Kuroda Kanbei

Kuroda Yoshitaka(黒田 孝高^?, December 22, 1546 – April 19, 1604), also known as Kuroda Kanbei (黒田 官兵衛, Kuroda Kanbee^?), was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he was a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christian when he was 38, and received "Simeon Josui" as a baptismal name (rekishijin). His quick wit, bravery, and loyalty were respected by his warriors.

Kuroda Yoshitaka was born in Himeji on December 22, 1546, the son of Kuroda Mototaka. The Kuroda clan are believed to have originated in Ōmi Province. Yoshitaka's grandfather Shigetaka brought the family to Himeji and took up residence at Gochaku Castle (御着城), east of Himeji Castle.

Shigetaka served as a senior retainer of Kodera Masamoto, the lord of Himeji, and was so highly praised that Shigetaka's son Mototaka was allowed to marry Masamoto's adopted daughter and to use the Kodera name. When his father, Mototaka died, Kuroda became the head of the Kuroda family at the age of 21.

Yoshitaka succeeded to the family headship in 1567, the same year that he participated in the Siege of Inabayama Castle, when Oda Nobunaga defeated the Saitō clan of Mino Province. A few years later, with Toyotomi Hideyoshi spearheading the Oda clan's advance into the Chugoku region, he pledged loyalty to the Oda. Yoshitaka, together with the sickly Takenaka Hanbei, served as Hideyoshi's strategists and assisted in the campaign against the Mōri clan.

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