Hosokawa Shigekata (細川 重賢, January 23, 1721 – November 27, 1785) was a Japanese samurai daimyō of the Edo period.

Shigekata himself had kept a card of a pawn shop in order not to forget his young hard days, for one reason because he was one of 21 children born to Hosokawa Nobunori.

In 1752, he appointed Hori Katuna the great Bugyō, often translated as "commissioner", "magistrate" or "governor", was a title assigned to government officers in pre-modern Japan.

Then, Hori was successful in borrowing a huge sum of money from Kajimaya in return for 100,000 koku of rice.

This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land.

Another idea was to rehabilitate those who were against the rules, and Shigekata started completely new criminal laws of the han.

This school is known for producing many noted scholars in later years such as Yokoi Shōnan, Inoue Kowashi and Kitasato Shibasaburō.

An interesting animal, possibly drawn by a professional (though he himself drew pictures), was made of the Honshū wolf, which is now extinct.

There were 16 albums of minute pictures of animals and dry plants in the Eisei Bunko, the collection of treasures of the Hosokawa Family.