive Sekigahara campaign, he fought against the Tokugawa at Aizu, and submitted to them at the siege of Ueda. Thus, having joined the Tokugawa prior to the battle of Sekigahara itself, Sakai was made a fudai daimyo, and counted among the Tokugawa's more trusted retainers. He served under Ieyasu for a time, and under the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, as a hatamoto.

Sakai's father died in 1617, and so he inherited his father's domain of Maebashi in Harima province, which had been assessed at 33,000 koku, and was now changed to 85,000 koku by the shogunate. In 1632, following a shakeup of positions within the bureaucracy, Sakai became nishi no maru rusui, placing him in charge of the western districts of Edo castle, the seat of the shogunal government. However, two years later, the Western districts were burnt down while the shogun was away in Kyoto. Sakai was stripped of his position, and exiled to Kan'ei-ji.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康, January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which virtually ruled Japan from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but remained in power until his death in 1616. His given name is sometimes spelled Iyeyasu, according to the historical pronunciation of he. Ieyasu was posthumously enshrined at Nikkō Tōshō-gū with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東照大権現).

Early life (1543–1556)

Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle in Mikawa on the 26th day of the twelfth month of the eleventh year of Tenbun, according to the Japanese calendar. Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo (松平 竹千代), he was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada (松平 広忠), the daimyo of Mikawa of the Matsudaira clan, and Odai-no-kata (於大の方, Lady Odai), the daughter of a neighbouring samurai lord, Mizuno Tadamasa (水野 忠政). His mother and father were step-siblings. They were just 17 and 15 years old, respectively, when Ieyasu was born. Two years later, Odai-no-kata was sent back to her family and the couple never lived together again. As both husband and wife remarried and both went on to have further children, Ieyasu in the end had 11 half-brothers and sisters.

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Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉, February 2, 1536, or March 26, 1537 – September 18, 1598) was a preeminent daimyo, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier". He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Warring States period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. After his death, his young son Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Hideyoshi is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. He financed the construction, restoration and rebuilding of many temples standing today in Kyoto. Hideyoshi played an important role in the history of Christianity in Japan when he ordered the execution by crucifixion of twenty-six Christians.

Early life

Very little is known for certain about Hideyoshi before 1570, when he begins to appear in surviving documents and letters. His autobiography starts in 1577 but in it Hideyoshi spoke very little about his past. According to tradition, he was born in Owari Province, the home of the Oda clan (present day Nakamura-ku, Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture). He was born of no traceable samurai lineage, being the son of a peasant-ashigaru (foot soldier) named Yaemon. He had no surname, and his childhood given name was Hiyoshi-maru (日吉丸) ("Bounty of the Sun") although variations exist.

Ueda Castle

Ueda Castle (上田城, Ueda-jō) was the original home of the Sanada clan, built by Sanada Masayuki.

It was this castle that the Sanada defended twice from the Tokugawa, first in 1585 and again in 1600, putting up a very impressive defense both of those times.

When Sanada Masayuki refused to hand over the Numata Castle to Tokugawa Ieyasu, it led to The Battle at Kami River. During the battle, Ieyasu charged into the Ueda Castle with a very large army. But Masayuki was ready, having an ambush party ready to attack. This effectively threw the Tokugawa army into great confusion, causing them great losses in numbers.

Masayuki and his son Sanada Yukimura both faced off against the Tokugawa once again at the Battle of Sekigahara. The Sanada announced their surrender, but this surrender was all part of Masayuki's plan. He wanted to make them think he was truly surrendering, but instead Masayuki was really in preparation for the defense of the Ueda Castle.

When Tokugawa Hidetada was alerted of the Sanada clan's plot, Hidetada began to mobilize his troops. But Masayuki was already prepared for an attack, so he had another ambush party ready, but this time he sent them into the enemy's main camp. In the end the battle had devastating effects. Hidetada failed to seize the Ueda Castle, and he was also kept from joining the field at Sekigahara.