Honda Tadakatsu

Japanese: 本多忠勝 - ほんだ・ただかつ

Year of death: October 18, 1610 (December 3, 1610)
Year of birth: Tenbun 17 (1548)
A military commander and feudal lord in the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. His childhood name was Nabenosuke, and he later went on to be called Heihachiro and Nakatsukasa Daifu. He was the eldest son of Honda Tadataka. His mother was the daughter of Uemura Shinrokuro Ujiyoshi. Born in Mikawa Province (Aichi Prefecture), he served Tokugawa Ieyasu just like his father, and in 1560, at the age of 13, he made his debut at the battle to capture Odaka Castle in Owari Province. He subsequently achieved outstanding military success in major battles during Ieyasu's reign, including the Mikawa Ikko Ikki, the Battle of Anegawa, the Battle of Mikatagahara, the Battle of Nagashino, and the Battle of Takatenjin, and was called one of the four great Tokugawa generals, along with Sakai Tadatsugu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Ii Naomasa. During the Honnoji Incident in 1582, when Ieyasu was traveling around Sakai and unsure of what to do, he advised him to return to Okazaki Castle, and he led Ieyasu back home safely after surviving the dangerous Iga Pass. When he entered the Kanto region in 1590, he was awarded 100,000 koku of land in Otaki, Kazusa Province (Chiba Prefecture). During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the main force of the Honda clan was led by his eldest son, Tadamasa, and under the command of Tokugawa Hidetada, attacked Ueda Castle in Shinshu, which was defended by Sanada Masayuki, while Tadakatsu, as a military inspector for the Eastern Army in the Tokaido region, took part in the battle with over 400 pages. In this battle, Tadakatsu was initially involved in the strategy near Ieyasu's main camp, but when the situation turned unfavorable for the Eastern Army, he went to the front line himself to direct the advance and retreat of the entire army, and he also performed heroic work by charging into the enemy camp several times with his accompanying soldiers. It is said that after the battle, Fukushima Masanori of the Eastern Army praised Tadakatsu's excellent military tactics. In the following year, he was transferred to Kuwana in Ise Province, a key location on the Tokaido road, with his stipend remaining at 100,000 koku, and his second son, Tadatomo, who served under Tadakatsu in the same battle, was given an additional 50,000 koku in Otaki, forming the basis for the prosperity of the Honda clan thereafter. It is said that Tadakatsu fought 57 battles since his first one, yet never bore a scar on his body, making him a military commander worthy of the name of the unparalleled brave warrior of all time. He passed away in Kuwana at the age of 63. His posthumous Buddhist name was Choyo Ryoshin Saiganji. <References> Murakami Sunao, "The Four Heavenly Kings of the Tokugawa" (Kitajima Masamoto, ed., "The Edo Shogunate," Vol. 1)

(Kazuhiko Kasaya)

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

Japanese:

没年：慶長15.10.18(1610.12.3)
生年：天文17(1548)
安土桃山・江戸時代初期の武将,大名。幼名鍋之助,のち平八郎,中務大輔と称した。本多忠高の長男。母は植村新六郎氏義の娘。三河国(愛知県)に生まれ,父と同じく徳川家康に仕え,永禄3(1560)年に13歳で尾張国大高城の攻略戦に初陣。そののち三河一向一揆,姉川の戦,三方ケ原の戦,長篠の戦,高天神の戦など家康一代の間の主要な戦いにおいて抜群の戦功をあげ,酒井忠次,榊原康政,井伊直政とならんで徳川四天王のひとりと称された。天正10(1582)年の本能寺の変に際しては,堺方面を遊歴していて進退に迷う家康に進言して岡崎帰城を勧め,伊賀越えの危地を切り抜けて無事帰還させた。同18(1590)年の関東入部のおりには上総国(千葉県)大多喜10万石を給される。慶長5(1600)年の関ケ原の戦では,本多家の本隊は嫡子の忠政が率いて徳川秀忠のもとで真田昌幸の守る信州上田城の攻撃に向かい,忠勝は東海道方面の東軍の軍目付として小姓の者400名余を引き連れて同合戦に臨んだ。この戦で忠勝ははじめ家康の本陣近くにあって作戦に参画していたが,戦況が東軍に不利となるや自ら前線に赴いて全軍の進退を指揮し,また供の兵と共に敵陣に数度切り込んで獅子奮迅の働きをなした。東軍の福島正則が合戦後に,忠勝の用兵の妙を絶賛したことが伝えられている。翌6年に東海道の要地である伊勢国桑名に10万石のままで所替えとなり,忠勝に従って同合戦で働いた次男忠朝に大多喜5万石が新規に給され,そののちの本多一族の繁栄の基を形成した。忠勝は初陣以来57回の戦を経験しながら,身に傷跡をとどめなかったと伝えられているが,彼こそ古今無双の勇士の名に恥じない武将であった。桑名において卒去。歳63。法号は長誉良信西岸寺。<参考文献>村上直「徳川四天王」(北島正元編『江戸幕府』上)

(笠谷和比古)

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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