Kobayakawa Hideaki
Encyclopedia
Kobayakawa Hideaki was fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada
Kinoshita Iesada
was a samurai of the Sengoku through early Edo periods. His family name means "under the tree." He was the brother-in -law of the general who would become known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi....

 and the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

.

He was adopted by Hideyoshi and called himself Hashiba Hidetoshi (羽柴 秀俊) and Shusen (秀栓). He was then again adopted by Kobayakawa Takakage
Kobayakawa Takakage
was a samurai retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku period, and the son of Mōri Motonari. Adopted by the head of the Kobayakawa clan, Takakage took his name, and succeeded his adoptive father to become head of the Kobayakawa clan following his death in 1545.As head of the Kobayakawa...

 and renamed himself Hideaki. Because he had gained the rank of Saemon no Toku (左衛門督) or in China Shikkingo (執金吾) at genpuku
Genpuku
or genbuku was an historical Japanese coming-of-age ceremony. The etymology is atypical; in this case means "head" and means "wearing". The ceremony is also known as , , , , and ....

 and held the title of Chunagon(中納言), Hideaki was also called Kingo Chunagon (金吾中納言).

During the Battle of Keicho he led reinforcements to rescue Ulsan Castle from the Ming army. Fighting on the front line with a spear, he managed to capture an enemy commander and successfully broke the siege. However, Hideyoshi saw the danger of a reckless charge by the general commanding an army and deprived him of his domain, Chikugo
Chikugo Province
is the name of a former province of Japan in the area that is today the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Chikuzen Province...

 after returning. Kobayakawa, angered by this, believed the lie circulated by Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 that this had been the doing of a jealous Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari was a samurai who led the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 17th century. Also known by his court title, Jibunoshō...

. He never forgot or forgave Mitsunari and worked to undermine his position.

Before the battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, Kobayakawa happened to be in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 and acted as though he would go along with Mitsunari, even though he had intended to betray him, having secretly communicated with Ieyasu. Knowing Kobayakawa held ill feelings, Mitsunari and Ōtani Yoshitsugu
Otani Yoshitsugu
was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period though Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He was also known by his court title, . He was born in 1559 to a father who was said to be a retainer of either Ōtomo Sōrin or of Rokkaku Yoshikata. He become one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's followers...

 promised him two additional domains around Osaka and the position of kampaku (until Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....

 grew old enough to rule) if he helped them to victory.

Even after the battle began, Kobayakwa kept his intentions hidden. Ieyasu's force (east) was not faring well against Mitsunari from the west; Ukita Hideie
Ukita Hideie
was the daimyo of Bizen and Mimasaka provinces , and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gohime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie...

 was winning against Fukushima Masanori
Fukushima Masanori
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku Period to early Edo Period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears of Shizugatake which also included Katō Kiyomasa and...

 and Ōtani Yoshitsugu was also winning against Tōdō Takatora
Todo Takatora
was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through Edo period. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru to become a daimyo...

. Kobayakawa was hesitant to participate with either side. Ieyasu ordered troops to fire blanks against the Kobayakawa troops to force them into action. Kobayakawa then ordered an attack on the Otani troop and while this attack was beaten back temporarily, his action forced the other armies who had pledged betrayal to also turn. The battle was over within a day.

Kobayakawa also had success in the mopping up operations that followed, defeating Mitsunari's father, Ishida Masatsugu
Ishida Masatsugu
was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period who served the Azai clan. He was the father of Ishida Mitsunari....

 in the siege of Sawayama
Siege of Sawayama
The Siege of Sawayama was a battle of the Sengoku Period in Japan. The daimyo Rokkaku Yoshikata besieged the treacherous prince Dōdō at his stronghold in Sawayama Castle. An Iga ninja named Tateoka Doshun was employed to infiltrate the castle after several attacks on the castle failed...

. Once the dust had settled, Kobayakawa was given the defeated Ukita clan's former fiefdoms of Bizen
Bizen Province
was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchu and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces....

 and Mimasaka
Mimasaka Province
or was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today northeastern Okayama Prefecture. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū, Bizen, Harima, Hōki, and Inaba Provinces....

, for a total of 550,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...

. However, Kobayakawa suddenly died two years later after supposedly going mad, and with no one to succeed him, the Kobayakawa clan
Kobayakawa clan
The Kobayakawa clan was a samurai clan of Japan's Sengoku period, whose holdings were in Kyūshū, the southernmost of Japan's main islands. Members of the Kobayakawa family served under the Mōri clan, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi...

 disbanded, and his feifdoms were absorbed by the neighboring Ikeda clan.

In popular culture

In the video game Kessen
Kessen
is a PlayStation 2 launch title produced by Koei and published by Electronic Arts. This was the first DVD-ROM format game for the PS2. It was initially the only real-time wargame game available for the PlayStation 2....

he is portrayed as a pathetic general dressed in splendid ochre armor, while in the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 Kagemusha Tokugawa Ieyasu he is seen with a childish mind. In the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 Sanada Juyushi Special he is portrayed sympathetically due to the many disappointments in his childhood, and also because of the broken promise that prevented him from becoming Hideyoshi's heir when Hideyori was born.

In Samurai Warriors 2 (Sengoku Musou 2)
Samurai Warriors 2
is a sequel to the original Samurai Warriors, created by Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and received a port to Microsoft Windows in 2008....

, he is portrayed as young, inexperienced, and very indecisive. Shima Sakon
Shima Sakon
, also known as , was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period. Shima eventually left the service of the Tsutsui, and eventually joined Ishida Mitsunari under the banner of the Uesugi Clan...

 refers to him as "Bitty Baby Kobayakawa". As mentioned previously in this article, he panics and joins the Tokugawa ranks when he is fired upon by Magobei Fuse, an officer of the Eastern Army. He is also present in Nene's Dream Stage, acting as her 'son', when in fact he feared Nene more than the rifles that supposedly drove him to defect to the Eastern Army.

In the game Sengoku Basara 3, he is portrayed as a coward and a glutton, and refers to himself as "The Gourmet General". During his boss battle, the player will face him in a fortress that surrounds a gigantic stir fry pot. He also wears armor that makes him look like a rhinoceros beetle, his helmet represents the horn, and the stir fry pot he wears on his back represents the shell. Also in one of the Sekigahara scenario's Tadakatsu Honda fires at Hideaki with his cannons to make him go over Ieyasu's side, which is a reference to the decision made by Ieyasu at the actual battle.

Hideaki was played by Louis Ozawa Changchien
Louis Ozawa Changchien
Louis Ozawa Changchien is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 2010 film Predators.-Early life:...

 in the 2008 BBC Docudrama series Heroes and Villains, centering around the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...


External links

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