Mototsugu Goto

A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Commonly known as Matabei. A retainer of the Kuroda clan, he was praised for his bravery. He is famous for being the first to arrive at Jinshu Castle during the Bunroku-Keicho War, slaying a tiger, and crossing the Goto River, a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara. When his lord, Nagamasa, was granted an additional stipend of 180,000 koku in Nakatsu, Buzen, to 520,000 koku in Fukuoka, Chikuzen, for his achievements in the Battle of Sekigahara, Mototsugu was also granted 16,000 koku and became the lord of Okuma Castle. However, he soon fell out with Nagamasa, left the Kuroda clan, and wandered from place to place. In 1614 (Keicho 19), when the East and West clans were separated, he was invited to enter Osaka Castle, where he was counted as one of the Five Men of Osaka. In the winter campaign, he assisted Shigenari Kimura and defeated Yoshinobu Satake's troops at Imafuku, and in the summer campaign, he was killed in a fierce battle with the large armies of Tadaaki Matsudaira and Masamune Date at Komatsuyama in Kokubu. He is said to have been 46 or 56 years old when he died.

[Ryoichi Okamoto]

"Osaka Winter Campaign and Summer Campaign" by Ryoichi Okamoto (1972, Sogensha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

安土(あづち)桃山時代の武将。通称又兵衛(またべえ)。黒田家の臣で豪勇をうたわれた。文禄(ぶんろく)・慶長(けいちょう)の役における晋州(しんしゅう)城一番乗りや虎(とら)退治、関ヶ原の戦いの前哨(ぜんしょう)戦となった合渡(ごうと)川渡河戦での武勲などは有名。主君の長政(ながまさ)が関ヶ原の戦いの功で豊前(ぶぜん)中津(なかつ)18万石から筑前(ちくぜん)福岡52万石に増封されたとき、基次も1万6000石を与えられて大隈(おおくま)城主となった。しかしやがて長政と不和になって黒田家を去り、各地を浪々。1614年（慶長19）東西の手切れとなるや、招かれて大坂城に入り、大坂五人衆の一人に数えられた。冬の陣では木村重成(しげなり)を助けて、佐竹義宣(よしのぶ)の兵を今福に破り、夏の陣では国分(こくぶ)小松山で松平忠明(ただあきら)、伊達政宗(だてまさむね)らの大軍と激戦のすえ討ち死にした。行年46歳とも56歳ともいう。

［岡本良一］

『岡本良一著『大坂冬の陣・夏の陣』（1972・創元社）』

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