{{Short description|Samurai of the Sengoku era; major samurai ally of the Tokugawa clan}} {{family name hatnote|Watanabe|lang=Japanese}} {{Infobox officeholder | order= Lord of Terabe Castle | term_start= 1590 | term_end= 1620 | predecessor= | successor= |name = Watanabe Moritsuna |native_name = 渡辺 守綱 |image = Watnabe_moritsuna.jpg |caption = |nickname= Yari no Hanzō (Hanzō the spear) |birth_date= 1542 |death_date= 1620 |birth_place = Mikawa Province |death_place = Mikawa Province |birth_name = |commands = Terabe Castle | allegiance = 15px Tokugawa clan<br>15px Tokugawa Shogunate |battles = Battle of Nagasawa (1561)<br>Battle of Azukizaka (1564)<br>Siege of Kakegawa (1569)<br>Battle of Anegawa (1570)<br>Battle of Mikatagahara (1573)<br>Battle of Nagashino (1575)<br>Battle of Komaki-Nagakute (1584)<br>Siege of Odawara (1590)<br>Battle of Sekigahara (1610)<br>Siege of Osaka (1614) }}
{{nihongo|'''Watanabe Moritsuna'''|渡辺 守綱}} (1542–1620) or '''Watanabe Hanzō''', nicknamed {{nihongo|'''Yari no Hanzō'''|槍の半蔵|Spear Hanzō}}, was a Japanese samurai of the Watanabe clan, who served the Tokugawa clan under Tokugawa Ieyasu and later served as a hatamoto and then a daimyo to the Tokugawa shogunate. He is one of the Tokugawa 16 divine generals (''Tokugawa jūrokushinshōjin'').<ref name="Art of the Samurai p.300">{{harvtxt|Harada Kazutoshi |2009 |p=300}}</ref><ref name="16 generals">{{cite book |author1=奥出 賢治 |title=徳川十六将図再考 |trans-title=Reconsideration of the Sixteen Tokugawa Generals |date=2002 |publisher=Nagoya City Museum Research Bulletin |pages=1–21 |url=https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1523951030221567616 |access-date=6 May 2024 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Kanō Ryūsetsu （1556-1618） |title=Sixteen Tokugawa Generals Tokugawa Jurokushozu |trans-title=Sixteen Tokugawa Generals Tokugawa Jurokushozu |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/90373 |website=bunka.nii.ac.jp |publisher=NII Powered by GETA (C) The Agency for Cultural Affairs |access-date=20 May 2024 |location=Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture Chido Museum |language=Ja}}</ref>
== Biography == {{Expand section|1=examples and additional citations|section=1|date=June 2024}} Watanabe Moritsuna was born in Urabe Village in Nukata District, Mikawa Province (present day Okazaki) in 1542. His father was {{ill|Watanabe Takatsuna|ja|渡辺高綱}}, a retainer for the Matsudaira clan. His maternal grandfather was {{ill|Watanabe Yoshituna|ja|渡辺義綱}}, who fought under Sakai Tadatsugu against the Oda clan.
Moritsuna joined the Tokugawa in 1557, and served Matsudaira Motoyasu (later named Tokugawa Ieyasu) in major military campaigns for most of his career. In 1561, Moritsuna achieved military merit during the battle of Nagasawa castle, as he managed to personally slay the enemy general during the battle. After this battle, he participated with the Tokugawa clan pacification of the rest of Mikawa province.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Watanabe Moritsuna |title=【深掘り「どうする家康」】渡辺守綱は「徳川十六神将」の一人で、一向宗の信者だった |trans-title=[Digging deeper into "What will Ieyasu do?"] Watanabe Moritsuna was one of the "Tokugawa 16 Divine Generals" and a follower of the Ikko sect |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/2b1581d996c8d8167ec237c421f5b52766f4ef9a |website=yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/ |publisher=渡邊大門 無断転載を禁じます。 © LY Corporation |access-date=3 June 2024 |language=Ja |date=2023}}</ref>
In 1563, Moritsuna joined the Ikkō-ikki rebels in Mikawa along with his father Takatsuna, and for a time became an enemy of Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the uprising was subdued in 1564 by Ieyasu at the Battle of Azukizaka, where Moritsuna was wounded by {{ill|Abe Tadamasa|ja|阿倍忠政}} and Takatsuna was killed, Moritsuna was pardoned and returned to serve the Tokugawa clan.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Masatoshi Itō (伊藤正敏) |title=寺社勢力の中世: 無縁・有縁・移民 |trans-title= |date=2008 |publisher=筑摩書房 |isbn=978-4480064356 |page=197 |access-date=26 May 2024 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wlUAAAAYAAJ|language=Ja}}</ref><ref name="warandfaith;ikko;watanabe" />
In 1569, during the Siege of Kakegawa Castle in Tōtōmi Province, Moritsuna, together with Honda Shigetsugu and other Tokugawa samurai, fought in close combat until they managed to breach the castle gate.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kawasaki Fumitaka |title=徳川家康・伊賀越えの危難 |date=1985 |publisher=鳥影社 |isbn=4795251126 |page=115 |url=https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000001724153 |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref> In 1570, Moritsuna fought in the Battle of Anegawa against the Azai and the Asakura clans.
