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...

, who served the Asakura clan

Asakura clan

The ' are descendants of Prince Kusakabe , son of Emperor Temmu .The family was a line of daimyō which, along with the Azai clan, opposed Oda Nobunaga in the late 16th century...

. He was also known as . Makara was famed for his skill with the nodachi

Nodachi

A nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...

. During the 1570 Battle of Anegawa

Battle of Anegawa

The 1570 came as a reaction to Oda Nobunaga's sieges of the castles of Odani and Yokoyama, which belonged to the Azai and Asakura clans. It was also referred to as the Battle of Nomura by the Oda and Azai clans and the Battle of Mitamura by the Asakura clan.As warriors sallied forth from the...

, he served on the front lines, together with his son Naomoto. They supported the Asakura army's retreat from the forces 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...

 and 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...

. As the Asakura continued to presently retreat to their original stronghold, Naotaka lost his blade, and after attempting to continue fighting bare-handed, was killed together with his son.

His sword is preserved today at Atsuta Shrine

Atsuta Shrine

is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as Atsuta-Sama or simply as Miya...

, in Nagoya.