Ogasawara Nagatoki

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In this Japanese name, the family name is Ogasawara.

Ogasawara Nagatoki (小笠原長時?)(November 9, 1519-April 17, 1583) was a daimyo (feudal lord) of Shinano Province during the Sengoku Period in Japan. In 1542, Shinano Province was invaded by Takeda Shingen, and Ogasawara allied with Murakami Yoshikiyo, Suwa Yorishige, and Kiso Yoshiyasu in an attempt to stop him. They met Takeda Shingen's forces at the Battle of Sezawa on March 9, 1542, and were defeated.

Following this defeat, and the conquest of his lands, Ogasawara allied himself with Uesugi Kenshin, Takeda's primary rival. He fought alongside Takatō Yoritsugu in 1545, ultimately failing in their defense against the first siege of Takatō Castle. Ogasawara was defeated by Shingen again several years later, in the 1548 Battle of Shiojiritoge, in which he was hit by a surprise attack at dawn; many of his men were killed as they reached for weapons and armor. His losing streak continued the following year, when Shingen seized a number of fortresses, including Fukashi (now Matsumoto Castle), in the Siege of Fukashi.

This final, bitter loss caused Ogasawara Nagatoki to retreat to Kyoto, where he taught horsemanship and archery (kyūdō) until his murder in 1583. Some of his descendants became daimyo in the Edo period, most notably as rulers of the Kokura Domain.

[edit] Ogasawara clan genealogy

The mon of the Ogasawara clan
The mon of the Ogasawara clan

Nagatoki was part of the senior branch of the Ogasawara.[1]

The Ogasawara clan originated in 12th century Shinano province.[1] They claim descent from Takeda Yoshikiyo and as part of the Seiwa-Genji.[2] The great grand-son of Yoshikiyo, Nagakiyo, was the first to take the name Ogasawara. The area controlled by the senior branch of his descendants grew to encompass the entire province of Shinano.[3]

Nagakiyo's grandson, Ogawawara Hidemasa (1569–1615), served Ieyasu; and in 1590, Hidemasa received Koga Domain in Shimōsa province (20,000 koku). In 1601, Ieyasu transferred Hidemasa to Iida Domain in Shinano (50,000 koku); then, in 1613, he was able to return to the home of his forebears, Fukashi Castle (80,000 koku),[2] now known as Matsumoto Castle.[4]

This senior branch of the fudai Ogasawara from the beginning were daimyō at Fukashi; then, in 1617, the daimyō was transferred to Akashi Domain in Harima province (120,000 koku). In the years spanning 1632 through 1868, the descendants of this branch of the Ogasawara were daimyō at Kokura Domain (150,000 koku)[5] in Buzen province;[1] and Nagatoki's descendants would be part of this line.

The Ogasawara would prosper during the years of Tokugawa shogunate. During the Edo period, the Ogasawara were identified as one of the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokdugawa,[1] in contrast with the tozama or outsider clans.

The heads of fudai Ogasawara clan branches would be ennobled in the Meiji period.[2]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Alpert, Georges. (1888). Ancien Japon, p.75.
  2. ^ a b c Papinot, Jacques. (2003). Nobiliare du Japon -- Ogasawara, pp. 44-45; Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon. (in French/German).
  3. ^ Papinot, p. 44.
  4. ^ Rowthorn, Chris. (2005). Japan, p. 245; JapanReference web site
  5. ^ Papinot, p. 45; "Kokura Castle," Kitakyushu Bridges, p. 2; Kokura Castle.

[edit] References

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