was a samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 retainer of the Oda clan

Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...

. He was also called and was referred by the title of . Initially he had the family name of , but on 1575 received the name of a respected clan, Harada which he took as his own.

He started out as a member of Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

's elite royal force and bodyguards. After 1568 when Nobunaga entered Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 to become the de facto ruler, Naomasa handled paperwork and was tasked with organizing ceremonies. On June 1574, he became the ruler of Yamashiro Province

Yamashiro Province

was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the Engishiki....

 and gained Yamato Province

Yamato Province

was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. It was also called . At first, the name was written with one different character , and for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters . The final revision was made in...

 eight months later. Until this point, his records are that of an effective bureaucrat.

Since 1574, Naomasa took part in military actions and in 1575, he joined the sieges of Nagashima

Sieges of Nagashima

The , taking place in 1571, 1573 and 1574, were part of Oda Nobunaga's campaigns against the Ikkō-ikki, arguably among his greatest enemies. Nagashima, in Owari Province along Japan's Pacific coast, was the location of a string of river island fortresses and defensive works controlled by the...

, a crackdown on the Ikkō-ikki

Ikko-ikki

', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...

 rebellions in Echizen Province

Echizen Province

was an old province of Japan, which is today the northern part of Fukui Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Etchū and Echigo Provinces.Echizen is famous for washi . A text dated AD 774 mentions the washi made in this area. Echizen-produced Washi is still the most commonly sold traditional...

.

On May 1576, Naomasa took a part in the campaign against the Ishiyama Hongan-ji

Ishiyama Hongan-ji

For other uses, see Ishiyama .The ' was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, mobs of warrior monks and peasants who opposed samurai rule. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the time, this was just outside of the remains of the...

 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...

 along with Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide

, nicknamed Jūbei or called from his clan name and title, was a samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan.Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he became infamous for his betrayal in 1582, which led to Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji...

, Araki Murashige

Araki Murashige

was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, and daimyō of Itami Castle during the late Sengoku period of the 16th century in Japanese history, in what is now Itami city in Hyōgo Prefecture....

, and Hosokawa Fujitaka

Hosokawa Fujitaka

was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period. Also known as '. Fujitaka was a prominent retainer of the last Ashikaga shoguns. When he joined the Oda, Oda Nobunaga rewarded him with the fief of Tango. His son, Hosokawa Tadaoki, went on to become one of the Oda clan's senior generals.After the...

. As the main army of this campaign, he took on the siege of Mitsu-ji but he was surprised by Hongan-ji troop and lost his life in the ensuing chaos.