Oda Nobukatsu
During the late Heian period and Muromachi period, the area of modern Kuwana was known as and was a major seaport on the east coast of Japan, controlled by a guild of merchants. The poet Socho described it in 1515 as a major city with over a thousand houses, temples and inns. During the Sengoku period, the area came under the control of Oda Nobunaga, who assigned it to his retainer, Takigawa Kazumasu. After Nobunaga’s death, the area came under the control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who initially installed Nobunaga’s younger son Oda Nobukatsu as ruler as all of Ise Province. However, following the Battle of Odawara, Hideyoshi demoted Oda Nobukatsu, divided Ise Province into several domains, and assigned Hitotsuyanagi Naomori as ruler of Kuwana. In 1595, the area was reassigned to Ujiie Yukihiro as a 22,000 "koku" domain. Ujiie Yukihiro sided with the pro-Toyotomi armies in the Battle of Sekigahara and was dispossessed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.