Honda Tadamasa

Who was Honda Tadamasa?

Honda Tadamasa was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period, who ruled the Kuwana Domain and then the Himeji Domain. He was the son of Honda Tadakatsu.

Tadamasa's first battle was during the Siege of Odawara, in 1590; he also fought at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. After his father's retirement in 1609, he succeeded to the Honda family headship, becoming the second generation lord of the Kuwana Domain. Several years later, he took part in the Siege of Osaka, and received the Himeji Domain, with 150,000 koku of territory, as a reward.

Tadamasa's wife was Kumahime, the daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu's eldest son Matsudaira Nobuyasu. Their eldest son, Honda Tadatoki, was in line to inherit the Himeji Domain. However, as Tadatoki died in 1626, at age 31, the domain went to his younger brother Tadatomo.