​池田之助（元助）(1559 or 1564 - 1584)

​IKEDA Yukisuke (Motosuke)

Ikeda served Oda Nobunaga from a young age. His first

appearance in historical documents is during the siege of

Arioka Castle in December 1578, when he entered the

Kurahashi fort with his father, Tsuneoki. In the campaign to

subjugate Araki Murashige in 1580, he fought alongside his

father and younger brother Terumasa, defeating Araki

Motokiyo in the Battle of Hanakuma Castle, and Nobunaga

praised his achievements by bestowing him with a fine horse.

On February 28, 1581, he participated in a horse parade as

a member of the Setsu-shu sect, along with Terumasa, on

behalf of his father. After this, he left his father to act

independently, and acted as the general of the Ikeda clan.

 

In November of the same year, Nobunaga ordered Hashiba

Hideyoshi and Motosuke to invade Awaji Province. Motosuke

surrounded Iwaya Castle, and sent his vassal Iki Tadatsugu

and Hideyoshi's confidant Hachisuka Masakatsu to Ataka

Kiyoyasu, who was holed up in Yura Castle (Yura Old Castle),

to persuade him to surrender. With Nobunaga's permission,

the Awaji forces surrendered and the castles were opened.

Motosuke waited at Azuchi Castle with Kiyoyasu in tow, and

returned to Awaji after receiving permission to secure

his territory.

 

After Hideyoshi's withdrawal, Ikeda's forces remained

stationed in Awaji.In 1582 (Tensho 10), he went on a

campaign to conquer Kai as one of Akechi Mitsuhide's yoriki.

He was also ordered to make preparations as Akechi's yoriki

for the subsequent Chugoku campaign, but on June 2nd,

Mitsuhide rebelled, and Nobunaga was killed violently in the Honnoji Incident. On June 11, when his father Tsuneoki met Hideyoshi, who had returned to Himeji Castle after the Great Return from the Chugoku Period, he made a pact with him, promising to adopt his second son, Terumasa, as well. Furthermore, his father shaved his head and took the name Katsuiri, and Motosuke accordingly inherited the title of Kii no Kami. Together they followed Hideyoshi and defeated Akechi Mitsuhide in the Battle of Yamazaki.

 

At the Kiyosu Conference, his father was given 120,000 koku of land in Osaka, Amagasaki, and Hyogo, so he moved to Osaka, and Motosuke took his place in Itami Castle, while his younger brother Terumasa took up residence in Amagasaki Castle.He followed his father during the internal conflicts of the Oda clan, and sided with Oda Nobukatsu, siding with Hideyoshi, and taking part in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583. When his father became the lord of Ogaki Castle in Mino, he also became the lord of Gifu Castle.

 

When the relationship between Hideyoshi and Nobukatsu deteriorated, he sided with Hideyoshi and was part of the force that launched a surprise attack on Mikawa in the Battle of Nagakute in 1584. However, on April 9, he was ambushed by an army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ii Naomasa, and Oda Nobukatsu, and was killed along with his father and brother-in-law Mori Nagayoshi. The "Shokurozuka" mound was built at the place where he is said to have died in battle. Motosuke was said to have been 26 years old when he died, but the "Nobunaga Koki" states in the entry for 1580 that "brothers Motosuke and Terumasa (Terumasa) were both 15 and 16 years old," meaning that the age difference between the brothers was not that great, and it is possible that Motosuke was actually in his early 20s when he died.