, born , also as Bekki Akitsura, Bekki Dōsetsu, and Totsugi Akitsura, was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period who served the Ōtomo clan. A member of the Bekki clan, he was the father of Tachibana Ginchiyo and the adopted father of Tachibana Muneshige."Tachibana-shi" on Harimaya.com
He was known as one of the wisest Ōtomo retainers and was remembered for his stance against Christianity in the Ōtomo's domain. Dōsetsu was accounted as one of the Sanshuku of the Ōtomo clan, together with Usuki Akisumi and Yoshihiro Akimasa.
Tachibana Dōsetsu's military career is mostly known for his being in 37 military campaigns and more than 100 engagements of smaller scale, despite half of his lower body being paralyzed, including the Battle of Tatarahama, and the brilliant defense of Kurume city.
As a subject of mythical legends and for his personal battle prowess, Dōsetsu earned nicknames such as Hachiman incarnation (弓矢八幡), Thunder god's incarnation (摩利支天の化身), God of war from Kyushu (九州の軍神), and Dōsetsu the ogre (鬼道雪).
Dōsetsu died from illness during a military campaign in Chikugo Province in 1585. His daughter Ginchiyo succeeded him as the Tachibana clan head not too long after.
Early life Born with the childhood name of Akitsura, in Yoroigatake Castle, Bungo Province, Dōsetsu hailed from the Bekki clan (also romanized the Totsugi clan). He fought his first battle leading 2,000 soldiers when he was 14 years old, replacing his sickly father who had retired from military service. In this campaign, Dōsetsu fought against the Ōuchi clan in , Buzen Province, where he emerged victorious despite being outnumbered by around 3,000 men.
On August 22, 1535, Dōsetsu lead an army to pacify a rebellion of the Kikuchi clan in Higo Province, where he suppressed the rebels after the battle of Kurumagaeshi, after which Dōsetsu organized 48 of his warriors to form a small elite squad nicknamed the Shiro-Taka or "White Hawks".『立花遺香』 P.20~21「立齋公御咄之覺」《旧柳河藩志》第五章・行政、第二節・柳河再城時代 P.192. * 岡茂政 著《柳川史話》第二卷人物篇第117山崎美成の「夜談録」に《立花家旧記》から「立齋公口述次第」（「立齋公御咄之覺」）
In 1546, Dōsetsu and other Ōtomo clan retainers were sent with 10,000 strong troops to suppress the first rebellion of the Akizuki clan.
In 1548, Dōsetsu was recorded to have been struck by a lightning bolt, which caused his left leg to be permanently paralyzed.
In 1550, Dōsetsu was involved in the Ōtomo clan's civil war of succession between Ōtomo Sōrin and Ōtomo Shioichimaru. At the end of this conflict, Shioichimaru was killed, while Dōsetsu was sent with an army to attack Irita Chikazane, a Shioichimaru loyalist. Dōsetsu managed to defeat Chikazane's army and forced him flee from Ōtomo territory.窪田頌「戦国期大友当主起請文考」元木泰雄 編『日本中世の政治と制度』（吉川弘文館、2020年） ISBN 978-4-642-02966-7 P396.
Military service 1553–1562 In 1553, at the age of 41, Dōsetsu retired as head of the Bekki clan, then adopted Bekki Shigetsura, his half nephew, as his foster son. Dōsetsu also immediately appointed Shigetsura as the next head of the Bekki clan.
In 1554, Dōsetsu was dispatched to suppress several rebellions that broke out in Bungo and Higo provinces, which were incited by Obara Akimoto, Honjo Shinzaemon, and Nakamura Shinbei.『旧柳川藩志』第十八章 人物 第十四節 柳川人物小伝（四）高野大膳 P.900頁
On 19 May 1556, Dōsetsu's forces suppressed the rebellion of Obara Akimoto. Following that, Dōsetsu sent letters commending his vassals for their outstanding performances during this operation, such as Korenobu Yufu, Takano Daizen, Adachi Sakyō, and Ando Iesada.
In 1557, the Akizuki clan, which was led by Akizuki Kiyotane, again rebelled, with the assistance of a daimyo named Mōri Motonari. In response, Ōtomo Sōrin dispatched Dōsetsu and Usuki Akisumi with 2,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion. Dōsetsu besieged , the stronghold of the Akizuki clan. In the end, Kiyotane and his son committed seppuku inside their castle.
