Who was this person?
A warrior of the Sengoku to early Edo periods and a hatamoto (bannerman) of the Tokugawa, known as Ōkubo Hikozaemon. With his elder brother Ōkubo Tadayo he fought in many battles, including Sekigahara. In later life he wrote the Mikawa Monogatari, recounting the history of the Tokugawa and the Ōkubo family, and later became the hero of storytelling as the shogunate's outspoken "adviser to the realm."
| Name | Ōkubo Tadataka (Hikozaemon) (大久保忠教（彦左衛門）) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1560 – 1639 |
| Period | Sengoku–Edo |
| Birthplace | Mikawa Province |
| Also known as | Ōkubo Hikozaemon |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born the eighth son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, a Tokugawa retainer, at Kamiwada in Mikawa Province (Okazaki, Aichi). His childhood name was Heisuke. His elder brothers Tadayo and Tadasuke were also warriors serving Ieyasu, and the Ōkubo had long supported the Matsudaira and Tokugawa. He is widely known by his common name Hikozaemon.
Following his brother Tadayo, he is said to have fought his first battle at Inui Castle, attacking a Takeda stronghold in Tōtōmi. He went on to serve in his brothers' units, campaigning in many places including the wars against the Takeda. Later, in the Mikawa Monogatari, he would record how his family risked their lives for the Tokugawa.
He joined the attack on Ueda Castle in Shinano, the first Battle of Ueda, but the Tokugawa army was outmanoeuvred by Sanada Masayuki's clever tactics and suffered heavy losses. The same year, when Ieyasu's senior retainer Ishikawa Kazumasa defected to the Toyotomi, he helped his brother Tadayo strengthen the defence of Komoro Castle in Shinano.
After the Odawara campaign, when Ieyasu moved to Edo and his brother Tadayo became lord of Odawara Castle, Tadataka was granted 3,000 koku. Under his brother and his nephew Tadachika, he helped support the new Tokugawa rule of the Kantō as a member of the Ōkubo clan.
At the time of the Battle of Sekigahara he marched with Tokugawa Hidetada's army. Advancing along the Nakasendō, Hidetada's army was again held up by Sanada Masayuki at Ueda Castle in Shinano and arrived too late for the decisive battle. Tadataka thus experienced the toughness of the Sanada twice.
Around this time he is said to have copied the text of picture scrolls based on The Tale of Genji. Although known as a brave warrior on the battlefield, he was evidently also well versed in letters and writing. This learning later bore fruit in his writing of the Mikawa Monogatari.
His brother Tadasuke, lord of Numazu Castle, had lost his heir and wished to adopt Tadataka to succeed him. Tadataka reportedly declined, saying the domain had not been won by his own merit. When Tadasuke died, the Numazu branch of the Ōkubo was abolished.
When his nephew Ōkubo Tadachika lost a power struggle in the shogunate and was stripped of his domain, Tadataka was implicated and lost his lands too. Ieyasu, however, recalled him as a hatamoto with 1,000 koku in Mikawa. That same year he joined the Siege of Osaka as commissioner of spearmen and fought the Toyotomi.
Under the third shōgun Iemitsu he served as commissioner of the army's banners and around this time received a further 1,000 koku. He was respected as one of the few old retainers who remembered the age of civil war. Most stories of him freely lecturing the shōgun as the realm's adviser, however, are thought to be inventions of later kōdan storytelling.
Around this time he is thought to have been working on the Mikawa Monogatari. Written for his descendants, it recounts the history of the Tokugawa and the Ōkubo, mixed with his own experiences, and frankly voices his discontent that long-serving retainers went unrewarded. It is still read today as a valuable record of the age of civil war.
He died in Edo. It is said that in his later years he turned down an offer of a large increase in his stipend from the shogunate. He was reportedly generous in helping masterless samurai, and he later became a popular hero of kōdan and the stage as the realm's outspoken adviser, paired with the fishmonger Isshin Tasuke.
A. A warrior of the Sengoku to early Edo periods and a hatamoto (bannerman) of the Tokugawa, known as Ōkubo Hikozaemon. With his elder brother Ōkubo Tadayo he fought in many battles, including Sekigahara. In later life he wrote the Mikawa Monogatari, recounting the history of the Tokugawa and the Ōkubo family, and later became the hero of storytelling as the shogunate's outspoken "adviser to the realm."
A. Period: Sengoku–Edo. Born in 1560, died in 1639.
A. Ōkubo Tadataka (Hikozaemon) was born in Mikawa Province.
A. Written by Ōkubo Tadataka in his later years, it records the history of the Tokugawa from their origins to the time of Ieyasu along with the deeds of the Ōkubo family. It is said to have been written to pass on the family's history and loyalty to their lord to his descendants, and it is an important source for understanding how Mikawa warriors of the Sengoku period thought.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
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Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.