Harada Naomasa

Harada Naomasa (原田 直政) was a samurai retainer of the Oda clan. He was also called Kurozaemon (九郎左衛門) and was referred by the title of Bitchu no Kami (備中守). Initially he had the family name of Ban (塙), but in 1575 received the name of a respected clan, Harada, which he took as his own.

He started out as a member of Oda Nobunaga's elite royal force and bodyguards. After 1568 when Nobunaga entered Kyoto to become the de facto ruler, Naomasa handled paperwork and was tasked with organizing ceremonies. In June 1574, he became the ruler of Yamashiro Province, and gained Yamato Province eight months later. Until that point, his records are that of an effective bureaucrat.

As of 1574, Naomasa took part in military actions and in 1575, he joined the sieges of Nagashima, a crackdown on the Ikkō-ikki rebellions in Echizen Province.

In May 1576, Naomasa took part in the campaign against the Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka, along with Akechi Mitsuhide, Araki Murashige, and Hosokawa Fujitaka. As the main army of this campaign, he took on the siege of Mitsu-ji but he was surprised by Hongan-ji troops and lost his life in the ensuing chaos.