Sakai Tadatsugu

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Tadatsugu was born in 1527 to Sakai Tadachika, a hereditary vassal of the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province.^[3] At some point, Tadatsugu was ordered by Imagawa Yoshimoto to attack Tada Yasumitsu, an uncle-in-law of Matsudaira Hirotada. Tadatsugu managed to seize the castles in Yasumitsu's possession at Imahashi and Tawara.^[9]

At some point during Tadatsugu's life, Oda Nobuhide, father of Oda Nobunaga, invaded and besieged Ida castle in Mikawa. Tadatsugu and Naitō Nobunari were reportedly sallied out, fighting Nobuhide's army to defend the castle.^[10][11]

It is said that after Hirotada's death, in 1551 Tadatsugu served young Ieyasu and was a hostage in Sunpu.^{[citation needed]}

In 1556, according to the records from Tosho Gunkan, Tadatsugu defended Fukutani castle, which was besieged by 2,000 cavalry troops of the Oda clan led by Shibata Katsuie. Tadatsugu repelled the invaders by leading a sallying force outside the castle to engage Katsuie's troops.^[12][13] During this battle, Watanabe Yoshitsuna, maternal grandfather of Watanabe Moritsuna, fought under the command of Tadatsugu and manage to kill Katsuie's general Hayakawa Tōta with a bow.^[14]

In 1558, Tadatsugu accompanied Ieyasu in the Siege of Terabe.^{[citation needed]}

In 1560 at the Siege of Marune, Tadatsugu served as a vanguard of the Tokugawa forces along with Ishikawa Ienari. After a tough battle, he defeated Sakuma Morishige, a general from the Oda side who was defending the fort.^[15] It was said that Morishige was killed with arquebus shots from the Tokugawa forces.^[16]

In 1563, during the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki uprising, Tadatsugu followed Ieyasu while his brother, Sakai Tadanao, chose to support the Ikkō-ikki.^[a] This religious uprising has four epicenters where the Ikkō-shū radicals had fortified their temples. Tadatsugu were tasked with pacifying one of the garrisoned temples, which was located in Ida village.^[18] In the same year, Tadatsugu married princess Usui (Usui-Hime), grand-daughter of Matsudaira Hirotada and Ieyasu's sister.^[19]

In 1564, Tadatsugu lead an attack towards Yoshida Castle, forcing the lord of the castle, Shizumi Obara, to escape and the castle to surrender without a fight.^[20][21][22] In the same year, before the Battle of Azukizaka, Tadatsugu wrote a letter to the Ikko-Ikki faction in Mikawa, chastising their rebellious conduct.^[23]

Sometime around 1565, Tadatsugu urged his superior, Ieyasu, to abandon his allegiance with the Imagawa clan.^[24] After the Tokugawa clan captured Yoshida Castle in eastern Mikawa (present-day Toyohashi), Ieyasu ordered Tadatsugu to control the castle.^[25][26][27] Ieyasu then assigned Tadatsugu, Ishikawa Kazumasa, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Honda Tadakatsu as chiefs of the Tokugawa counsel of staff.^[28][29]

By 1567, Ieyasu had reorganized the structures of his army into two divisions, each with a separate commander. Tadatsugu was placed over the forces of 18 Tokugawa Fudai and Kamon daimyōs, while Ishikawa Kazumasa was given command over the forces of 13 daimyō.^[1][30][31] Tadatsugu was given command of the "Higashi-Mikawa" ("Eastern Mikawa") samurai clans,^[32] such as Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu), Matsudaira Tadamasa, Matsudaira Ietada (Katahara), and others.^[33][34][35]

In 1569, Tadatsugu participated in the Siege of Kakegawa castle.^[22]

In 1570, Tadatsugu was involved in the Battle of Anegawa, leading the Tokugawa forces that formed the left wing of the Oda-Tokugawa alliance forces. Tadatsugu and Ishikawa Kazumasa led the vanguard, while Sakakibara Yasumasa and Honda Tadakatsu led the rearguard of the Tokugawa formation.^[36]

In 1572, during the Battle of Mikatagahara, Tadatsugu fought the opposing Takeda clan forces on the far-right position of the Tokugawa forces' stork-shaped formation.^[37] At first, Tadatsugu repulsed the first wave of the Takeda clan's charge led by Oyamada Nobushige.^[38] However, as the second wave led by Baba Nobuharu stepped in, units under Tadatsugu were overwhelmed.^[39] Tadatsugu struggled as his troops were badly beaten.^[40] As Ieyasu and his allies retreated to Hamamatsu Castle, Tadatsugu participated in the ruse which mitigated the effects of Takeda victory in the field, and the Takeda forces withdrew.^[41][42]

