Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) was a distant cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and served as one of Hideyoshi's most trusted general. Kiyomasa had the reputation as a fierce warrior, dedicated to the arts of war, with little time for the pursuit of artistic pleasure, unlike Hideyoshi, his patron. Not for him the tea ceremony and the recitation of poetry, which he is believed to have forbidden in his presence.

However, Kiyomasa was a noted designer of castles and re-built both Kumamoto Castle and played a large part in the construction of Nagoya Castle for Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616).