Kondō Tsunahide

近藤綱秀

Kondō Clan

Bushō

Sagami Province

Lifespan:  15xx to Tenshō 18 (1590)

Other Names:  Kondō Dewa-no-kami Sukezane

Rank:  bushō

Clan:  Kondō

Lord:  Hōjō Ujitsuna (?) → Hōjō Ujiyasu → Hōjō Ujiteru

Father:  Kondō Teruhide (?)

Wife:  Daughter of Tomokura Masakage

Kondō Tsunahide served as a bushō during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.  He was a retainer of the Gohōjō clan.

Although his year of birth is unknown, his father may have been Kondō Teruhide.

The origins of the Kondō clan affiliated with Tsunahide as well as the timing of his initial activities are uncertain.  He served Hōjō Ujiteru, the third son of Hōjō Ujiyasu.  According to one theory, when Ujiteru became the lord of Takiyama Castle in Hachiōji, Tsunahide followed him as one of his retainers.  In 1573, Tsunahide founded the Jōsenji Castle in Hachiōji so it can be surmised that he was active as a retainer at least from around this time.  Moreover, the character “tsuna” in his name may have been conferred from Hōjō Ujitsuna (Ujiyasu’s father) so he may also have been a retainer of the Hōjō from that era.

When Ujiteru took control of Shimotsuke Province, he assigned Tsunamoto to Enomoto Castle.  From 1583, Tsunahide governed the territory of Enomoto including by managing the allocation of landholdings and donations of temple lands.  It appears that Tsunahide was granted significant authority and was permitted to use his own seal marked tempuku, or heavenly blessing.  He was further engaged in diplomatic affairs such as negotiations with the Katakura clan who were retainers of the Date clan in the Tōhoku region.

During the Tenshō era (1573 to 1593), he collection donations for construction of the Goryō Shrine in Hachiōji where he enshrined Kamakura Kagemasa, a bushō from the late Heian period.

In 1590, during the Conquest of Odawara led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tsunahide left defenders at Enomoto Castle and holed-up in Hachiōji Castle in Musashi Province but was killed in action during the fall of the castle.