Suzuki Shigehide
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Suzuki Shigehide (鈴木重秀? 1546 - 1586) was the son of the reputed leader Suzuki Sadayu and final leading head of the Saiga Ikko during the latter years of the Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. Assisting the aspirations of his father by supporting the Ishiyama Honganji's base of power against Oda Nobunaga initially within the year of 1577, Shigehide rightfully distinguished himself among the other leaders within this conflict, gaining great fame among his comrades for the ability and strategic prowess he regularly employed with the arquebusier. As Toyotomi Hideyoshi assaulted the Suzuki domain by 1585, Shigehide resisted the former's attack with equal prowess, but was unsuccessful in his attempt, resulting in the unfortunate death of his father and the initial disappearance of the Saga Ikko cause. Being specifically noticed by Hideyoshi as a man of ability, Shigehide was employed by the Toyotomi presently following their assault upon Suzuki, giving Shigehide a primary opportunity to display his respective ability on the battlefield -- most notably within Hideyoshi's campaign against Korea. Following the death of Hideyoshi and the rise of the Battle of Sekigahara, it can be highly assumed that Shigehide--in essence a mercenary--collaborated to the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu out of greater means of profit and personal vandeta: Hideyoshi indirectly killed his father, and he possessed no such opportunity to act indifferent to the circumstances involving his service under the Toyotomi; therefore this incident thus allowed him to act in defiance against Hideyoshi, for he is a mercenary and cannot be considered along the same lines of ethics as that of a samurai. Shigehide's future following this battle is unknown, but it is assumed that he survived up until the Edo period's birth, living some time within this respective era before dieing.
[edit] References
- Suzuki Shigehide - SamuraiWiki. (Samurai Archives) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
