Database: Tsutsui Junkei

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The Tsutsui resided in a Tsutsui castle and took their name from there. They were originally warriors in the service of the powerful Kōfuku-ji temple who gradually emancipated themselves and, in the 16th century, became one of the most powerful lordly clans of Yamato.

The man who would become Junkei was expelled from his castle by Matsunaga Hisahide in 1565; however, the following year, he retook his castle from Hisahide with the help of Oda Nobunaga and became his ally. It was then that he took the name Junkei, under which he is best known today. In the following years, he fought under Nobunaga and distinguished himself in 1575 during the suppression of the Amida leagues (Ikkō-ikki) in Echizen. Nobunaga later appointed him daimyō of Yamato in 1578. He abandoned Tsutsui Castle to build a fortress, Kōriyama, and in 1581 participated in the war against the republic of Iga (sōkoku ikki), which he helped to subdue. In 1582, after Nobunaga's fall, Akechi Mitsuhide counted on Junkei to rally to his cause; however, Junkei remained cautious and eventually joined Hideyoshi after Mitsuhide's defeat. Hideyoshi rewarded him for not joining Mitsuhide's forces, and Junkei became a vassal of the future unifier of Japan. He participated in the Battle of Komaki in 1584 where Ieyasu's forces, who were then hostile to Hideyoshi, were defeated. Soon after the battle he died of an illness. Junkei, like many great lords of his time, was well-versed in the way of tea and was a great lover of Noh theater.