, also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤 利政), was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo during the Sengoku period. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics. He was appointed Governor of Yamashiro by the Imperial Court. After entering monkhood in his later years, he was also called Saitō Yamashiro-nyudō-no-kami (斎藤山城入道守).

He has historical reputation as one of , a nickname which he shared with Matsunaga Hisahide and Ukita Naoie, due to their ambitious and treasonous personality, along with the habit of resorting to underhanded tactics and assassinations to eliminate their opposition.

Biography

Saitō Dōsan has long been regarded as a symbolic figure of "Gekokujō" (the rise of those of lower status to positions of power), rising from a humble oil merchant to the ruler of Mino Province. However, recent research suggests that it was actually Dōsan's father who was the oil merchant. This implies that Dōsan's "Gekokujō" was a two-generation achievement involving both father and son.

He became a daimyo through Gekokujō of Toki Yorinari at Mino Province in 1542. Yorinari was forced out of Mino by Saitō Dōsan. He married Omi no kata, a sister of Akechi Mitsutsuna (Akechi Mitsuhide's father).

He defeated Oda Nobuhide at the Battle of Kanōguchi in 1547.

In 1549 Oda Nobuhide was defeated by Dōsan. Nobuhide made peace with Dōsan by arranging a political marriage between his son and heir, Oda Nobunaga, and Dōsan's daughter, Nōhime. Dōsan, therefore, became the father-in-law of Oda Nobunaga. Both temples are located in the city of Gifu which celebrates Dōsan with an annual festival.

Pseudonyms

Saitō Dōsan is known for having a large number of pseudonyms and for frequently changing his name. Some believe that this is because there were two Saitōs Dōsan, father and son, and the son adopted his father's name after his death. Other names of Saitō Dōsan are Minemaru (峰丸), Hōrenbō (法蓮坊), Matsunami Shogorō (松浪庄五郎), Nishimura Kankurō Masatoshi (西村勘九郎正利), Shinkurō (新九郎), Nagai Norihide (長井規秀), and Saitō Sakondayu Toshimasa (斎藤左近大夫利政).

The name Saitō was adopted from the former shugodai of Mino who had been overcome by the Nagai clan in the 1520s.

Notable retainers

  • Hachiya Yoritaka
  • Mori Yoshinari
  • Fuwa Mitsuharu
  • Inaba Ittetsu
  • Ando Morinari
  • Ujiie Naotomo
  • Hachisuka Masakatsu
  • Sakai Masahisa
  • Takenaka Shigeharu
  • Kanamori Nagachika
  • Katō Mitsuyasu
  • Sengoku Hidehisa

Family

  • Father: Matsuda Motomune (in one traditional story; another version says that he was child of Shinzaemonzo, a monk of Myoukaku-ji Temple)
  • Wife: Omi no Kata, daughter of Akechi Mitsutsugu
  • Concubine: Miyoshi no Kata
  • Children:
  • Saitō Yoshitatsu born to Miyoshi no Kata
  • Saitō Magoshirō
  • Saitō Kiheiji
  • Saitō Toshitaka
  • Saitō Nagatatsu (Toshiharu)
  • Nōhime (Kicho)
  • In the Action RPG Nioh 2 he's reimagined as a retired Yokai hunter that fell in love with a female Yokai who bore him two children; Saito Yoshitatsu and the main protagonist "Hide". He's killed by Yoshitatsu's forces at the end of the first act.

See also

  • Saitō clan
  • Kunitori Monogatari

Notes

References