Asano Nagaakira

Asano Nagaakira
Lord of Ashimori
In office 1610–1613
Preceded by	Kinoshita Katsutoshi
Succeeded by	Kinoshita Toshifusa
Lord of Wakayama
In office 1613–1619
Preceded by	Asano Yoshinaga
Succeeded by	Tokugawa Yorinobu
Lord of Hiroshima
In office 1619–1632
Preceded by	Fukushima Masanori
Succeeded by	Asano Mitsuakira
Personal details
Born	1586
Died	1632
Nationality	Japanese

Asano Nagaakira (浅野 長晟, March 18, 1586 – October 16, 1632) was a Japanese samurai of the early Edo period who served as daimyō of the Wakayama domain, and was later transferred to the Hiroshima Domain.^[1]

Biography

Born Asano Iwamatsu, he was the son of Asano Nagamasa, who was a senior retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1594, Nagaakira was made a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and awarded a stipend of 3,000 koku. Allying his forces to Tokugawa Ieyasu six years later at the Battle of Sekigahara, he was subsequently awarded with the 24,000 koku fief of Ashimori han. As his brother Yukinaga died heirless in 1613, Nagaakira succeeded him, becoming daimyo of Wakayama han.^[1] At the Siege of Ōsaka, he commanded a portion of Tokugawa Ieyasu's army. In the summer of 1615, Toyotomi Hideyori's Western Army moved to attack Asano's castle at Wakayama. Though most of Asano's forces were at Ōsaka, besieging Toyotomi's fortress, the remaining garrison outnumbered the Western warriors, and Asano led his men in sallying forth to meet the enemy in the Battle of Kashii.^[2]

Asano also fought in the Battle of Tennoji, the decisive final battle in the Siege of Ōsaka, where he commanded Tokugawa's rear guard. In 1619, he was granted the fief of Hiroshima, in Aki Province, which would be the home of the Asano family for many generations. Nagaakira was married to Furi-hime, the third of Tokugawa Ieyasu`s daughters.

References

Further reading

• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.