He was awarded Tango Province by Oda Nobunaga, and his eldest son Hosokawa Tadaoki was one of the main generals of the Sengoku period and a close ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Hosokawa Okimoto was awarded a minor fief 10,000 koku in Shimotsuke Province (Motegi Domain).
The year 1660 under the rule of Hosokawa Okitaka was especially hard, with unusually heavy rains leading to flooding, crop failure, and pestilence, combined with a fire which burned down the domain’s Edo residence.
However, his efforts at radical reforms met with strong resistance, and he died in frustration after a short tenure of only three years.
The shogunate was forced to intervene, and ordered Kumamoto Domain to support Yatabe to prevent its bankruptcy.