Hosokawa Takamoto served as a bushō during the Sengoku period.  He was the head of the family of the military governor of the lower districts of Izumi Province.  

Takamoto was born as the son of Hosokawa Harutomo, the head of a cadet family of the Hosokawa-Yashū family.  His older brother, Hosokawa Tadakata, inherited the Hosokawa-Tenkyū family while Takamoto revived the family of the military governor of the lower districts of Izumi.  Similar to Hosokawa Takakuni, the head of the Hosokawa-Keichō family, Takamoto received one of the characters from the name of Ashikaga Yoshitaka (later known as Yoshizumi), the eleventh shōgun of the Muromachi bakufu.

His activities as the military governor of Izumi appear in records from around 1513.  At this time, the adopted sons of Hosokawa Masamoto, namely, Hosokawa Takakuni and Hosokawa Sumimoto, were engaged in a prolonged succession struggle that divided the Hosokawa clan.  Takakuni’s faction was based in Kyōto while Sumimoto’s faction was based in Awa Province in Shikoku.  This is known as the Conflict between the Hosokawa.  During this period, Takamoto aligned with Takakuni’s faction.

Amidst these circumstances, Izumi Province, serving as a vital crossroads as well as the location of the harbor town of Sakai, witnessed many battles.  In 1523, Takamoto became ill and, from the following year, his activities cease to appear in records.  Owing to his affinity with the Yashū family, he was succeeded by Hosokawa Katsumoto (Kurō).

Takamoto was appointed to the role of military governor of Izumi despite the fact that he did not originate from that family.  Formerly, the Hosokawa clan governed Izumi with the role of the military governor divided between two families (the military governor of the upper districts and the military governor of the lower districts).  Amidst fighting between Hosokawa Masamoto and Hatakeyama Hisanobu in the wake of the coup d’état against Ashikaga Yoshiki (Yoshitane) known as the Meiō Political Incident, Hosokawa Masahisa, the head of the family of the military governor of the lower districts, died in battle and his whereabouts are unknown thereafter.  In 1508, after Takakuni expelled Sumimoto from the role as the head of the Hosokawa-Keichō, Hosokawa Mototsune from the family of the military governor of the upper districts allied with Sumimoto.

As noted, for generations, the role of the military governor of Izumi was divided between the upper and lower districts.  This continued in the era of Takamoto.  Along with Takamoto, a bushō named Hosokawa Harunobu (Gorō) shared the role as military governor of Izumi.  Harunobu was the younger brother of Hatakeyama Tanenaga.  Harunobu, or his successor, died while fighting on the side of Takakuni at the Collapse at Daimotsu in 1531.

Character

Similar to his cousin, Takakuni, Takamoto demonstrated a strong interest in cultural affairs.  He attended lectures in regard to the Genji monogatari, or Tales of Genji, while his interest in waka, or Japanese poetry, is noted in the diary of a noble named Konoe Hisamichi.