Naomasa Ii

Japanese: 井伊直政 - いい・なおまさ

Year of death: February 1, 1602 (March 24, 1602)
Year of birth: Eiroku 4.2.19 (1561.3.4)
A military commander in the Sengoku and early Edo periods. He was born in Iitani, Totomi as the son of Ii Naochika, a senior vassal of the Imagawa clan, a feudal lord during the Sengoku period. His mother was the daughter of Okuyama Chikatomo. His childhood name was Machiyo. In 1562, his father Naochika was killed by Imagawa Ujizane on false accusations, so he wandered from place to place, and in 1575, he was discovered by Tokugawa Ieyasu under Hamamatsu Castle and served him. The following year, he fought his first battle in the battle against the forces of Takeda Katsuyori at Shibahara in Totomi. From then on, Naomasa could be seen in the vanguard alongside Ieyasu's bannermen such as Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa. When the Takeda clan was destroyed in 1582, and Ieyasu invaded Kai after the Honnoji Incident, he was known for inviting the remaining Takeda retainers, and Ieyasu assigned 120 of the remaining Takeda retainers to Naomasa and inherited Yamagata Masakage's "red armor." As a result, in subsequent battles, the "Ii's red armor," with flags and armor unified in red, was seen. In 1583, when Naomasa was 24 years old, he was appointed Shuri-no-taifu, and then in 1595, when Ieyasu was transferred to the Kanto region, he was given 120,000 koku in Minowa, Kozuke Province, which was the largest kokudaka of any Tokugawa retainer at that time. In the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he served as the guardian of Ieyasu's fourth son, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, and is known for starting the battle by competing with Fukushima Masanori for the vanguard. He pursued the Shimazu forces that were trying to break through the enemy lines and killed Shimazu Toyohisa, but was shot during the attack. As a reward for his achievements after the war, he was awarded 180,000 koku of land in Sawayama, Omi Province, but he died two years later due to the injuries he sustained during this time.

(Tetsuo Owada)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：慶長7.2.1(1602.3.24)
生年：永禄4.2.19(1561.3.4)
戦国・江戸前期の武将。戦国大名今川氏の重臣井伊直親の子として遠江の井伊谷に生まれる。母は奥山親朝の娘。幼名万千代。永禄5(1562)年,父直親が讒言によって今川氏真に殺されたため各地を放浪し,天正3(1575)年,浜松城下で徳川家康に見いだされて仕えた。翌年早くも遠江の芝原における武田勝頼の軍勢との戦いで初陣。以来,直政の姿が,本多忠勝,榊原康政といった家康の旗本先手役と並んで先鋒の中にみられるようになる。天正10年の武田氏滅亡,さらに本能寺の変後の家康による甲州経略の際,武田遺臣の招撫に功があり,家康は武田遺臣120名を直政につけ,山県昌景の「赤備え」を継承させた。そのため,このあとの戦いでは旗や具足などを赤一色で統一した「井伊の赤備え」がみられた。同12年直政24歳のとき,修理大夫に任ぜられ,次いで同18年家康の関東移封に際し,上野国箕輪で12万石を与えられたが,これはこの時点での徳川家臣団の石高で最高であった。慶長5(1600)年の関ケ原の戦では,家康の4男松平忠吉の後見役を務め,福島正則と先陣を争う形で戦いの口火を切ったことが知られている。敵中突破を試みた島津軍を追撃し島津豊久を討ち取るが,その最中に銃撃を受けた。戦後の論功行賞で近江佐和山18万石が与えられたが,このときの傷がもとで,2年後没した。

(小和田哲男)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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