Hasegawa Moritomo (長谷川守知)
Moritomo HASEGAWA (1569 to January 6, 1633) was a samurai in the Azuchi Momoyama period. He was the lord of the Hasegawa Domain in Mino Province in the early part of the Edo period. He was a son of Munehito HASEGAWA. He was granted Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade). Shikibu no taifu (Senior Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Ceremonial). Uhyoe no jo (officer of the Right Division of Middle Palace Guards). He was named Genzaburo in his childhood. His other personal name was Shigetaka.
Together with his father, Moritomo served Nobunaga ODA and then Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI and was invested a Court rank and appointed to an office in 1586. When the Japanese troops were sent to Korea for invasion in 1592, Moritomo stayed at Nagoya-jo Castle in Hizen Province, and in 1594, he made a great achievement in the construction work of Fushimi-jo Castle, which won him 10,000 koku in Mino Province. In the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he joined the army of Mitsunari ISHIDA, the Western Army, and kept to Sawayama-jo Castle, the headquarters of Mitsunari, but when the main forces of the Western Army including those of Mitsunari were devastated in the main campaign on October 21 and the troops of Hideaki KOBAYAKAWA and other lords who belonged to the Western Army but betrayed them in favor of the Eastern Army, closed to the castle, Moritomo switched sides to Hideaki, betrayed Mitsunari and forced his family to suicide. This performance merited him the official approval of his ownership of his own domain after the end of the battle. In later years, he achieved a military exploit in the Siege of Osaka and became the lord of the Hasegawa Domain in Mino Province. He died at the age of 64 on January 6, 1633.
After his death, the head of the Hasegawa family was inherited by his son Masanao HASEGAWA. But since Masanao gave 3,110 koku out of his fief to his younger brother Morikatsu HASEGAWA, the Hasegawa clan became a hatamoto (a direct retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate) and the Hasegawa Domain was abolished. After the death of Masanao, his successor Moritoshi HASEGAWA (fourth son of Moritomo) died young (in 1646), and the Hasegawa clan was extinguished. The line of Morikatsu survived as a hatamoto family.