Niiro Tadamoto
Tadamoto held Oguchi castle in Satsuma province. In the service of Shimazu Yoshihisa he fought in many battles and in 1586 was responsible for bringing down the Ôtomo's Toshimitsu castle. He played a notable role in the following Battle of Hetsugigawa (January 1587) and earned fame during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Kyushu the following year. At the Battle of the Sendai River he led a gallant charge against the enormous Toyotomi army preparing to drive on Kagoshima. In the course of the bitter battle he fought a personal duel with Kato Kiyomasa. He was unhorsed but spared, and Hideyoshi himself expressed admiration for his courage. In addition to his skills as a warrior, Tadamoto was a man of cultural acuity and was adept in the composition of waka (31-syllable poetry) and tanka.
References
- Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
