| Tōdō Takatora | |
|---|---|
| Tōdō Takatora | |
| First Lord of Imabari | |
| In office 1600–1608 |
|
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Matsudaira Sadafusa |
| First Lord of Tsu | |
| In office 1608–1630 |
|
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Tōdō Takatsugu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 16, 1556 Tōdō Village, Ōmi Province, Japan |
| Died | November 9, 1630 (aged 74) Edo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Tōdō Takatora (藤堂 高虎, February 16, 1556 – November 9, 1630) was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through Edo period. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a foot soldier) to become a daimyo. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master seven times and worked for ten people, but in the end he rendered loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became his last master.[1][2]
He was promoted rapidly under Hashiba Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he participated in the invasions of Korea as a commander of Toyotomi's fleet. His fiefdom at that time was Iyo-Uwajima. During the Edo period, the wealth of each fiefdom was measured as a volume of rice production in koku. Iyo-Uwajima was assessed at 70,000 koku.[1][2]
At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, although he was one of Toyotomi's main generals, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After war he was given a larger fiefdom, Iyo-Imabari, assessed at 200,000 koku. Later in life he was made lord of Tsu (with landholdings in Iga and Ise), a domain of 320,000 koku.
Todo Takatora is also famous for excelling in castle design. He is said to have been involved in building as many as twenty castles.[1][2]
| Preceded by none |
First Lord of Imabari 1600-1608 |
Succeeded by Matsudaira Sadafusa |
| Preceded by Tomita Nobutaka |
First Lord of Tsu 1608-1630 |
Succeeded by Tōdō Takatsugu |