福島正則

Fukushima Masanori, a cousin and foster son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was one of the most formidable warriors of the Sengoku period. At the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he performed the outstanding individual feat of slaying the enemy general Haikyō Ienaga in single combat with a spear, earning him the first rank among the 'Seven Spearmen of Shizugatake.' His nickname 'Spear Fukushima' followed him throughout his career. Among his famous sword-related anecdotes is the tale of the great spear Nihon-gō: Masanori boasted that he would give anything he owned to any man who drained three great cups of sake. His normally abstemious retainer Mori Tahei took the challenge — and claimed the legendary spear as his prize. True to his word, Masanori gave it up, a story still commemorated in a Fukuoka folk song. As a major daimyō of Hiroshima with a 500,000-koku domain, Masanori assembled an impressive sword collection, favoring bold and powerful blades in the Sōshū tradition. His downfall came in 1619 when the Tokugawa shogunate used the pretext of unauthorized castle repairs to strip him of his domain, reducing him from one of Japan's greatest lords to a minor daimyō of 45,000 koku. He died in 1624 in circumstances of profound disappointment.