Kuroda Yoshitaka

Service under Nobunaga

In 1577, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi was spearheading the Oda clan's advance into the Chūgoku region, he pledged loyalty to the Oda. Yoshitaka, together with the sickly Takenaka Hanbei, served as Hideyoshi's strategists and assisted in the Chugoku campaign against the Mōri clan.

In 1578, Arioka/Itami Castle's lord, Araki Murashige, concluded an alliance with the Mōri to revolt against the Oda. An allied Kodera Masamoto also hatched a plot to cooperate with Araki. Then, Kuroda went to Arioka castle to prevail on Araki not to defect.^[5] Araki chose to imprison Yoshitaka instead. As a result, Nobunaga thought that Yoshitaka had defected to Araki's side and was furious. Yoshitaka's son, Shōjumaru (later Kuroda Nagamasa) was sentenced to death by Nobunaga, but was saved by Takenaka Hanbei.

Araki's revolt eventually concluded in 1579 at the Siege of Itami, culminating in Yoshitaka's rescue. Due to his long imprisonment (with lack of space for sleeping and sitting), Yoshitaka suffered a leg disorder and lost his eyesight in one eye for the rest of his life.

In 1582, he fought in the Siege of Takamatsu against the Mōri clan.

Service under Hideyoshi

He fought at the Battle of Yamazaki in 1582 under Hideyoshi, avenging the death of Oda Nobunaga.^[6]

He participated in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 and the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute in 1584. He also led Toyotomi forces in the campaign to conquer Shikoku in 1585.

Shortly before 1587, Yoshitaka was ordered by Hideyoshi to lead an attack into Siege of Kagoshima at Kyushu.^[7] Along with him was the Christian daimyō Takayama Ukon. After seeing the thriving Christian population of Kyushu, under Ukon's influence, Yoshitaka was baptized with the name ドン・シメオン (Dom Simeão = Don Simeon). After a visit to the Jesuit-controlled port of Nagasaki, Hideyoshi became fearful of the powerful influence that Jesuits and the Christian daimyōs wielded.

In 1587, he made his famous edict that expelled foreign missionaries and ordered all the Christian samurai under his rule to abandon their faith. While Ukon resisted the edict and lost his status, Yoshitaka gave up his new religion and adopted a monk's habit, calling himself Josui (如水).^[8] Like Naitō Joan (who took his name from Portuguese João), it is believed that Yoshitaka chose his new name from "Josué", the Portuguese version of "Joshua". His most prominent act during his short time as a Christian was his arrangement to save a Jesuit mission from Bungo when the Christian daimyō of that province, Ōtomo Sōrin, was under attack from the Shimazu clan.

Sekigahara campaign

Before the outbreak of Sekigahara conflict between Tokugawa Ieyasu with Ishida Mitsunari, Yoshitaka and his son, Kuroda Nagamasa, made contact with Ii Naomasa, a Tokugawa general, and formed a pact of alliance. Through the Kuroda clan, Naomasa successfully swayed the other military commanders to support the Tokugawa clan.^[9] It was recorded that Yoshitaka and his son, Nagamasa, bore grudge towards Mitsunari due to their personal conflict with him and alleged mismanagements during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).^[10]

In 1600, Yoshitaka was seemingly on the Tokugawa side during the Sekigahara campaign, having clashed against Ōtomo Yoshimune at the Battle of Ishigakibaru and also, having participated at the Siege of Yanagawa.^{[citation needed]} It was recorded that the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi participated in Ishigakibaru battle under the command of Yoshitaka.^[11][12][13]

There is theory that Yoshitaka instead aimed to conquer the entire region of Kyūshū for his own during the major commotion of the Sekigahara campaign, even momentarily conquering seven of the island's provinces, a feat which ended in failure, however, due to Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory in the Battle of Sekigahara.^{[citation needed]}