Honda Narishige

Who was Honda Narishige?

Honda Narishige was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan; he later became a daimyo. Narishige was born at Hamamatsu Castle, the son of Tokugawa retainer Honda Shigetsugu. Together with his father, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Following Ieyasu's submission to Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the wake of the Komaki Campaign in 1584, Narishige was sent to Kyoto as a hostage. After supporting Ieyasu during the Battle of Sekigahara, Narishige was granted 5,000 koku of land in 1602. He was made karō of Ieyasu's son Matsudaira Tadanao in 1613, and received the 40,000 koku fief of Maruoka. Narishige also served during the 1614 and 1615 Sieges of Osaka. Soon after, when Tadanao was exiled by bakufu order, Narishige became an independent daimyo in his own right. His income was increased to 63,000 koku in 1623, and he spent the ensuing years strengthening his domain's political and logistical infrastructure.

Narishige retired in early 1646, and yielded family headship to his son Shigeyoshi. He died in 1647, at age 76.