There is a famous story about Sakon KOSUGI from the Takeda clan praising Tadakatsu with a rakusho (anonymous letter) of kyoka (comic and satirical poem) where he said 'Ieyasu has two things too good for him: Kara no kashira (the Chinese heads) and Heihachi HONDA' ('Kara no kashira' refers to helmets with tail hair of Yak which Ieyasu gathered for enjoyment.)
武田氏方の小杉左近から「家康に過ぎたるものは二つあり、唐のかしらに本多平八」との狂歌の落書をもって賞賛されたことが有名である（「唐のかしら」は家康が趣味で集めていたヤクの尾毛を飾りに使った兜を指す）。