Who Is Hachisuka Koroku (Hachisuka Masakatsu Koroku)?
The Owari local warrior who backed Hideyoshi early on
Hachisuka Masakatsu
Hachisuka Koroku was a dogo (a warrior rooted in his local land) of Owari Province who went on to serve with distinction as a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His given name was Masakatsu, and Koroku was the name he commonly went by. One of the first to back Hideyoshi's rise to power, he proved useful in negotiation as well as in war.
In this manga he helps Tokichiro build the castle at Sunomata in Episode 3, leading men who know the river and how to move timber. However, the idea that he helped with the castle as a riverside local warrior comes from tradition and has not been confirmed in reliable records.
The famous story of his meeting the boy Hideyoshi on Yahagi Bridge is also thought to have spread from later popular fiction. He died in 1586, and the house of his son Iemasa continued as the daimyo (feudal lords) of Tokushima in Awa Province.
Episodes featuring this character2
NEWEpisode 3
Build a Castle Before the Enemy WakesThe One-Night Castle of Sunomata
Everyone laughs when Tokichiro volunteers to build a castle the enemy keeps tearing down, right under their noses. His answer: don't build it, ship it, with river men and carpenters on his side. On the big night he must choose between a raft of castle parts and a man swept away, and his choice steals the enemy's morning.
21 pages
NEWEpisode 4
16 Men Took a Castle. He Gave It Back.Takenaka Hanbei
A man took a castle with just sixteen followers, inexplicably gave it back, and vanished into the mountains. Hideyoshi keeps climbing up to recruit him, but every compliment and gift is called out before he can use it. On his third visit, out of tricks, he offers the one thing he has left: his own weakness.
19 pages