Torii Mototada

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Torii Mototada ( Japanese 鳥 居 元忠 ; * 1539 ; † 1600 ) was a samurai in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the son of Torii Tadayoshi . He was in command of the garrison of Fushimi Castle (now a district of Kyoto ).

When Ishida Mitsunari's army advanced against the castle, Torii Mototada decided, despite warnings from his scouts, to stay inside the castle in order to show his loyalty to his master Tokugawa Ieyasu by stopping the enemy troops. His men withstood the siege for more than ten days until the castle - probably caused by a traitor in their own ranks - caught fire. After that they made several raids against the outnumbered enemy. After the last failure there were only ten men left with whom the castle could no longer be held.

Mototada then committed seppuku , with an enemy warrior assisting him as Kaishaku-Nin . This case of Seppuku is one of the most famous in the history of Japan.

Withstanding Torii Mototada, Tokugawa Ieyasu had ample time to raise an army ready to fight and defeat Ishida Mitsunari at the Battle of Sekigahara .