Katsuie was born in the village of Kamiyashiro, a branch of the Shiba clan. Note the differences between Shibata, Shiba, and the Shibata clan of Echigo.
Military life
Katsuie was the retainer of Oda Nobukatsu. When control of the Oda clan was contested, Katsuie initially supported his lord, Nobukatsu, against his elder brother Oda Nobunaga. In 1556, Katsuie launched a coup d'état against Nobunaga. He was defeated at the Battle of Inō, and in the aftermath Nobunaga had his brother executed, but impressed with the retainer's loyalty and bravery, spared the life of Katsuie. Katsuie pledged his services to Nobunaga, earning his praises. In 1560 he fought against Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama. In 1567 he participated in the Siege of Inabayama, in the first division of Oda Nobunaga's forces. In 1570, while a joint Oda–Tokugawa coalition fought the Battle of Anegawa against the Asakura and Azai clans, Katsuie was at his castle, under siege by 4,000 soldiers of the Rokkaku clan. Katsuie eventually won via an all-out attack, forcing the Rokkaku to retreat. This action, along with a series of brilliant victories, gained him renown as the "Oni Shibata", or "Demon Shibata". In 1571 he fought in the Siege of Nagashima and was severely wounded. In 1575 he fought in the Battle of Nagashino against Takeda Katsuyori. After gaining control of Echizen, he took command of Kitanosho Castle and was ordered to conquer the Hokuriku region. In 1577 Nobunaga sent an army led by Shibata Katsuie and some of his most experienced generals to reinforce Shigetsura from Noto province against Uesugi Kenshin at Battle of Tedorigawa. In 1580, he led an army, which included his general Sakuma Morimasa in a fight against the KagaIkko-ikki at Kanazawa Gobo. After controlling Noto, he began a campaign against Etchū Province in 1581. In 1582, he and Sassa Narimasa successfully laid Siege to Uozu and Matsukura Castle.
Death
In 1582, Nobunaga was betrayed at Honnō-ji by Akechi Mitsuhide. In a meeting in Kiyosu to determine the successor to Nobunaga, Katsuie initially supported the choice of Samboshi. He then supported Oda Nobutaka, the third son, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual, and allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu against Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Katsuie sent his nephew Sakuma Morimasa to besiege Nakagawa Kiyohide at Shizugatake. Sakuma ignored Shibata's orders to withdraw to Ōiwa, and attacked Toyotomi Hideyoshi's returning forces. They retreated back into Echizen all the way to Kitanoshō castle, which was taken 3 days later. Katsuie committed seppuku, after killing his wife, Oichi and other members of his household, and set fire to the castle. He implored Oichi to take their daughters and leave, but she decided to follow his death, while letting her daughters escape. His death poem was:
Shibata Katsuie is a playable character in Koei Tecmo's and all subsequent Samurai Warriors, the Warriors Orochi games, and Sengoku Basara 4. He appears in Nioh 2 and Fate/Grand Order as a side character.
