Tōdō Takatora

In this Japanese name, the family name is Tōdō.
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 (1556-02-16)February 16, 1556
Tōdō Village, Ōmi Province, Japan
Died November 9, 1630(1630-11-09) (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]

Statue of Tōdō Takatora at Imabari Castle.

Todo Takatora 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 the 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.

After the death of Akai Naomasa, some members of the Akai clan became retainers to the Tōdō house.[3]

Todo Takatora is also famous for excellence in castle design. He is said to have been involved in building as many as twenty castles.[1][2]

In fiction

References

External links

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

External links


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