Who Is Shibata Katsuie (Oni Shibata)?
Oda's fierce general and Hideyoshi's later rival
Shibata Katsuie was a Sengoku-period warlord, one of the leading senior retainers of the Oda clan, famed for his strength in battle and also called "Oni Shibata" (Demon Shibata). He served the Oda from the time of Nobunaga's father. He once fought against Nobunaga on the side of Nobunaga's younger brother, but later became one of Nobunaga's most powerful retainers.
In this manga he appears as a veteran senior retainer who is overtaken by the upstart Tokichiro. His role as someone who failed at building the castle at Sunomata first, along with fellow senior retainer Sakuma Nobumori, comes from tradition and has not been confirmed in reliable records.
After Nobunaga's death he fought Hideyoshi over the future of the Oda clan. Defeated at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he took his own life with his wife Oichi at Kitanosho Castle in Echizen 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