Western Army, then EasternKobayakawa
Kobayakawa Hideaki
小早川秀秋
“Kingo Chūnagon”
1582–1602 (aged 21)
- Rank / office
- Middle Counsellor / Captain of the Left Gate Guards
- Domain / base
- Chikuzen → Okayama, Bizen
- Banner / crest
- Crossed sickles
- Battles in 3D
- 1 battle
A nephew of Hideyoshi's wife Nene, raised for a time as a possible Toyotomi heir before being adopted into the Kobayakawa, a branch of the great Mōri house. At Sekigahara he first sided with the Western Army and camped on Mount Matsuo, but wavered over which side to join. Ieyasu's "warning volley" forced his hand: he turned on the Western Army, fell on Ōtani Yoshitsugu's contingent and tipped the battle to the East.
Life and battlesGold dots mark battles you can watch in 3D
- 1597Keichō 2
Heir to the Kobayakawa
Adopted by Kobayakawa Takakage of the Mōri clan and succeeded to the house.
- 1600Keichō 5
Camp on Mount Matsuo
Took up position on Mount Matsuo with 15,000 men, holding the fate of both armies in his hands.
- 1600Keichō 5
The defection at Sekigahara
Betrayed the Western Army and attacked the Ōtani contingent, the decisive blow for the Eastern victory.
Battle of Sekigahara 15,000 troops Watch in 3D › Watched the battle from Mount Matsuo, then, prompted by Ieyasu's warning volley, defected shortly after noon and fell on the Ōtani contingent. - 1602Keichō 7
An early death
Died young in Okayama two years after the battle, and the Kobayakawa line came to an end.
