Everyone loves the samurai for their mystique, their fierce fighting skills, and their legends full of mystery. One of the famous samurai was Honda Tadakatsu, also known as Honda Heihachiro. He was a Japanese general of the late Sengoko period and early Edo period. He lived from 1548 to 1610 and was one of the Four Tokugawa Heavenly Kings.
Tadakatsu was born in the Mikawa province of Japan and was promoted many times for his service. His son Honda Tadatomo became daimyo of Otaki and his other son Tadamasa took over Kuwana after Tadakatsu retired. Although Honda completed years of loyal service, he drifted away from the Tokugawa shogunate as it transitioned from a military to a civilian political institution. Many other warriors had the same problem as they transitioned from the chaotic life of war to the stable and peaceful life of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Honda Tadakatsu was highly respected in his time and was called the Samurai of Samurai by Oda Nobunaga, who was known for not giving praise to his followers, which made him high praise. Toyotomi Hedeyoshi also claimed that the best samurai were Honda Tadakatsu in the east and Tachibana Muneshige in the west. Honda was also respected because even though he fought in more than sixty battles, he never suffered a major injury. He was referred to as The Warrior who surpassed Death itself for this reason.
Honda is considered one of Tokugawa leyasu’s best generals. He earned distinction at the Battle of Anegawa and also served at the Battle of Mikatagahara, which was the scene of the Tokugawa’s greatest defeat. In that battle, he commanded the left wing of the army facing the troops under the command of Naito Masatoyo, one of the notable generals of the Takeda clan. Honda went on to exact his revenge at the Battle of Nagashino, where he commanded the musketeers as the combined Oda-Tokugawa forces annihilated Takeda Katsuyori’s army. This was partly due to the skillful use of rated muskets, as one soldier fired while another reloaded and another cleaned the musket barrel. This allowed the muskets to fire non-stop. It was the first time this effective battle tactic had been seen.
Honda Tadakatsu has quite a few legends around him, including that he never received an injury. His helmet was adorned with deer antlers, which made him very eye-catching, thus the ability to fight without receiving injuries was legendary. His fighting prowess was incredible and so well known that his weapon of choice, a spear, was named as one of the Three Great Spears of Japan. The spear was named Tonbo-Giri, Dragonfly Cutter, due to the legend that the tip was so sharp that a dragonfly landing on it would be cut in two.
