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, 21:29, 26 October 2006
* ''Titles: Tamba no kami''
* ''Other Names: Miyazawa Heihachi''
Kazumasa was a senior [[Asai clan|Asai]] retainer and a noted general who first distinguished himself in the service of [[Asai Sukemasa]]. In 1561 he relieved [[Sawayama Castle]] - under attack by the [[Rokkaku clan|Rokkaku]] - and afterwards became the lord of that place. At the [[Battle of Anegawa]] in [[1570]] Kazumasa's favorite horse was shot out from under him, so he borrowed another and led a charge into the Oda army. His attack brushed aside troops under [[Shibata Katsuie]] and [[Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi]] but were finally stopped by the units of [[Sakuma Nobumori]] and [[Mori Yoshinari]] before he reached Oda Nobunaga's headquarters. In 1573 Kazumasa's Sawayama Castle was besieged by almost 35,000 Oda troops and held out for nearly 8 months. Kazumasa surrendered when provisions finally ran out and his aged mother, a hostage with the Asai, was crucified on Asai Nagamasa's orders when the latter learned of the news. Nobunaga received Kazumasa cordially and gave him the Takashima District of western [[Omi province|Ômi Province]]. In 1578 Kazumasa fled his fief for some unknown reason, and it is theorized that he spent his remaining days farming in Ômi Province.