加藤嘉明

Katō Yoshiaki (1563–1631) was one of the legendary 'Seven Spears of Shizugatake' — seven young warriors singled out by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for extraordinary valor at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, alongside the likes of Katō Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori. What set Yoshiaki apart from his famous peers was his exceptional ability as a naval commander. In the Korean campaigns (1592–1598), he led Hideyoshi's naval forces in fierce engagements against the Korean fleet commanded by the brilliant Admiral Yi Sun-sin. At Sekigahara in 1600 he fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu and was rewarded with Iyo-Matsuyama domain (200,000 koku); later transferred to Aizu (400,000 koku), he became one of the most powerful lords of the early Edo period. He founded Matsuyama Castle, one of only twelve original castles still surviving in Japan, as well as the administrative foundations of Aizu domain. As a warrior honored by Hideyoshi as one of seven superlative spearmen, Yoshiaki bore the finest swords of his era — blades received as rewards from Hideyoshi and acquired in the great markets of Hideyoshi's Momoyama court — and his swordsmanship matched the ferocity that had won him his spear-fame at Shizugatake.