Takigawa Kazumasu

• Died: 1586?
• Titles: Iyo no kami, Saburôhei

Kazumasu was a son of Takigawa Kazukatsu. He became one of Oda Nobunaga's staunchest supporters, and served him from around 1558 onward. He was given land in Ise province around 1569 and supported Oda Nobuo, heir to the Kitabatake house. Aside from serving in many of Nobunaga's battles, Kazumasu also rendered service to the Oda through domestic affairs, assisting in the construction of Azuchi castle in 1578 and in land surveys with Akechi Mitsuhide in 1580 in the Yamato region. Kazumasu's battle record was mixed, as he fled from the Battle of Mikatagahara and acted poorly during the 1st Iga Invasion. In the wake of the destruction of the Takeda in 1582, Kazumasu was established at Umabayashi Castle in Kôzuke and given control of the province and the Chiisagata and Saku districts of Shinano province. Shortly after the death of Oda Nobunaga in June 1582 Kazumasu was defeated by the Hôjô at the Battle of Kanagawa and fled to Ise. Following the Kiyosu Conference Kazumasu was given a domain in Ise and supported Shibata Katsuie when the latter opposed Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583. Kazumasu submitted to Hideyoshi after he was besieged in Kamegawa castle and assisted the latter during the Komaki Campaign by attacking Kanie castle along with Kûki Yoshitaka. When he performed badly in this campaign, he shaved his head and retired in shame. He is thought to have died in Echizen around 1586.

References

• Initial text from Samurai-Archives.com FWSeal & CEWest, 2005