In June 1574, when the Takeda clan began sieging Takatenjin, Oda Nobunaga personally lead reinforcements. He encamped in Yoshida castle and was greeted by Tadatsugu. However, as he heard that Takatenjin had surrendered, Nobunaga aborted his trip to Takatenjin and returned to Yoshida castle to plan.^[43]

In 1575, when Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Yoshida castle, Tadatsugu defended with a garrison of 6,000 soldiers. The battles were exclusively limited to spear skirmishes outside the wall, which frustrated Katsuyori, causing him to abandon the siege.^[44]

Later in the same year, during the war council discussion before the Battle of Nagashino, Tadatsugu suggested a night raid, which was quickly rejected by Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga talked with Tadatsugu in private after the council and gave him permission to execute the plan in secret, because Nobunaga was afraid that, if he publicly agreed with Tadatsugu's plan during the council discussion, it could potentially be leaked to enemy intelligence.^[47] Tadatsugu was tasked with leading a night raid against the Takeda forces located in Tobinosuyama with Kanamori Nagachika.^[31][48] They led a flying column of 2,000 Tokugawa archers and arquebus gunners, which was further supplemented with the Oda clan's regiment of cavalry and 500 arquebus gunners.^[49] Tadatsugu led these forces to take the road from Koshu to Horai-ji Temple in Sanshu, then crossed a river, until they reached the camp of the Takeda forces near the besieged Nagashino castle.^[b] Tadatsugu successfully ambushed the Takeda forces, which caused the death of two Takeda generals, Takeda Nobuzane and Saegusa Moritomo.^[51] After the enemy troops in Nagashino castle were routed, Tadatsugu also burned Kadoya village, nearby the location.^[50]

As the Nagashino campaign ended, Tadatsugu was rewarded for defending a castle in Tobinosuyama mountain after the battle of Nagashino. Oda Nobunaga personally gave Tadatsugu a jinbaori(samurai commander's jacket),^[52] and a Maki no Tachi(sword's mounting).^[53]

In 1578, Tadatsugu's son, Sakai Ietsugu (1564–1619), took over his father's role as castellan of Yoshida Castle.^[27] The ie- in the beginning of Ietsugu's name was a special honor bestowed by Tokugawa Ieyasu as reward for special vassals, allowing them to use of one of the kanji from his nanori name.^[54]

In 1579, Tadatsugu was involved with a tragedy that befell the Ieyasu family, which ended with Ieyasu's wife, Lady Tsukiyama, being executed, and their son, Matsudaira Nobuyasu, being forced to commit seppuku. Tadatsugu played a role in confirming Oda Nobunaga's suspicion of the alleged betrayal against the Oda clan being planned by Lady Tsukiyama, as Nobunaga concluded that, since a high-ranking fudai daimyō such as Tadatsugu had confirmed the accusation by testifying against Lady Tsukiyama, then the accusation must be true. Tadatsugu may have actually conspired with Odai no Kata to get rid of Lady Tsukiyama.^[8] Arthur Lindsay Sadler theorized that this was a deliberate act of spite from Tadatsugu due to his dislike of Nobuyasu.^[55]

In 1582, after the Honnō-ji Incident, Tadatsugu accompanied Ieyasu in crossing Iga province and returning to Mikawa to escape the enemies of Nobunaga in Sakai. However, their journey was very dangerous due to the existence of "ochimusha-gari" groups across the route.^[56][c] During this journey, Tadatsugu and other senior Ieyasu retainers such as Ii Naomasa and Honda Tadakatsu fought their way through raids and harassments from ochimusha-gari while escorting Ieyasu, while sometimes also paying bribes of gold and silver to the ochimusha-gari which they could bribe.^[59] As they reached Kada, an area between Kameyama town and Iga,^[60] the attacks from the ochimusha-gari ended as they reached the territory of Kōka ikki samurai who were friendly to the Tokugawa clan. The Kōka ikki samurai then escorting them until they reached Iga Province, where they were further protected by samurai clans from the Iga ikki, which accompany the Ieyasu group until they safely reach Mikawa.^[56] The Ietada nikki journal recorded that the escorts of Ieyasu suffered around 200 casualties, and only 34 people arrived at Ietada's residence in Mikawa.^[61][62]