In 1573, during the Battle of Mikatagahara, Moritsuna and Hattori Hanzō performed with exceptional skill with their spears (in Japanese, {{nihongo||槍|yari}}). During the battle he fought in retreat to cover Ieyasu and personally blocked any incoming enemy attacks with his spear.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Tadachika Kuwata (桑田忠親) |title=日本武将列伝: 東西決戦編 |trans-title=Biography of Japanese military commanders: Decisive battle between East and West |series=新編・日本武将列伝 |date=1968 |isbn=978-4-253-00366-7 |page=282 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfFIAAAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref> Following the retreat, Moritsuna, along with Torii Mototada, led the flanking maneuver of the Tokugawa counter attack. Following the battle, Moritsuna was nicknamed ''Yari no Hanzō'' (Spear Hanzo) and praised in poetry, alongside Hattori Hanzō as ''Oni no Hanzō'' (Hanzō the demon) and Atsumi Gengo as ''Kubi-Tori Gengo'' (Gengo the headtaker).<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kaneyoshi Takayanagi (高柳金芳) |title=図說江戶の下級武士 |date=1980 |publisher=柏書房 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46PTAAAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2024 |language=Ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=三重県 (Japan). 警察本部. 警務部 |title=三重県警察史, Volume 1 |date=1964 |publisher=三重県警察本部警務部警務課 |page=201 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztogAAAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Atsushi Kawai (河合敦) |title=徳川家康と9つの危機 |date=2022 |publisher=PHP研究所 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4yIEAAAQBAJ |access-date=26 May 2024 |language=Ja}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book |author1=Arthur Lindsay Sadler |author2=Stephen Turnbull |author1-link=Arthur Lindsay Sadler |author2-link=Stephen Turnbull (historian) |title=Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu |date=2009 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-1462916542 |page=102 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5HhzBgAAQBAJ |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Roald Knutsen |author2=Patricia Knutsen |title=Japanese Spears: Polearms and Their Use in Old Japan |date=2004 |publisher=Global Oriental |isbn=1901903567 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeH48xQ3JN0C |access-date=26 May 2024 |language=En}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Samurai War Stories Page 14 |url=https://bookreadfree.com/195893/4851481 |access-date=26 May 2024 |language=En |quote=Atsumi Gengo – Article 47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=George Caiger · |title=Tell Me about Tokyo |date=1939 |publisher=Hokuseido Press |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bTCoAPdX_nMC |access-date=26 May 2024 |language=En}}</ref>
In 1575, Moritsuna fought in the Battle of Nagashino, where he killed both {{ill|Yamamoto Sugasuke|jp|山本菅助_(二代)}}, the eldest son of Yamamoto Kansuke, and the ronin {{ill|Nawa Murisuke|ja|名和無理助}}, a commander under Takeda Nobuzane. At the same battle, Moritsuna's younger brother, {{ill|Watanabe Masatsuna|ja|渡辺政綱}}, killed Sanada Nobutsuna.
In 1579, Matsudaira Nobuyasu was accused of treason and conspiracy by Oda Nobunaga and was therefore ordered to commit seppuku by Ieyasu. Moritsuna was to assist in the seppuku ritual and behead Nobuyasu but wavered at the last second.{{efn|The source of Watanabe Moritsuna's involvement in Nobuyasu's seppuku is the {{nihongo|''Kashiwazaki Monogatari''|柏崎物語||1787}}, cited in the ''{{ill|Tokugawa Jikki|ja|徳川実紀}}'' (1849). The ''Kashiwazaki Monogatari'' is notable for associating Tokugawa superstition of Muramasa swords to Nobuyasu's seppuku. Later editions of the ''Tokugawa Jikki'' replace Moritsuna with Hattori Hanzō.}}
In 1582, Moritsuna was one of Ieyasu's escorts during his escape to Mikawa in the aftermath of the assassination of Oda Nobunaga.
