Niwa Nagahide

Japanese: 丹羽長秀 - にわ・ながひで

Year of death: April 16, 1585 (May 15, 1585)
Year of birth: Tenbun 4 (1535)
A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Son of Nagamasa. Said to have been born in Kodama Village, Owari Province (Nishi Ward, Nagoya City). His childhood name was Machiyo, and he was commonly known as Gorozaemon. After his father's death, he served Oda Nobunaga, and married Nobunaga's adopted daughter (niece). In 1571 (Genki 2), he became the lord of Sawayama Castle in Omi Province (Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture) for forcing Isono Kazumasa, a retainer of the Azai clan who was defending the castle, to surrender. In 1573 (Tensho 1), he built a large ship for use on Lake Biwa on Nobunaga's orders, and in 1573 he was given the surname Korezumi, and the following year he was in charge of the construction of Azuchi Castle. He participated in most of Nobunaga's battles to unify the country, fighting in various places. In June of the same year, while marching to Osaka with Oda Nobusumi to head for Shikoku, he heard of the Honnoji Incident, joined forces with Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, who had returned from Bitchu Province, and defeated Akechi Mitsuhide. At the Kiyosu Conference, he was awarded the whole of Wakasa Province and two counties in Omi Province, Takashima and Shiga, and moved to Sakamoto Castle (Otsu City), where he supported the Oda clan together with Hideyoshi, Shibata Katsuie, and Ikeda Tsuneoki. In the following year, in the Battle of Shizugatake, he sided with Hideyoshi and achieved military success in defeating Katsuie, and was given most of Echizen Province and Nomi District in Kaga Province, and moved to Kitanosho (Fukui City), but died two years later. Hideyoshi and Nagahide had a deep relationship, as can be seen from the fact that Hideyoshi took one character each from "Niwa" and "Shibata" to create the surname Hashiba. Hideyoshi sent the doctor Takeda Sadaka at the request of Nagahide, who was in bed at the time, and Nagahide also wrote a will to Hideyoshi, sent him mementos, and fully entrusted him with the succession. The bond between the two was strong throughout their lives. He was described as "a person who could not be fulfilled without a short time, and who was generally in high and low positions" (Okinagusa).

(Akira Kawamura)

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

Japanese:

没年：天正13.4.16(1585.5.15)
生年：天文4(1535)
安土桃山時代の武将。長政の子。尾張国児玉村(名古屋市西区)生まれと伝える。幼名万千代,通称五郎左衛門。父の死後織田信長に仕え,信長の養女(姪)と結婚。元亀2(1571)年,近江国佐和山城(滋賀県彦根市)を守る浅井氏家臣磯野員昌を降伏させた功で同城主となる。天正1(1573)年,信長の命で琵琶湖用の大型船を建造,同3年に惟住の姓を与えられ,翌4年には安土城普請の指揮に当たっている。信長の進める天下統一戦のほとんどに参加して各地を転戦した。同10年6月,四国に向かうため織田信澄と共に大坂まで出陣していたとき本能寺の変を聞き,備中国から駆け戻ってきた羽柴(豊臣)秀吉と合流して,明智光秀を破った。清洲会議で若狭一国と近江国高島・滋賀2郡を領することとなり,坂本城(大津市)に移って,秀吉,柴田勝家,池田恒興らと共に織田家を支えた。翌11年の賤ケ岳の戦では秀吉方に属して勝家倒滅に武功を上げ,越前国の大部分と加賀国能美郡が与えられて北庄(福井市)に移ったが,その2年後に没した。秀吉が「丹羽」「柴田」から1字ずつとって羽柴姓としたことからもわかるように秀吉と長秀の関係は深く,秀吉は病床の長秀の要請で医師竹田定加を派遣し,長秀も秀吉宛に遺書を書いて形見の品を贈り,跡目を全面委任するなどふたりの間の絆は終生固かった。「暫くの内もなくては叶わず,おしなべて上下へ渡る人」と評された(『翁草』)。

(河村昭一)

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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