Toyotomi Regime: One of the Five Great Elders, lord of Okayama Castle in Bizen

Ukita Hideie

宇喜多秀家

Son of Ukita Naoie, a daimyo of Bizen, Ukita Hideie succeeded to the headship at a young age following his father's death and developed as a warlord under Toyotomi Hideyoshi with Okayama as his base. In 1588, he married Yoshihime, daughter of Maeda Toshie and adopted daughter of Hideyoshi, and from around 1590 developed Okayama Castle and the surrounding regions of the Asahi River, including port facilities and roads. In the 1592 Bunroku Campaign, he was treated as supreme commander of the Japanese forces, and he participated in the 1597 Keicho Campaign as well, holding a central position in the Korean campaigns. In the Conquest of Shikoku, Ukita forces landed in Sanuki, and he was mobilized for large-scale operations beyond Bizen. After Hideyoshi's death, he became one of the Five Great Elders supporting the young Hideyori, but as a young daimyo he faced the challenge of maintaining his domain while bearing the burden of supporting the retainer corps and the costs of the Korean campaigns.

Sources　岡山市「宇喜多直家・秀家」／岡山市「宇喜多直家・秀家に関する参考資料」／岡山城公式「岡山城の歴史」／金沢旅物語「豪姫」