In 1584, Moritsuna fought in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.<ref>{{cite book |author1=豊橋市 |title=豊橋市史, Volume 1 豊橋市史, 豊橋市史編集委員会 |date=1973 |publisher=豊橋市 |page=457 |language=Ja}}</ref>{{efn| {{ill|Chinoike Park|ja|血の池公園}}, literally "Blood Pond Park", in Nagakute is named for the pond where Watanabe Moritsuna and his soldiers washed their weapons following the battle.}} After the Siege of Odawara (1590), Moritsuna was given control of a domain in Musashi of 3,000 ''koku'' and command of 50 ashigaru infantry.<ref>{{cite book |author1=吉川弘文館 |title=肖像選集, Volume 1 肖像選集, 日本歴史学会 |date=1962 |publisher=日本歴史学会 |page=162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xRgYAAAAIAAJ |access-date=27 May 2024 |language=Ja}}</ref>
In 1600, Moritsuna served in Ieyasu's guards during the Battle of Sekigahara.<ref>{{citation| title=Sekigahara gunki taisei |date=1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/kokushissho378800/mode/2up}}</ref> <ref>{{citation |title=Asano Kyumon Sowara |url=https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/file/2549777.html}}</ref>
In 1608, Moritsuna became a retainer for the ninth son of Ieyasu, Tokugawa Yoshinao of the Owari Domain. His domains were increased with lands in Owari Iwasaku of 5,000 koku and in Mikawa of 5,000 koku, making him a daimyo with a total of 14,000 koku.<ref>{{cite book |author1=清田黙 |title=德川加除封錄 |date=1972 |publisher=近藤出版社 |page=217 |access-date=27 May 2024 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4TTAAAAMAAJ |language=Ja}}</ref> Moritsuna served in both the Winter Siege (1614) and the Summer Siege (1615) of Osaka, as guardian to Yoshinao. In 1618, he was appointed Lord of {{ill|Terabe Castle|ja|寺部城}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jcastle - Terabe Castle |url=https://www.jcastle.info/view/Terabe_Castle}}</ref>
[[File:Shukouji4.jpg|thumb|Watanabe Moritsuna's grave (Toyota, Aichi Prefecture)]]
Moritsuna died in 1620. His grave is located in {{ill|Shukoji Temple|ja|守綱寺_(豊田市)}} in Toyota, Aichi, founded in his honor by his grandson, {{ill|Watanabe Harutsuna|ja|渡辺治綱}}.<ref>{{cite web |title="Machikuru - Shukoji Temple" |url=https://www.machikuru.jp/syukoji/}}</ref> A {{ill|second Shukoji temple|ja|守綱寺_(名古屋市)}} in his honor is located in Nagoya.
[[File:Watanabe Moritsuna.jpg|thumb|Watanabe Moritsuna wearing nanban dou (dō) gusoku]]
== Personal info == Watanabe Moritsuna wore European-style armor, including a morion helmet and {{lang|ja-Latn|nanban dou (dō) gusoku}}.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Tsunoda Akio |title=南蛮渡来の西洋式甲冑！上杉討伐に際し渡辺守綱が家康から賜った甲冑がコチラ【どうする家康】 |url=https://mag.japaaan.com/archives/209990?utm_source=mag&utm_medium=related&utm_content=213974 |website=mag.japaaan.com |publisher=Japaaan Magazine |access-date=17 June 2024 |language=Ja |date=2023 |quote=※Addendum to the Toshogu Shrine Chronicles, Volume 9, "Armor Imported from the South."}}</ref>
Moritsuna wrote his memoirs in ''Watanabe Chūemon''.<ref name="warandfaith;ikko;watanabe">{{cite book |author1=Carol Richmond Tsang |title=War and Faith |date=2007 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |isbn=9781684174577 |pages=200–234 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9781684174577_008 |access-date=27 May 2024 |language=En |chapter=From Peak to Defeat, 1554–1580|doi=10.1163/9781684174577_008 }}</ref>
==Family== Watanabe Moritsuna's wife was the daughter of Hiraiwa Chikayoshi. He had three sons and four daughters. The eldest son, {{ill|Watanabe Shigetsuna|ja|渡辺重綱}} (1574-1648), fought for Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara and would be the first of the Hanzo branch of the Watanabe clan. Moritsuna's grandson and Shigetsuna's fifth son, {{ill|Watanabe Yoshitsune|ja|渡辺吉綱}} (1611-1668), would be the first of the Hakata Watanabe.
== Appendix ==
=== Footnotes === {{Notelist}} === References === {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === * {{cite book |author1=Harada Kazutoshi |title=Art of the Samurai Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868 |date=2009 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) |isbn=9781588393456 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmLpLkEj1LgC |access-date=6 May 2024 |language=En}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Moritsuna}} Category:Karō Category:Samurai Category:1542 births Category:1620 deaths Category:People from Okazaki, Aichi