Muneshige Tachibana
Muneshige Tachibana (1563-1643) was a daimyo, being the ruler of the Tachibana clan of Kyushu. He was also a general of the Toyotomi clan, and fought repeatedly against Yoshihiro Shimazu and the Shimazu clan, who had killed his father Dosetsu Tachibana.
Biography[]
Muneshige Tachibana was born to Joun Takahashi, a warlord from Kyushu. He was a brave young child, and attracted the attention of daimyo Dosetsu Tachibana, who was the head of the Tachibana clan, who were allies of the Otomo clan. Muneshige's family allied with the Toyotomi clan in 1578, and Muneshige and his wife Ginchiyo Tachibana fought in the Battle of Chugoku, where the Mori clan repelled the Tachibana, but made them vassals.
As a Mori commander, Muneshige fought in the Battle of Kozuki Castle and the First Battle of Kizugawa, before the Toyotomi invaded Bungo Province, resulting in the Battle of Bungo, where the Mori and Tachibana held off the Toyotomi invasion led by Hanbei Takenaka. Muneshige Tachibana returned home after defeat in the Second Battle of Kizugawa, where the Mori clan were defeated and Motonari Mori was killed, and Muneshige remained in Iwaya Castle. Soon, the Shimazu of Satsuma Province invaded the Tachibana, killing Dosetsu Tachibana in battle at the Battle of Iwaya Castle in 1586. Following this, Muneshige Tachibana and Ginchiyo Tachibana called for backup from the Toyotomi, who invaded Kyushu and forced the Shimazu to submit, and in return, the Tachibana became vassals of the Toyotomi.
The Tachibana clan took part in the Fall of Odawara in 1590, where the Hojo clan were forced to submit to the Toyotomi clan. Muneshige took part in the invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598, gaining more honor as a fighter, and joined the Toyotomi-loyal Western Army in the war that followed Hideyoshi's death in 1598. He led the attack on Fushimi Castle and Otsu Castle, and later fought at the Ishigaki Plains and Sekigahara. After Sekigahara, his wife died, and Muneshige fought to avenge her alongside the last of the Toyotomi loyalists at Osaka Castle in 1615. Muneshige surrendered after putting up a good fight, and was entitled to keeping the Bungo Domain. He died in 1643 after aiding in the defeat of Shiro Amakusa's Christian rebellion in Hizen Province of Kyushu in 1637, fighting at the age of 74.