Background
Itakura Shigemasa was born in 1588, in Mikawa, Japan. He was the second son of Katsushige Itakura.
板倉 重昌
Itakura Shigemasa was born in 1588, in Mikawa, Japan. He was the second son of Katsushige Itakura.
Itakura Shigemasa entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. In 1609 was assigned to the domain of Fukamizo in Mikawa with a stipend of 1,000 koku. At the time of the winter seige on Osaka Castle in 1614, Shigemasa was sent as envoy from Ieyasu to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Toyo- tomi Hideyori, a mission that he carried out successfully, returning with Hideyori's promise of cooperation. In 1633 his income was raised to 15,000 koku. In 1637, when the Shimabara Rebellion broke out in western Kyushu, he was sent as envoy of the shogun to Arima, where he led an army made up of contingents from the neighboring domains of the Matsukura, Hosokawa, and Nabeshima families, but the attack did not proceed as successfully as had been hoped, he was killed in the clash.