was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese 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...

 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 ruled a region in northern Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. He was the eldest son of Ryūzōji Chikaie, and upon headship, became the 19th head of the Ryūzōji clan

Ryuzoji clan

The was a Japanese clan which claimed descent from Fujiwara Hidesato. It came to prominence in the Sengoku period, in the fighting in northern Kyūshū. Their descendants became retainers of the Matsudaira clan of Aizu, and remained there until the Meiji Restoration...

. Takanobu's son, Masaie, would become the last head of the Ryūzōji.

Later Life and death

In 1584, Ryūzōji retainer Arima Harunobu

Arima Harunobu

was the second son and successor of Japanese daimyo Arima Yoshisada. Harunobu was born in the castle of Arima and controlled the Shimabara area of Hizen province. After Harunobu's father's death, he began the persecution of Christians in his region. With Ryūzōji Takanobu expanding into his domain,...

 split from the clan. Seizing upon this opportunity, several of the local small clans in the Shimabara Peninsula

Shimabara Peninsula

Shimabara Peninsula is east of Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. On its north-eastern tip stands Shimabara City. It was also the site of the Shimabara Rebellion, a 1637-1638 peasant revolt led by Christians. This further reinforced distrust of Christians and foreigners by Shogun...

 also rose up in arms. Takanobu personally led an army of around 60,000 in an effort to stamp out the uprising, but was defeated by the forces of Shimazu Iehisa

Shimazu Iehisa

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who was a member of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province. He served in a command capacity during his family's campaign to conquer Kyūshū....

, with whose clan the Arima had allied themselves. Takanobu himself was killed by Kawakami Tadakata, a Shimazu retainer.