Sassa Narimasa (佐々 成政, February 6, 1536 – July 7, 1588) was a Japanese samurai lord of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama periods.[1] He entered Oda Nobunaga's service at the age of 14 and remained in his service throughout Nobunaga's rise to power. He was a member of the so-called Echizen Sanninshu (Echizen Triumvir) along with Maeda Toshiie and Fuwa Mitsuharu. He was also known as Kura-no-suke (内蔵助).
Early life
Sassa Narimasa's Tonsure Monument
Sassa Narimasa was born to Sassa Morimasa in what is now Nishi-ku, Nagoya (situated in contemporary Aichi District, Owari Province). He became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga in 1550.[1] Narimasa was a military commander under Nobunaga, and the leader of Oda's Kurohoro-shū (黒母衣衆, lit.'Black Mantle group'), a Military group with a black Horo (cloak) on their backs.[2][3]
In 1560, after his brothers were killed in battle, Narimasa took over the family estate and became the lord of the Hirajo Castle.
In 1582, after Oda Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji, at the Kiyosu meeting, Narimasa took the side of Shibata, but he could not participate in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583, since he could not leave Etchu where he was preparing for the attack of the Uesugi army at Matsukura Castle (Toyama Prefecture). After the death of Katsuie, Narimasa joined Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In 1584, during the battle of Komaki Nagakute, he and the Tokugawa alliance unsuccessfully challenged the Toyotomi force under Maeda Toshiie at the Siege of Suemori.
In 1585, he was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Siege of Toyama, and later Narimasa submitted to Hideyoshi and his life was spared.
In 1588, however, due to difficulties in suppressing a Higo Province local revolt, he committed suicide (seppuku) by Hideyoshi's instruction.[1] The insurrection stemmed from survey of his province, which resulted in a change in the distance in which farmers transported their tax rice from 3 ri to 8 ri.[6]
Later, after Higo Province was confiscated from Sassa Narimasa, land in Higo (roughly half of the province) and Kumamoto Castle granted to Kato Kiyomasa.
Family
Father: Sassa Morimasa
Siblings:
Sassa Magosuke (distinguished as one of the Seven Spears of Azukizaka. Died in Battle of Inabugahara against Oda Nobuyuki; 1556)
Sassa "Hayato no Kami" Masatsugu (distinguished as one of the Seven Spears of Azukizaka. Died in battle of Okehazama; 1560)
Mitsuhide-in, wife of Nobunaga's seventh son, Oda Nobutaka (Oda Nobutaka by Kyōun'in, later Toyotomi Takajuro (1576–1602) adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi)
Shoju-in, wife of Narimasa's vassal, Jinbo Ujioki.
^Owada, Tetsuo (14 June 2020). "織田信長（下）唯我独尊が招いた相次いだ謀反… 久秀、村重、そして光秀" [Nobunaga Oda (Part 2): A Series of Rebellions Caused by Self-Respect... Hisahide, Murashige, and Mitsuhide]. Otonanswer (in Japanese). Media Vague. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^Owada, Tetsuo (25 October 2020). "前田利家 武勇と仁愛を兼備、秀吉を支えた「槍の又左」" [Maeda Toshiie - The "Mataza of the Spear" Who Supported Hideyoshi with His Combination of Bravery and Humanity]. オトナンサー | マネー、医療、エンタメ、マナー、食など「暮らし」の各カテゴリーについて、オトナンサーは、時事的な話題の解説や、知っていると役立つトリビアの紹介、大人が知っておくべき基礎知識などのコンテンツを提供します。 (in Japanese). Media Vague. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. pp. 228, 230–231. ISBN1854095234.
^Berry, Mary Elizabeth (1989). Hideyoshi. Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 267. ISBN0-674-39026-1.
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