Who Is Inoko Hyosuke (Inoko Takanari)?
The retainer who drew out Dosan's true feelings
Inoko Hyosuke was a warrior who served Saito Dosan of Mino and later became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. His given name is said to have been Takanari. In the Shinchō Kōki, he is known for the conversation he has with Dosan on the way back from the meeting at Shotoku-ji temple.
When Dosan's party has returned as far as Akanabe after the meeting, Hyosuke says something to the effect of "However you look at him, Lord Kazusa (Nobunaga) is a fool." Dosan replies that this is regrettable indeed, and laments that his own children will one day tether their horses outside that fool's gate, meaning they will become his retainers. Hyosuke's remark draws out what Dosan really thinks.
Just as Dosan predicted, the Saito clan later lost Mino to Nobunaga, and Hyosuke himself served Nobunaga. He is recorded as having died fighting at Nijo Palace beside Nobunaga's son Nobutada during the Honno-ji Incident of 1582.
Episodes featuring this character2
NEWEpisode 2
Spying on the 'Fool,' He Saw 500 SpearsThe Meeting at Shotoku-ji Temple
The old warlord Saito Dosan plans to peek through the cracks of a shack at the edge of town and laugh at his son-in-law, the rumored "fool" of Owari. But behind the young lord march five hundred crimson spears—and at the temple waits a young man in formal dress that no one has ever seen before.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 5
He Beat an Army. He Can't Beat a Hill.Siege of Inabayama Castle
Oda Nobunaga crushed an army of 45,000, yet for years one mountain castle has him saying "Going home." He strips away the enemy's allies one by one, then moves without waiting for the hostages, so fast that even his own side is stunned.
19 pages