Hosokawa Fujitaka

Hosokawa Fujitaka, also known as Hosokawa Yūsai (細川 幽斎), was a Japanese samurai daimyō of the Sengoku period. Fujitaka was a prominent retainer of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last Ashikaga shōgun. When he joined the Oda, Oda Nobunaga rewarded him with the fief of Tango and went on to become one of the Oda clan's senior generals.

Biography
In 1568, Fujitaka joined Oda clan after Oda Nobunaga captured Kyoto. In late 1568, Fujitaka along with Shibata Katsuie, Hachiya Yoritaka, Mori Yoshinari and Sakai Masahisa attacking Iwanari Tomomichi one of Miyoshi Sanninshu at Shōryūji Castle, Iwanari subsequently was killed in battle by Fujitaka.

In 1569, after Nobunaga and his followers returned from Kyoto, the Miyoshi clan attacked Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki at Honkokuji castle, Fujitaka along with Akechi Mitsuhide defend the shōgun and repulsed the Miyoshi clan.

In 1576, Fujitaka fought in the ten years campaign against Ikkō-ikki in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, along with Harada Naomasa, Akechi Mitsuhide and Araki Murashige.

In 1577, Fujitaka along with Akechi Mitsuhide and Tsutsui Junkei rendered distinguished services in the Siege of Shigisan against Matsunaga Hisahide, who had raised a standard of revolt against Nobunaga.

In 1579, Fujitaka build Tanabe castle under orders from Oda Nobunaga to conquer Tango province. Later, The Oda clan force led by Fujitaka attacked Yada Castle against Isshiki Yoshimichi. After the castle fell Yoshimichi committed seppuku.

In 1580, he attacked Tango alone, failing due to a counterattack from the Isshiki clan, but he finally succeeded with the help of Akechi Mitsuhide.

In 1582, after the death of Oda Nobunaga on Incident at Honnō-ji, Fujitaka refused to join Akechi Mitsuhide for the Battle of Yamazaki, despite the fact that his son, Hosokawa Tadaoki, was married to Akechi's daughter, Hosokawa Gracia. Later, Fujitaka shaved his head in the Buddhist tonsure, changed his name to the priestly "Yūsai", and delegated his status as daimyō to Tadaoki. However, he remained an active force in politics as a cultural advisor, under both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In 1585, he joined at the Siege of Negoroji, Hideyoshi granted Fujitaka a retirement estate worth 3,000 koku in Yamashiro Province in 1586.

In 1587, he participated in the Kyushu Campaign as Hideyoshi's diplomat to negotiate with Shimazu Yoshihisa, and Hideyoshi added another 3,000 koku at Osumi Province in 1595.

In 1598 after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the government of Japan have an accident when seven military generals consisted of Fukushima Masanori, Katō Yoshiaki, Ikeda Terumasa, Kuroda Nagamasa, Asano Yoshinaga, Katō Kiyomasa, and Fujitaka himself plotted a conspiracy to kill Ishida Mitsunari. It was said that the reason of this conspiracy was dissatisfaction of those generals towards Mitsunari as he underreporting the achievements of those generals during the Imjin war against Korea & Chinese empire. At first, these generals gathered at Kiyomasa's mansion in Osaka Castle, and from there they moved into Mitsunari's mansion. However, Mitsunari learned of this through a report from a servant of Toyotomi Hideyori named Jiemon Kuwajima, and fled to Satake Yoshinobu's mansion together with Shima Sakon and others to hide. When the seven generals found out that Mitsunari was not in the mansion, they searched the mansions of various feudal lords in Osaka Castle, and Kato's army also approached the Satake residence. Therefore, Mitsunari and his party escaped from the Satake residence and barricaded themselves at Fushimi Castle. The next day, the seven generals surrounded Fushimi Castle with their soldiers as they knew Mitsunari was hiding there. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was in charge of political affairs in Fushimi Castle trying to arbitrate the situation. The seven generals requested Ieyasu to hand over Mitsunari, which refused by Ieyasu. Ieyasu then negotiated the promised to let Mitsunari retire and to review the assessment of the Battle of Ulsan Castle in Korea which became the major source of this incident, and had his second son, Yūki Hideyasu, to escort Mitsunari to Sawayama Castle. Historians viewed this incident not just as simply personal problems between those seven generals and Mitsunari, but rather as an extension of the political rivalries of greater scope between the Tokugawa faction and the anti-Tokugawa faction led by Mitsunari. Since this incident, those military figures who were on bad terms with Mitsunari would later support Ieyasu during the conflict of Sekigahara between the Eastern army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western army led by Ishida Mitsunari.

In 1600, Ishida Mitsunari had asked Fujitaka to join the Western Army, but Fujitaka refused due to one of Ishida's schemes which resulted in Gracia's and his granddaughter's death.

As a general in the Eastern Army, he garrisoned Tanabe castle with around 500 soldiers. When Tanabe Castle was besieged by the Western Army. The commanding general of the siege had great respect for Fujitaka, because of this, the attack lacked the usual spirit involved in a samurai siege: the attackers amused themselves by shooting the walls with cannons loaded only with gunpowder. Fujitaka laid down arms only after an imperial decree from Emperor Go-Yōzei. However, this was 19 days before Battle of Sekigahara, and neither he nor his attackers were able to join the battle.

Death
Fujitaka died on October 6, 1610. He was buried in Kyoto but has a second grave in Kumamoto, where his grandson Hosokawa Tadatoshi ruled.

Family

 * Grandfather: Hosokawa Motoari (1459 - 1500)
 * Father: Mitsubuchi Harukazu (1500-1570)
 * Mother: Chisein
 * Foster Father: Hosokawa Mototsune
 * Wife: Numata Jako (1544-1618)
 * Children:
 * Hosokawa Tadaoki
 * Hosokawa Okimoto (1566-1619)
 * Hosokawa Yukitaka (1571-1607)
 * Hosokawa Takayuki
 * Itohime
 * Senhime
 * Kurihime
 * Kagahime