Ieteru was the second son of Menju Katsuaki. He was from Owari province and served Shibata Katsuie from about the age of twelve. Katsuie was very impressed with Ieteru and held the young man in great favor. At the Battle of Nagashima in 1574, Ieteru earned much praise for recovering Katsuie's horse standard, which had been siezed by the enemy. In the aftermath of the Battle of Shizugatake, Toyotomi Hideyoshi pushed against the Shibata domain. Katsuie had come forward but was confronted by a numerically superior force. To assist in his retreat, Ieteru requested the use of his standard. Taking this he declared himself to be Katsuie and rode out to distract the enemy. While Ieteru was soon killed, Katsuie was able to escape to his castle and prepare himself for the suicide that followed. Ieteru's two brothers, Masanobu and Yoshikatsu, died in the same battle. Hideyoshi was so impressed with the sacrifice of the Menju brothers that he made a point of conveying his condolences to their family and seeing to their safe treatment.
References
- Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005