Gotō Mototsugu

Gotō Mototsugu (後藤 基次, May 5, 1565 – June 2, 1615), also well known as Gotō Matabei (後藤 又兵衛), was a samurai of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. He served Kuroda Yoshitaka but retired from the Kuroda clan after Kuroda Yoshitaku had died. Finally, he served Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono and was killed at the battle of Dōmyōji during the siege of Osaka in 1615.^[1]

His father Gotō Motokuni served Kodera Masamoto.^[2] But Motokuni was dead when Matabei was a child.^[2] After his father's death, Matabei became a vassal of Kuroda Kanbei.^[2]

At the Second Siege of Jinju, during Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea, Gotō was the first samurai to enter Jinju castle.^[3]

During the Siege of Osaka, Gotō was one of the most able and fierce generals in Toyotomi Hideyori's Army. He was the chief commander at the battle of Dōmyōji where, severely outnumbered by Date Masamune troops, he held out for reinforcements, which were lost in the fog. Unable to maintain the position without the reinforcements, Mototsugu was harmed by a stray bullet and unable to stand, he practiced seppuku. It is said in his kaishaku memoir that he couldn't stop his tears.

After his death, Mototsugu's samurai were easily defeated and his head discovered by enemy forces. History said that his display of valor this day was great enough to shock everyone, allies and enemies : leading his warriors in hit & run tactics, he killed 70 to 80 horse-men by himself. He stopped only because his horse was exhausted and he needed another to continue the fight.