Tamaki Naganao served as a bushō from the Sengoku to early Edo periods.  He was the lord of Tedori Castle in Kii Province.  His childhood name was Koheita.

The Tamaki clan was founded by Tamaki Moritaka who sided with the Northern Court in the Genkō War that ran from 1331 to 1333 at the end of the Kamakura period.   Based at Tedori Castle, the family later expanded its influence in the Hidaka District of Kii Province.

In the era of Naganao, his father, Tamaki Naokazu, was affiliated with Oda Nobunaga, governing a fief of 10,000 koku.  In 1585, during the Conquest of Kishū led by Hashiba Hideyoshi, Naganao showed that he would submit to the invading forces, but Tedori Castle was then toppled by Yukawa Naoharu from a neighboring area who opposed the Hashiba army.  Thereafter, Naganao served under Hideyoshi’s younger brother, Hashiba Hidenaga who held land in Kii and Yamato provinces.  Meanwhile, Naganao’s landholdings were reduced to 3,500 koku.  Owing to the reduction in landholdings, his father entered the priesthood on Mount Kōya while Naganao inherited the family.

In 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, Naganao joined the Western Army so, after the war, he was removed from his position.  In 1615, at the Siege of Ōsaka, Naganao entered Ōsaka Castle on behalf of the Toyotomi forces, but was defeated.  Later, he served the Tokugawa clan.