Norihide Matsuda

Norihide Matsuda is the Hōjō clan's highest standing retainer, serving under three generations of Hōjō daimyos. Despite his long, successful service to the Hōjō, Norihide is best remembered for his attempt to flee to Hideyoshi Toyotomi's side during the siege of Odawara in 1590. His attempt failed and spent the rest of his life imprisoned until Hideyoshi forced him to commit seppuku for his act of disloyalty to his former lord.

Role in Games
Norihide first appears in Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends as the first line of defense of Odawara when Yoshimoto Imagawa invades. He fights against Motonobu Okabe on the first floor, with Yoshimoto rushing to his officer's aid. In Samurai Warriors 2, he appears in the siege of Odawara, the western side. Instead of fighting for the Hōjō, Norihide is a turncoat trapped inside the castle, under attack by Masataka Kasahara (both are hidden on the map until approached).

Samurai Warriors 3 has Norihide join in most of the Hōjō battles. During the Kantō Campaign, he will attempt to block Aya's progress into the castle town. At Mimase Pass, he is one of the officers attempting to delay Shingen Takeda and his assault upon Ujiyasu Hōjō's sons. In this version of Odawara, Norihide is back on the Hōjō side, where he guards access to the western gate. Norihide Matsuda also appears in Samurai Warriors 4, first at the Kantō defence, protecting the Lotus Pond gate. He also fights at Kannagawa, serving as part of the large second ambush the Hōjō laid in anticipation of the Sanada supporting the Oda forces. During the siege of Odawara, Norihide is among the officers attempting to protect the supply garrison in the northeast.

In the Nobunaga's Ambition series, Norihide Matsuda possesses mid 80s decent intelligence and political skills, ranging in the low 70s. However, his war and leadership stats are abysmal, hovering at just into 30 at best.

Historical Information
Matsuda Norihide was the eldest son of Matsuda Morihide. Norihide's clan had served the Hōjō since Hōjō Sōun first captured Odawara and numbered among the six Goyuishoke who rallied around Sōun's rise to Daimyo status. Norihide led the Matsuda clan during the time of Hōjō Ujiyasu, Hōjō Ujimasa, and Hōjō Ujinao. He acted as the leading member of the Sankaroke, the three clans (Matsuda, Daidoji and Toyama) who stood highest among the hereditary retainers of the Hōjō. Norihide himself was the Hōjō's most influential chief retainer,  controlling the largest fief of land under the Hōjō who was not a direct family member, which was valued at 2,798 koku.

Norihide participated in many of the Hōjō battles, including Kawagoe Castle, Mimase Pass, Konodai, and Kannagawa. However, his contributions to the campaigns tended to revolve around logistical and supervision of supplies for the Hōjō forces. Matsuda Norihide also served his lords in negotiations. He often handled the Chiba clan in alliance with the Hōjō and often led the negotiations with the Satomi clan, a long standing rival to the Hōjō.

By the time of Hideyoshi's siege of Odawara, Norihide's standing and negotiating skills were enough to persuade Ujimasa and Ujinao to adopt his plan of defense behind their walls instead of Hōjō Ujiteru and Hōjō Ujikuni's plan to attack the Toyotomi army as it arrived. However, it was not long after the siege began that Matsuda Norihide and his eldest son, Kasahara Masataka, were exposed by Mtasuda Naohide, Norihide's second son, for conspiring to surrender to the Toyotomi. Norihide had been in secret conferences with Hori Hidemasa and Maeda Toshiie to either save his own skin or negotiate a surrender that ensured the Hōjō would not be entirely destroyed. Regardless of his reasons, Ujinao arrested Norihide and executed Masataka.

It is believed that Norihide's arrest broke the Hōjō's will to continue resisting Hideyoshi, as they surrendered shortly afterwards. When Hideyoshi was sorting out who to punish among the Hōjō after their surrender, the Taiko accused Norihide of acting particularly shameful in his betrayal of his liege and forced him to commit seppuku. This harsh treatment of the man who's actions had inadvertently undermined the Hōjō's resistance led some to believe Norihide's own negotiations with Hidemasa and Toshiie had been in better faith, trying to save his lord.