Born a son of Gamō Katahide of Hino in Ōmi (Shiga).
When his father submitted to Oda Nobunaga, he was sent to him as a hostage. Recognizing his talent, Nobunaga married him to his daughter Fuyuhime the next year.
During the Honnō-ji Incident he took Nobunaga's family from Azuchi castle into Hino castle and protected them.
Serving Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he received Matsugashima in Ise. He later built a castle and town at Matsusaka, inviting Ōmi merchants to promote commerce.
At Takayama Ukon's urging he was baptized as Leão. He was also known as a disciple of Sen no Rikyū.
After Hideyoshi's pacification of the northeast he was moved to Aizu to keep watch on Date Masamune. He renamed the castle town Kurokawa "Wakamatsu" and developed it.
He marched to suppress the Kunohe Masazane rebellion in Mutsu. His domain later grew to over 900,000 koku.
He died young of illness in Kyoto. His death poem laments that flowers fall in their time even without wind—yet the spring mountain wind is impatient.
Sen no RikyūOda NobunagaToyotomi HideyoshiDate MasamuneTakayama Ukon
Takayama UkonMōri TerumotoHori HidemasaSuminokura RyōiTōdō TakatoraUesugi KagekatsuOda NobutadaKatakura Kagetsuna
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.