Todo Ienobu (藤堂家信)
Ienobu Shikibu TODO (1578 - March 26, 1636) was a vassal of the Todo clan over the period ranging from the Azuchi- Momoyama period to the early Edo period. He was popularly known as Shikibu. He was born in the town of Iso in Omi Province; his birth name was Kinshichi ISOZAKI. He was born in 1578, and according to the Isozaki clan's family genealogy, he was the sixth son of Gyobuzaemon ISOZAKI. According to the "Sokoku shi" (The History of the Todo clan), his family name was Gamo at birth, and the Takenouchi family's genealogy shows that there was a period where he identified himself as Gamo. Three generations before Ujisato GAMO, from the time when two brothers, Iesato ISOZAKI and Sadahide GAMO, were heads of their respective families, each family began using both the Isozaki and Gamo surnames.
Career
It is believed that Yamato Takeru no Mikoto is thought to have been buried in Isozaki-jinja Shrine in Omi, and TAKENOUCHI no Nobuzane (武内信實,) a descendant of TAKENOUCHI no Sukune, was sent from Kyoto to Isozaki-jinja Shrine in Omi to take the post of Shinto priest and began to use a family name of Gamo; that was the beginning of the Isozaki family. In a later year, he started using Isozaki as the family name. Kinshichi ISOZAKI followed Takatora TODO in joining Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI's army during the Bunroku-Keicho War of 1592, and collecting the clothes taken from the bodies of the enemy during the Nangen War.
Thereafter, he also fought in the Battle of Sekigahara, and struck down Shigechika YOSHIDA and Shogen YOKOYAMA of the Chosokabe clan during the Siege of Osaka. Ieyasu honored his deed as the most distinguished achievement for that day (June 2, 1615), granting him the (一二) crest, which was used by each successive Shikibu family head as the Otokomon (the crest for the male family head). Based on genealogies, at one time he controlled a territory of 20,000 koku (a volume measurement for rice), and after being granted the family name of Todo in 1607, he started identifying himself as Shikibu TODO. One legend about him that has continued to be passed down to today is that he applied a healing salve given to him by Ieyasu TOKUGAWA to the wounds he had suffered during the Siege of Osaka.
Basho MATSUO was one of the Shinshichiro Todo family's retainers; he is thought to have served as a Kumishita (a person who serves under a Japanese military commander) of the Shikibu family. In addition, while Ienobu was still alive, a duel called "Kagiya no Tsuji no Ketto" (the Duel at the Key-Maker's Corner) was fought between Mataemon ARAKI and Matagoro KAWAI; after Mataemon struck down his enemy, he was was placed in the custody of the Shikibu family.
Ienobu Shikibu TODO died on March 26, 1636 in Kyoto; the ancestral tombs for the first five generations of the Todo Shikibu family are located in Daitoku-ji Daiko-in Temple in Murasakino. This is stated in the pages 482-483 of the last volume of "Sokokushi." The family temple of the Shikibu family is Ryuo-ji Temple, which is located in the town of Choya in the city of Iga. Seigan Osho (high priest Seigan), a high-ranking disciple of Takuan SOHO who was expelled from Daitoku-ji Temple due to the Shie Incident--which occurred during the reign of the third Shogun Iemitsu TOKUGAWA--was handed over to the Todo family, and Ryuo-ji Temple was founded by Seigan Osho (See page 590 of "Sokokushi" the last volume). The family gave up the surname Todo in 1880, returning to their original surname of Takenouchi.
2008 was the 400th anniversary of Takatora TODO's relocation from Imabari in Shikoku to Iga Ise, which is part of the capital's metropolitan area, and so a commemorative celebration of the 400-year anniversary of his entry into the capital area was held at Ueno-jo Castle, during which ancient documents written by Takatora were put on display. The main Todo family line as well as the Genba, Shinshichiro, Uneme, and Shikibu (Takenouchi) branch families all took part in the anniversary celebration.