Akiyama Nobutomo - Height of Career

Height of Career

By 1568, Nobutomo was esteemed enough to be entrusted with diplomatic duties. In that year, he was dispatched to Gifu Castle where he represented his lord, Takeda Shingen, at the wedding ceremony of Oda Nobutada, eldest son of Nobunaga, and Matsuhime, daughter of Shingen.

In 1571, Takeda Shingen organized a campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu, intent on taking the coastal lowlands of Tōtōmi province and pushing westward toward the fertile fields of Mikawa province. Nobutomo was recalled from Iida Castle and ordered to lead an invasion of Mino province. His advance was checked by troops of the Saigo clan, led by Saigo Yoshikatsu. The two armies met at the Battle of Takehiro, and though Yoshikatsu was killed in action, Nobutomo was forced to retreat.

In 1572, the Takeda organized another campaign against Mikawa province which would culminate in the Battle of Mikatagahara in January 1573. As Takeda Shingen drove south and west, Nobutomo would descend from the north, cutting off an escape route and blocking reinforcements. To accomplish this, Nobutomo laid siege to Iwamura Castle. When Toyama Kagetou, lord of Iwamura Castle, died of a sudden illness, the morale of the defending troops collapsed, and the Lady Toyama Otsuya (Kageto's widow and an aunt of Oda Nobunaga) entered into negotiations with Nobutomo. They agreed on a treaty, and under its terms the castle was surrendered without bloodshed, and Lady Toyama agreed to marry Nobutomo, thus securing his protection and the safety of the defending troops. Also among the spoils was Gobomaru (御坊丸?), the biological son of Oda Nobunaga, adopted son of Kageto, who was then seven years old. Nobutomo sent him to Kai Province as a hostage; the boy would later become known as Oda Katsunaga. With the fulfillment of treaty stipulations, Nobutomo made Iwamura Castle his headquarters and a front-line defensive position from which he could support the Takeda.