鍋島直茂

Nabeshima Naoshige (1538–1618) rose from a retainer of the Ryūzōji clan to become the effective founder of the Saga domain in northern Kyushu. His defining moment came at the Battle of Okitanawate (1584), when his lord Ryūzōji Takanobu was killed by the forces of Shimazu; Naoshige recovered his lord's body, arranged peace with Shimazu, and gradually consolidated control of the clan. He participated in the Korean campaigns of 1592–98 and returned with Korean potters whose descendants would found the Arita porcelain tradition. His legacy is inseparable from the Hagakure — the classic text of bushidō philosophy compiled in the early 18th century under his grandson's domain. The line 'The Way of the Samurai is found in death' (Bushidō towa shinu koto to mitsuketari) echoes the spirit Naoshige embodied: absolute loyalty, fearlessness, and fidelity to duty over life.