was a Japanese daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 who lived from the mid-Sengoku

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 through early Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

s. He was the son of Imagawa Yoshimoto

Imagawa Yoshimoto

was one of the leading daimyo in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was one of the three daimyo that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He was one of the dominant daimyo in Japan for a time, until his death in 1560....

, and the father of Imagawa Norimochi  and Shinagawa Takahisa

Shinagawa Takahisa

Shinagawa Takahisa was a Japanese samurai of the early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. He was a hatamoto, and the son of Imagawa Ujizane....

.

Early life

Ujizane was born in Sunpu; he was the eldest son of Imagawa Yoshimoto

Imagawa Yoshimoto

was one of the leading daimyo in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was one of the three daimyo that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He was one of the dominant daimyo in Japan for a time, until his death in 1560....

. In 1554, he married the daughter of Hōjō Ujitsuna

Hojo Ujitsuna

was the son of Hōjō Sōun, founder of the Go-Hōjō clan. He continued his father's quest to gain control of the Kantō ....

 as a means of cementing the three-way alliance between the Imagawa, Takeda, and Hōjō clans. Ujizane inherited family headship in 1558, when his father retired in order to focus his attention on the Imagawa advance into Tōtōmi

Totomi Province

was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .-History:...

 and Mikawa Province

Mikawa Province

is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....

s.

Fall of the Imagawa clan

After Yoshimoto's death Imagawa Ujizane was attacked by Shingen and Ieyasu. Ujizane later retaliated at the Takeda army by stopping supplying them with salt. This had little effect because Uesugi Kenshin

Uesugi Kenshin

was a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the most powerful lords of the Sengoku period. While chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries...

 took the opportunity to sell salt to the Takeda, and only resulted in the downfall of the Imagawa clan

Imagawa clan

The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa . It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.-Origins:Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the 13th century at Imagawa and took its name.Imagawa Norikuni received from his cousin the...

. Like his father he also enjoyed playing Kemari

Kemari

Kemari is a form of football that was popular in Japan during the Heian Period. Kemari has been revived in modern times.-History:The first evidence of kemari is from A.D.644. The rules were standardized from the 13th century. It was the first Japanese sport to become highly developed.The game was...

 and poetry.

Later Years and Death

The Imagawa family was summoned by Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 and made Tokugawa retainers, with the rank of kōke

Koke

A was a noble ranking below a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. Their lands were assessed at less than ten thousand koku, making them ineligible for the rank of daimyo.Unlike hatamoto, whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions...

. Ujizane died at the family estate in Shinagawa in 1615.