Oda Nagamasu (織田長益)
Nagamasu ODA was a daimyo and master of the tea ceremony from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early Edo period. Brother of Nobunaga ODA.
The 11th child of Nobuhide ODA, he was known as Gengo (also Gengoro). From the title Urakusaijoan, he was later known as Uraku or Urakusai.
Having learned the tea ceremony from Sen no Rikyu (Rikyu SEN), he is counted among Rikyu's seven disciples. He later founded the Uraku School of the tea ceremony. He also restored Shoden-in Temple at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto; and the tea room that he built there, Joan Temple, has been designated a National Treasure.
Lifetime
Although Nagamasu was one of Nobunaga's brothers, there was a large difference in age; and little is known about the first half of his life.
From the 1570s he was under the command of Nobunaga ODA's eldest son Nobutada ODA, and was with Nobutada at Nijo Castle at the time of the Incident at Honno-ji in 1582. When Nobutada killed himself at Nagamasu's urging, Nagamasu defected and fled the castle. He escaped to Gifu City via Azuchi-cho, Omi. The people of Kyoto made fun of this episode, saying, "Gengo ODA is not a man. He just fills his belly and runs to Azuchi. On the 2nd of January there came a flood, and washed away the name of Oda."
After the Incident he served his nephew, Nobukatsu ODA, and helped with negotiating peace between Ieyasu TOKUGAWA and Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. After that he was granted a territory in the Chita District and resided in Okusa Castle. In 1590 after Nobukatsu was dismissed, as an otogishu to Hideyoshi he received 2000 koku in Mashita, in the Shimashimo District of Settsu Province (present day Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture).
He fought alongside his eldest son, Nagataka ODA, as part of the Eastern army in the Battle of Sekigahara. For such distinguished service as capturing Yorisato GAMO, a vassal to Mitsunari ISHIDA, he was awarded 30,000 koku in Yamato Province after the war. However, after the war he continued to serve the Toyotomi household as an aide to the niece, Lady Yodo. Around that time he rebuilt the subsidiary temple Shoden-in at Kennin-ji (Temple), building Joan (a tea-ceremony room) inside it. Now the graves of Nagamasu and his wife, and their grandson Nagayoshi ODA, are at Shodeneigen-in (the name was changed in the Meiji period). There are also portraits of Nagamasu and his wife, their granddaughter (a daughter of their 2nd son, Yorinaga), and his older brother Nobukane ODA.
Joan Tea-Ceremony Room (currently relocated to Urakuen in the Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture)
Being in Osaka Castle during the Siege of Osaka, he had a central role in supporting the Toyotomi household, along with Harunaga ONO et alia. He left the Toyotomi family before the Siege of Osaka. It might have been because he was a dove within the Toyotomi household. Another explanation says that he was a spy for the Shogunate.
After leaving Osaka he lived a quiet life in Kyoto, concentrating on the tea ceremony and pursuing his hobbies. In August of 1615 he parceled out 10,000 koku each to his 4th son Nagamasa and his 5th son Naonaga, and kept 10,000 koku for his own retirement. He died in Kyoto on December 13 of 1621. Aged 75.
Descendants
His legal wife was the daughter of Masahide HIRATE. He had 6 sons and 3 daughters that can be confirmed, including: eldest son Nagataka ODA; 2nd son Yorinaga ODA (a legitimate son); 3rd son Toshinaga ODA; 4th son Nagamasa ODA (a daimyo); 5th son Naonaga ODA; and 6th son Yuukan (a monk).
His illegitimate first child, Nagataka, fought valiantly alongside his father with the Eastern Army at the Battle of Sekigahara, was awarded 10,000 koku and made a daimyo of the Nomura-han, and was actually recognized as a branch family by the Shogunate. His legitimate son, Yorinaga, served Hideyori TOYOTOMI along with his father after the Battle of Sekigahara. He also took over the Uraku School of the Tea Ceremony, which his father founded.
When their father retired in 1615, the 4th son, Nagamasa, and the 5th son, Naonaga, each received 10,000 koku out of the 30,000 koku that Nagamasu held in the Yamato District. They both remained Tozama Daimyo with 10,000 koku until the Meiji period, Nagamasa in the Kaiji-han, and Naonaga in the Yanagimoto-han. The 10,000 koku that Nagamasa kept for his own retirement were repossessed at the time of his death.
Yurakucho
Yurakucho, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, is said to have got its name from Yuraku's residence there; but there is no record of him having lived in Edo. There used to be a place in Osaka called Yurakucho, where Yuraku was said to have lived. The one in Osaka was near present day Tengachaya in Nishinari Ward, Osaka City; however, it disappeared in the countless post-war re-drawings of ward boundaries.
Novels
"Urakusai ODA" by Kazuhisa HORI