In 1558, Dōsetsu fought a Mōri clan general named Kobayakawa Takakage in the first siege of Moji castle. In this engagement, Dōsetsu had his 800 archers shower Kobayakawa's army with their arrows.
In 1560, Dōsetsu, Usuki Akisumi, and Yoshihiro Akimasa fought against Munakata Ujisada, the head of the Munakata clan. For his achievements in pacifying the Ōtomo-clan enemies, Dōsetsu was appointed by Sōrin as Kabanshu (personal assistant) and Shugodai (governor) of Chikugo province.
Siege of Moji In 1561, during the siege of Moji Castle which was controlled by the Mōri clan, Portuguese merchants assisted Dōsetsu with three ships weighted between 500 and 600 tons. The bombardment from the ships against the castle helped the Ōtomo troops under Dōsetsu's command to maintain the siege. On October 10, however, the castle defenders managed to break the siege after the Portuguese had expended all their ammunition and had withdrawn. The Ōtomo forces failed to take the castle.
In 1562, Dōsetsu began the final phase of this siege. On July 13, Dōsetsu and his subordinate Korenobu Yufu defeated the Mōri clan army in the battle of Yanagigaura in Buzen Province. On October 13, Dōsetsu stormed Moji Castle and managed to subdue the castle, which was defended by Reizei Mototoyo, a former Ouchi clan vassal who was 25 years old. On November 26, there was an all-day battle near Moji Castle, leaving hundreds dead and injured with an unclear result.
Military service 1563–1570 In 1563, on New Year's Day of the 6th year of Eiroku, a large army led by Mōri Takamoto and Kobayakawa Takakage arrived to relieve Moji Castle from Dōsetsu's besieging army. Dōsetsu and Mōri Takamoto fought until an envoy from Kyoto arrived with a message from the Ashikaga shogunate commanding both Dōsetsu and Takamoto to cease their fighting. Later the same year, Dōsetsu changed his name from Akitsura into Dōsetsu.『豊津町史』第四編 中世(鎌倉・室町・安土桃山時代) 第四章 戦国時代の豊前国 二 大友氏と毛利氏の衝突 松山城の攻防(『浦文書』・『萩藩閥閲録』) 戸次鑑連剃髪之事
On 25 July 1564, the Shogun's envoy secured a temporary truce between the Mōri and the Ōtomo clans. However, this truce did not last long, as on 25 March, in The Fourth Battle of Yanagigaura, Dōsetsu once again fought the Mōri clan army, which was led by Koremaki Yufu.
In 1565, the head of Tachibana clan, Tachibana Munekatsu, rebelled against the Ōtomo clan. Dōsetsu was sent to suppress this rebellion. In the end, the forces of Dōsetsu managed to capture Tachibanayama Castle, which belonged to the rebels. However, Ōtomo Sorin, the head of Ōtomo clan, decided to pardon Tachibana Munekatsu due to his family relationship.
Battle of Yasumimatsu
In 1567, Akizuki Tanezane, a surviving son of Akizuki Kiyotane and the new head of the Akizuki clan, managed to recapture the castle of Mount Kosho from the Ōtomo clan and made clear his intention to oppose them. On August 14, in response, Sorin sent Dōsetsu, Usuki Akisumi, and Yoshihiro Akimasa with 20,000 soldiers to punish Tanezane. The Ōtomo army first engaged the Akizuki clan army in the Battle of Amamizu and Haseyama (also known as the Battle of Uryuno) on August 14–15, and captured Ojo, a branch castle of Yasumimatsu Castle, causing the commander of the castle, Moromasa Sakata, to commit suicide. Dōsetsu then stationed his army around Yasumomatsu Castle in preparation of capturing Mount Kosho Castle. However, the castle was well defended and the siege dragged on. Subsequently, rumors circulated among the Ōtomo forces that a huge Mōri clan army in Chugoku was moving to invade Ojo, which prompted the Ōtomo forces to withdraw from the siege of Mount Kosho and abandoned Yasumimatsu Castle on September 3. As Tanezane learned of this development, he decided to sally out and give chase to the withdrawing Ōtomo army by dividing his 12,000 troops into four groups under the command of Kankage Intosho, Sanehisa Uchida Zenbei with over 3,000 cavalry, and Ayabe Suruga no Kami with over 5,000 cavalry. Dōsetsu had already anticipated this movement and fielded a rearguard of 3,000 soldiers with