Tadaoki Hosokawa was a military leader of the early Edo period and an expert in the tea ceremony.
Background
Tadaoki Hosokawa was born on 28 November 1563. He was the son of Nagaoka Fujitaka but was adopted by Hosokawa Teru- tsune. His childhood name was Kumachiyo, later changed to Yoichiro, and late in life he assumed the Buddhist name Soritsu and the literary name Sansai.
Career
He became page to Oda Nobunaga, being assigned to the fief of Tango north of Kyoto with an annual stipend of 120,000 koku of rice. When Akechi Mitsuhide assassinated Oda Nobunaga at the Honno-ji in Kyoto, Mitsuhide attempted to persuade Tadaoki, who was his son-in-law, to side with him, but Tadaoki refused and joined his father, Nagaoka Fujitaka, in supporting Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He distinguished himself in Hideyoshi’s service at the battles of Shizugatake, Komaki, and Odawara and in the two campaigns against Korea.
In the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu and was rewarded with the domains of Buzen and Bungo in Kyushu, from which he received a revenue of 400,000 koku of rice a year; he resided in Kokura Castle.
In 1619 he went into retirement because of illness, shaved his head, and assumed the name Sansai Soritsu.
Personality
He was a man of highly refined tastes and accomplishments and was particularly honored as an outstanding disciple of the great tea master Sen no Rikyu. He also excelled as a judge of teabowls and other utensils used in the tea ceremony. In addition, he was noted for his ability as a swimmer.
Connections
His wife, the third daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide, who was baptized into the Christian faith and took the name Gracia, is likewise renowned for her role in the turbulent events of this period.