Mizuno Katsushige

• Born: 1564
• Died: 1651
• Sons: Mizuno Katsutoshi
• Titles: Hyûga no kami
• Other names: Mizuno Tôjûrô, Mizuno Sôkyû
• Distinction: Toyotomi retainer

Katsushige was a son of Mizuno Tadashige. Considered something of an eccentric with a quick temper, Katsushige left the Mizuno’s home of Kariya Castle and wandered about for the first part of his career, serving under Sasa Narimasa in the Kyushu Campaign, then participating in the invasion of Korea. Even there he moved from place to place within the army, serving under both Konishi Yukinaga and Katô Kiyomasa. Following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598, Katsushige and the Mizuno began to drift back into the Tokugawa camp. In 1600 Katsushige declared for Tokugawa Ieyasu and later served him in the Osaka Summer Campaign (1615). He was afterwards made a daimyô at Koriyama in Yamato, later being transferred to Fukuyama in Bingo province--worth 100,000-koku. He capped his unusual career with participation in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion and was succeeded by an adopted son, Katsutoshi.

References

• Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005