the assistance of his lieutenants, Bekki Shigetsura, Ono Shizuyuki, and Korenobu Yufu, with each of them leading 500 to 600 cavalry. During this attack, the forces of Tanezane managed to inflict many casualties on Dōsetsu's force as they killed one of Dōsetsu's most trusted generals, Koretada Totoki. However, the rearguard of the Dōsetsu force managed to reverse the situation and inflict heavy losses upon the Tanezane troops, forcing them to retreat. Later, at night, Tanezane once again launched an assault with 4,000 soldiers in a night raid. The unexpected night attack by the Akizuki forces threw the Ōtomo army into chaos, as they suffered over 400 casualties. As the battle progressed, Dōsetsu managed to calm his troops and organize an orderly retreat. However, the Tanezane forces pursued the fleeing Dōsetsu's forces further until they reached Chikugo Yamakuma Castle, causing the Ōtomo army to suffer even more casualties. Many of Dōsetsu's clansmen were killed in this battle, such as Bekki Akitaka, Bekki Chikashige, and Bekki Chikamune. Later in August, Dōsetsu marched to Mount Hōman Castle to battle the Akizuki clan. However, he faced stubborn resistance from the Akizuki forces as they clashed twice at Amamizu and Haseyama, before they finally could overcome the Akizuki army through a daring personal charge led by Dōsetsu. On November 15, Ōtomo Sorin sent Dōsetsu to further combat the Akizuki clan, when Dōsetsu managed to capture the enemy castle on Mount Hōman. Dōsetsu was recorded as being armed with a long sword in this battle. Later that year, Dōsetsu captured Yamakuma Castle from Tanezane.
Further military campaigns In 1568, Mōri Motonari dispatch his army, commanded by Shimizu Munenori, to besiege Mount Tachibana Castle. However, Dōsetsu's forces managed to defend the castle. In this battle, four of Dōsetsu vassals, Tsuresada Totoki, Takano Daizen, Korenobu Yufu, and Ando Iesada, gained fame in the battle, and later received the nicknames of Dōsetsu-Shitennō(Four heavenly kings of Dōsetsu). The Mōri invasion also involved Tachibana Munekatsu, the head of the Tachibana clan, who betrayed the Ōtomo clan for the second time. Later that year, Dōsetsu Dōsetsu, Yoshihiro Akimasa, and Shiga Chikamori were dispatched by Sorin to lead 30,000 soldiers to besiege Tachibanayama Castle, which was defended by Tachibana Munekatsu. on July 4, they stormed the branch castle of Tachibana, on the cliff of Tachibana Mountain, and took 28 soldiers of Munekatsu captive. Later that night, one of Munekatsu's vassal defected into Dōsetsu's ranks, and assisted the Ōtomo army in subduing the castle. On July 23, after the fall of various parts of Mount Tachibana's fortifications, Munekatsu fled to his last remaining castle, while Ōtomo forces pursued him, until Munekatsu committed suicide inside the castle. On the same day, Dōsetsu and Takahashi Shigetane continued their operation against the Mōri clan's reinforcement that had been sent to reinforce Munekatsu. The standoff of Dōsetsu and Takahashi Shigetane against the Mōri continued until the next night, when Dōsetsu led a night raid against the Mōri army's supply base and forced the Mōri forces to retreat. On July 29, Dōsetsu and other Ōtomo generals commenced clean-up operation against the remaining resistances in the Mount Tachibana area, until 5,000 Mōri clan soldiers headed by Shimizu Munenori and Harada Takatane arrived to Tachibana Mountain on August 2. To resist this newly arrived enemy, Dōsetsu, Usuki Akisumi, and Yoshihiro Akimasa engaged the Mōri clan forces at the foot of Mount Tachibana. The result of this battle ended with an Ōtomo victory with the Mōri clan army routed and more than 300 Mōri being captured. Following the end of the Munekatsu rebellion and the failure of Mōri clan assistance, the office of the Tachibana clan was postponed from being inherited by Munekatsu's legitimate heir.
On November 25, Dōsetsu entered Chikugo Akashi Castle and married Hitoshihime, the daughter of Monchūsho Akitoyo, an Otomo vassal.