Biography
Fukushima Masanori, or as he was first known, Ichimatsu, was born in Owari Province, the son of Fukushima Masanobu. He is believed to have been the cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He first engaged in battle at the assault on Miki Castle in Harima Province, and following the battle of Yamazaki, he was granted a 500 koku stipend.
At the battle of Shizugatake in 1583 (Tenshō 11), Masanori had the honor of taking the first head, namely that of the enemy general Ogasato Ieyoshi, receiving a 5000 koku increase in his stipend for this distinction (the other six "Spears" each received 3000 Koku).
Masanori took part in many of Hideyoshi's campaigns; it was after the Kyūshū Expedition, however, that he was made a daimyō. Receiving the fief of Imabari in Iyo Province, his income was rated at 110,000 koku. Soon after, he took part in the Korean Campaign. Masanori was to once again receive distinction when he took Ch'ongju.
Following his involvement in the Korean campaign, Masanori was involved in the pursuit of Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He led 10,000 men in 1595, surrounded Seiganji temple on Mount Koya, and waited until Hidetsugu had committed suicide. With Hidetsugu dead, Masanori received a 90,000 koku increase in stipend, and received Hidetsugu's former fief of Kiyosu, in Owari Province as well.
Masanori sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, and thus ensured the survival of his domain. Although he later lost his holdings, his descendants became hatamoto in the service of the Tokugawa shogun.
Read more about this topic: Fukushima Masanori
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“The death of Irving, which at any other time would have attracted universal attention, having occurred while these things were transpiring, went almost unobserved. I shall have to read of it in the biography of authors.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“As we approached the log house,... the projecting ends of the logs lapping over each other irregularly several feet at the corners gave it a very rich and picturesque look, far removed from the meanness of weather-boards. It was a very spacious, low building, about eighty feet long, with many large apartments ... a style of architecture not described by Vitruvius, I suspect, though possibly hinted at in the biography of Orpheus.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)