Mototada Torii

Mototada Torii is a Tokugawa general who devoted his life serving Ieyasu. His last stand at Fushimi Castle gave the Eastern Army enough time to regroup and seize victory at Sekigahara.

The Nobunaga no Yabou 201X poll for 3-star officers puts him in fifty-first place.

Role in Games
Mototada appears in the Samurai Warriors games as a minor general of the Tokugawa forces in various campaigns such as Anegawa, Komaki-Nagakute, and Ueda Castle. In Samurai Warriors 3, his forces are stationed at Fushimi Castle. He refuses Yoshihiro's request to join the Eastern Army, deeming his clan untrustworthy. Before his death, Mototada sets the castle on fire, and Ieyasu remembers his sacrifice.

In the Warriors Orochi series, Mototada sometimes serves as Hanzō's replacement officer when players assume the latter's role.

Historical Information
Born to Torii Tadayoshi in Okazaki, Mototada was sent to the Imagawa as a hostage together with Matsudaira Takechiyo. Since childhood, he served as a page for Takechiyo and even followed him when the latter changed his name to Ieyasu. As a general, he participated in many of his lord's battles such as Nagashino where he was said to have helped build the battle's famous palisades to counter the Takeda's horses. He succeeded his father as leader of the Torii family in 1572. His wife and concubine were the daughters of Matsudaira Iehiro and Baba Nobuharu respectively. The following year, he fought at Mikatagahara and Suwa Castle, sustaining leg injuries that crippled his ability to walk.

In spite of his wounds, he would go on to lead a squad of 2,000 cavalrymen against the Hōjō's 10,000 men. After the fall of Odawara Castle in 1590, he was given a fief worth 40,000 koku in Shimōsa Province. Furthermore, he also became the guardian of Fushimi Castle sometime during the start of the Sekigahara campaign. On August 27, the much larger Western Army attacked Fushimi Castle to encroach the capital. With only 2,000 soldiers by his side, Mototada fought valiantly for 10 to 11 days and took down 5,000 of the enemy's 40,000 troops. He then committed suicide with his last 10 vassals to avoid capture. Before his death, he wrote a farewell letter to his son and lord, encouraging them to live honorably and remember him as an exemplar to their comrades. Ieyasu mourned for the loss of his friend.

Mototada's sacrifice had a profound impact on the Battle of Sekigahara; it gave the Tokugawa enough time to build up their forces and retaliate Mitsunari's main troops with an army of 90,000 men, resulting in the Western Army's defeat. His grave can be seen at Chionji Temple.