Background
Katsuie was born in the village of Kamiyashiro (present-day Meitō-ku, Nagoya), a branch of the Shiba clan (who descended from the Ashikaga clan, and were the former suzerains of the Oda clan).
柴田 勝家権六
Katsuie was born in the village of Kamiyashiro (present-day Meitō-ku, Nagoya), a branch of the Shiba clan (who descended from the Ashikaga clan, and were the former suzerains of the Oda clan).
Note the differences between Shibata (柴田), Shiba (斯波), and the Shibata clan of Echigo (新発田). Katsuie was the retainer of Oda Nobukatsu (Oda Nobuyuki). In 1556, Katsuie launched a coup d"etat against Nobunaga.
Katsuie pledged his services to Nobunaga, earning his praises.
In 1570, while a joint Oda–Tokugawa coalition fought the battle of Anegawa, Katsuie was under siege at Chokoji Castle by 4000 soldiers of the Rokkaku clan. This action, along with a series of brilliant victories, gained him renown as "Oni Shibata".
In 1575, after gaining control of Echizen, he took command of Kitanosho Castle (Hokujō) and was ordered to conquer the Hokuriku region. After controlling Kaga and Noto, he began a campaign against Etchū Province in 1581.
In 1582, Nobunaga was betrayed at Honnō-ji by Akechi Mitsuhide and although Katsuie wanted to join the hunt for Akechi, he was unable to return south as he was heavily invested with the Siege of Matsukura and the army of Uesugi Kagekatsu.
In a meeting in Kiyosu to determine the successor to Nobunaga, he supported Oda Nobutaka, the third son, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual. He allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu to battle Hideyoshi. However, his domain was sealed off in the winter by snowfalls and this limited his ability.
Both of his allies were defeated while Katsuie battled snowfalls and Uesugi.
His forces, under the leadership of Sakuma Morimasa, besieged Nakagawa Kiyohide at Shizugatake in a move to turn the tide launching the battle of Shizugatake. He retreated to Kitanoshō castle but with the army destroyed, Katsuie had no option but to surrender.
Katsuie committed seppuku and set the fire to the castle. Ironically, Katsuie had not so much as lifted a spear personally during the battle.
His death poem was:
夏の夜の 夢路儚き 後の名を 雲井にあげよ 山不如
Natsu no yo no
yumeji hakanaki
ato no na o
kumoi ni ageyo
yamahototogisu
"Fleeting dream paths, in the summer night! O bird of the mountain, carry my name beyond the clouds."
Shibata Katsuie is a playable character in Koei Tecmo"s Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends and all subsequent Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi games.
He fights with twin axes. He is also a playable character in the game Sengoku Basara 4 for the PlayStation 3. He wears The Green Armor and uses a dual-sided spear.