Ii_Naotaka
Ii Naotaka (井伊 直孝, March 16, 1590 – August 16, 1659) was a Japanese daimyō of the early Edo period who served under the Tokugawa shogunate. He was the son of the famous Tokugawa general Ii Naomasa. His childhood name was Bennosuke (弁之介).
Naotaka served in the Siege of Osaka in his brother Naokatsu's stead, where he would gain tremendous favor for his exploits at Tennōji. After the battle, he would be granted his brother's lands at Sawayama in Ōmi Province. He would finish the construction of Hikone castle in 1622, a project which had been started by his brother in 1603.
Both Naotaka and his father Naomasa are playable characters from the Eastern Army in the original Kessen.
Hikonyan, mascot of Hikone Castle, is based on a folktale about how Naotaka was saved from a lightning strike by a maneki-neko.[1][2][3]
