Torii Suneemon

Torii Suneemon (鳥居 強右衛門, c. 1540 – May 16, 1575) was an ashigaru (low class footman) who served the Okudaira family, retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He was a retainer of Okudaira Sadamasa and member of the Nagashino garrison when the fortress came under siege by the forces of Takeda Katsuyori.

Torii, already renowned for his bravery and knowledge of the surroundings, volunteered for the extremely dangerous mission of sneaking through the siege lines to request aid from Tokugawa Ieyasu in Okazaki.

Torii was taken prisoner and directed to shout to his compatriots in the fortress that no help was on the way, and that they should surrender.

One Takeda retainer, Ochiai Michihisa, even used an image of a crucified Torii Suneemon on his flag from then on.