In June-October 29 of the same year, the Tenshō-Jingo War [ja] occurred among the Tokugawa clan, Hōjō clan, and Uesugi clan over control of the area of Kai Province (currently Gunma Prefecture), Shinano Province (currently Nagano Prefecture), and the Ueno region, which had been vacant since the destruction of Takeda clan and the death of Oda Nobunaga. After Ieyasu returned to Mikawa, he led an army of 8,000 soldiers into Kai, Shinano, and Ueno, in order to annex it. However, an army of 55,000 men under the Hōjō clan crossed the Usui Pass to invade Shinano.^[63] Ieyasu dispatched Tadatsugu and Ogasawara Nobumine with a detachment to pacify Shinano, while Ieyasu took the main army to pacify Kai. However, Tadatsugu and Nobumine met with unexpected resistance from Suwa Yoritada, a former Takeda vassal who was now allied with the Hōjō clan.^[64] They were defeated by Moritada, and Tadatsugu's army was almost encircled. Tadatsugu then led a desperate breakthrough and broke the encirclement. He retreated into Wakamiko in Kai province, where he rejoin Ieyasu's main forces. In Wakamiko, the confrontation lasted for 80 days without a clear result. During this period, Ieyasu acquired more than 800 former vassals of the Takeda clan from Kai.^[65] Later, in December, Tadatsugu led the army once again to subdue Suwa Yoritada at Suwa in Shinano, where Tadatsugu manage to subdue Yoritada and secure his surrender to the Tokugawa clan.^[66]

In 1584, during the Komaki-Nagakute campaign, Tadatsugu successfully turned back a move by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces against Kiyosu Castle, which was led by Hideyoshi's commander Mori Nagayoshi. Tadatsugu scouted Nagayoshi's forces during their march, and as Nagayoshi rested and camped his soldiers in the Hachimanbayashi area of Haguro. Tadatsugu joined Okudaira Nobumasa and Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu) in Komaki to launch an attack at dawn. As they pushed Nagayoshi's forces, Tadatsugu tried to encircle them from the flank, killing 300 of Nagayoshi's soldiers. ^[67] However, they ultimately failed to entrap Nagayoshi as he manage to breaking through the encirclement and retreat.^[68][69] Following this, Tadatsugu returned to Komaki where he, Honda Tadakatsu, and Ishikawa Kazumasa stationed their troops.^[70]

After the battle of Nagakute in April, the front line in northern Owari reached a stalemate. At this time, Kanie Castle was located about three miles between Ieyasu's Kiyosu Castle and Nobuo's Nagashima Castle, and was connected to the Mie moat and three castles: Ono Castle, Shimojima Castle, and Maeda Castle. Kanie castle faced the sea and was one of the leading ports in Owari, along with Atsuta and Tsushima. On June 18, Ieyasu and Nobuo led 20,000 soldiers and besieged Kanie, Maeda, and Shimojima.^[71] Kanie castle was defended by Maeda Nagatane and Takigawa Kazumasu. Tadatsugu, Okanabe Mori, and Yamaguchi Shigemasa spearheaded the attack of Shimojima castle, while Sakakibara Yasumasa, Osuga Yasutaka were deployed to capture any fleeing defenders.^[72][73] During this siege, Ieyasu's Hatamoto retainers, including Mizuno Katsunari, blockaded the port of the castle, and hijacked two ships belongs to Kuki Yoshitaka, to prevent any outside help for Kanie castle.^[74] After the fall of Shimojima castle, on June 22, Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa Ieyasu launched an all-out attack on Kanie Castle. The soldiers led by Tadatsugu, who had been deployed at the main entrance, were exhausted after days of fierce fighting, and in the evening, the soldiers of Sakakibara Yasumasa and Matsudaira Ietada entered Kaimonjiguchi.^[75] On June 23, Ieyasu entered the castle with Sakakibara Yasumasa, and the castles were subdued. ^[71]

In 1586, according to the Sakakibara clan's historical records, Ieyasu sent Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasu, and Ii Naomasa as representatives to Kyoto, with the three of them being regarded as the "Tokugawa Sanketsu"("three great nobles of Tokugawa").^[76] In the following month, the three of them were joined by Tadatsugu Sakai to accompany Ieyasu in his personal trip to Kyoto, where the four of them "became famous".^[76]

In 1590, during the Odawara Campaign, Tadatsugu was ordered to accompany Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu's son and heir, to Kyoto, where he served as a hostage for Ieyasu's loyalty to the Toyotomi clan during that campaign. After the battle, Hideyoshi ordered the Tokugawa clan to relocate from their ancestral holdings to the Kantō region. Tadatsugu went into retirement, but his son Ietsugu received a 30,000 koku fudai fief at Usui, in Shimōsa Province, and Tadasugu accompanied him there.^[27]

Tadatsugu died in Kyoto in the winter of 1596. After Tadatsugu's death, the Sakai clan continued to prosper.^[27]