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Born in 1548 in Mikawa Province, he began serving Tokugawa Ieyasu at the age of thirteen and continued to fight at his side throughout his life. He participated in all the major battles — the Battle of Mikatagahara (1572), the Battle of Nagashino (1575), the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute (1584), and the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) — and is said to have fought in 57 battles over his lifetime without ever receiving a wound, making him an incomparable warrior. Oda Nobunaga praised him saying "In the east there is Honda Tadakatsu; in the west there is Tachibana Muneshige," and Toyotomi Hideyoshi acclaimed him as "the foremost general in Japan, unmatched in ancient or modern times." His beloved spear Tonbokiri is one of the Three Great Spears of Japan. After Sekigahara he was granted the Kuwana domain of 100,000 koku. He died in 1610, aged 63. One of the Tokugawa Four Generals (alongside Ii Naomasa, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Sakai Tadatsugu).

An indomitable warrior embodying pure martial spirit. A warrior of direct temperament who preferred direct confrontation on the battlefield to political schemes or diplomacy. Absolute loyalty to his lord Ieyasu and pure passion for battle coexisted in him. The legend of never receiving a wound is thought to owe to a combination of cool situational judgment and outstanding martial skill. He is known for his helmet with its distinctive deer-antler crest.

He has the strongest martial image among the Tokugawa Four Generals and is highly popular as "the mightiest warrior of the Sengoku period." His beloved spear Tonbokiri is still preserved at Kuwana City Museum (Mie Prefecture). He continues to enjoy high popularity today as a figure in Sengoku warlord figurines and game characters. As a warrior of pure loyalty who walked through life at his lord Ieyasu's side, he is also a symbolic figure of bushido.