, better known as or Keijirō (慶次郎), was a Japanese 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...

 of the Sengoku Period

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....

. Toshimasu was born to the Takigawa Clan of Owari

Owari Province

was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....

, originally the son of Takigawa Kazumasu

Takigawa Kazumasu

, also known as Sakonshōgen , was a samurai retainer to Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa and later served Nobunaga alongside Kazumasu and Toshimasu's adopted uncle, Maeda Toshiie.Originally from...

. He was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, the older brother of Maeda Toshiie

Maeda Toshiie

was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi-Momoyama period. His father was Maeda Toshimasa. He was the fourth of seven brothers. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" . His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as...

. Toshimasu served under 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...

 along with his uncle. Toshimasu was originally intended to inherit Maeda family headship; however, after 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...

 replaced Toshihisa with Toshiie as Maeda family head, he lost this position. Perhaps because of this loss of inheritance, Toshimasu is well known for not getting along with his uncle.

While in 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:...

, Toshimasu met and befriended Naoe Kanetsugu

Naoe Kanetsugu

was a Japanese samurai of the 16th-17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi daimyo. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami or his childhood/adolescent name, Higuchi Kanetsugu .Kanetsugu served first as...

, Uesugi Kagekatsu

Uesugi Kagekatsu

was a daimyo during the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japanese history. The son of Nagao Masakage and husband of Uesugi Kenshin's elder sister, Aya-Gozen. After his father died, he was adopted by Kenshin....

's karō

KARO

KARO is a radio station licensed to serve Nyssa, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format as part of the Air 1 network.-History:...

. The two became close friends. Consequently, Toshimasu agreed to join Kanetsugu in the Uesugi clan's invasion of Aizu

Aizu

is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...

. During the retreat from the failed invasion, Keiji was given the task of leading the rear guard. Riding his horse Matsukaze into battle and brandishing a two-pronged spear, he made a splendid show of force. Due in part to Toshimasu's actions, the Uesugi forces were able to retreat largely intact.

After this, Toshimasu returned to the capital and devoted himself to arts and literature. Keiji was barred from Toyotomi’s

Toyotomi clan

Originating in Owari Province, the served as retainers to the Oda clan throughout 16th-century Japan's Sengoku period. -Unity and Conflict:The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan." Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the...

 Kyushu campaign for his wild way. When the Tokugawa

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

 challenged the Uesugi in 1600, he once again fought with Uesugi’s army. In the battle against the Mogami

Mogami clan

The were Japanese daimyo, and were a branch of the Ashikaga family. In the Sengoku period, it was the Sengoku Daimyo which ruled Dewa Province which is now Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture ....

, he broke through the enemy lines with only eight riders, and shattered their formation. After the Uesugi clan's move to the Yonezawa Domain

Yonezawa Domain

Yonezawa Domain was a feudal domain of Tokugawa Japan, controlled by daimyō of the Uesugi clan. Covering the Okitama district of Dewa province, in what is today southeastern Yamagata Prefecture, the territory was ruled from Yonezawa castle in Yonezawa city...

, Toshimasu remained with them, serving as a retainer.

Keiji's armour can still be seen today at the Miyasaka Museum.

Matsukaze

Matsukaze, which means "wind in the pines", was Toshimasu's famous mount. According to the legend, he was born through selective breeding of only the finest horses available, but unlike other horses he refused to let anyone ride him and eventually ran away. By unknown methods, Toshimasu managed to tame the wild horse; some have attributed it due to Toshimasu's wild personality. Since then, the two were never seen apart.

Matsukaze was said to be a horse of immense strength, able to carry his master's large frame for days. After his master's death, it is said that Matsukaze ran off and was never seen again.

Depictions in fiction

See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture for more details.

Toshimasu is a playable character from the Western Army in the original Kessen

Kessen

is a PlayStation 2 launch title produced by Koei and published by Electronic Arts. This was the first DVD-ROM format game for the PS2. It was initially the only real-time wargame game available for the PlayStation 2....

and in the Samurai Warriors

Samurai Warriors

is the first title in the series of video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based loosely around the Sengoku period of Japanese history and it is a spinoff of the Dynasty Warriors series...

and Warriors Orochi

Warriors Orochi

, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...

series, as "Keiji Maeda".

External links

• "TEN-CHI-JIN" General of UESUGI Clan NAOE KANETSUGU - (Japanese)-Kabuto(Samurai Helmet) Papercraft