Chris Perry, Author

Tag: Izumo Province

  • Memento Mori, Part 2

    Memento Mori, Part 2

    Last time we looked at Mori Motonari, the lord who took his clan from struggling to hold onto their domains to controlling one of the largest territories of any clan during the Sengoku Period. Motonari’s son, Takamoto, died early, and so it would fall to his grandson, Terumoto, to lead the clan after Motonari himself passed in 1571.

    Mori Terumoto

    Terumoto was born in 1553, at a time when his clan, the Mori, were already on the rise. Under the leadership of Motonari, the clan had recently purged the Inoue, who had presented a serious internal threat, obliging Motonari to get rid of them. Shortly before Terumoto was born, the Ouchi, nominal overlords of the Mori, were seriously weakened by an internal coup, allowing Motonari to expand his clan’s power base still further, and not long after that, the Mori would win the decisive Battle of Itsukushima, establishing themselves as the (relatively) unchallenged power in the region.

    Throughout his early life, Terumoto hardly saw his father or grandfather, as both men were frequently on campaign, and the young boy, as the future leader of the Mori, was kept safe, far from the fighting. Takamoto was, by this point, technically the leader of the Mori (though Motonari would remain in control), and when he died suddenly in 1563, Terumoto, just 11 years old, became the nominal head of the clan. Due to his youth, however, Motonari agreed to serve as ‘co-leader’, whilst (again) retaining all the actual power.

    In 1565, as a sign of how far the Mori had risen, Terumoto’s coming-of-age ceremony was attended by an official representative of the Shogunate, lending formal (if only symbolic) prestige to the young man. After this, Terumoto, who was now legally an adult, became the official head of the clan, and from then on, most legal documents carried his signature, though he would continue to defer to his grandfather in practice.

    Later that year, Terumoto would join his grandfather in Izumo Province, taking part in the campaign against the Amago, who had once been strong enough to demand fealty from the Mori, but were now on their last legs. This final campaign against the Amago would be concluded successfully in late 1566, with the surrender of their last stronghold at Gassan-Toda Castle, signalling the end of the war and the Amago Clan.

    The site of Gassan-Toda Castle as it appears today.
    安来市政策秘書課 – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74692475による

    Despite this victory, an uprising of former Amago retainers would occur in June 1569, followed by a similar uprising amongst former Ouchi warriors in October. These twin uprisings were either instigated or supported after the fact by the Otomo, whom the Mori had been fighting for control of Northern Kyushu with.

    Mori control of Izumo, Suo, and Nagato provinces was suddenly under serious threat. Withdrawing forces from Kyushu allowed them to quickly deal with the Amago rebellion, but the Ouchi proved a much sterner test, and required the Mori to dedicate even more resources to putting them down. Though victorious in early 1570, the consequences were that the Mori lost all their influence in Kyushu and had to continue a long, bloody campaign, trying to stamp out the embers of the Amago.

    Suo Province
    Izumo Province
    Nagato Province

    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1691776

    Around this time, wider events began to have an impact on the Mori as well, bringing them onto the main stage of events in and around Kyoto. Earlier, in 1565, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru was assassinated in what became called the Eiroku Incident, and his replacement, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, went looking for support from the clans further away from the capital.

    In 1568, the new Shogun dispatched a request for aid to several powerful leaders, including Uesugi Kenshin, Oda Nobunaga, and Mori Motonari. The Uesugi and Mori refused, but Nobunaga, based closer to the capital and possessing uncommon ability and ambition, responded positively and dispatched forces to Kyoto.

    Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last of the troubled Ashikaga Shoguns.

    Not long after that, the Oda and Mori began to cooperate against their common enemy, the Miyoshi (who also happened to be the clan behind the assassination of the previous Shogun, which was handy). Over the next few years, an alliance would be established, and Nobunaga would actually dispatch forces to help the Mori put down the Amago and Ouchi, but beyond that, there would be little direct cooperation.

    When Mori Motonari died in 1572, leaving Terumoto to lead the clan alone, relations with Nobunaga were already in decline. Previously, the Mori had sought to use the authority of the Shogun (by now under Nobunaga’s control) to advance their own goals, and for a time, Nobunaga was happy to acquiesce, but after 1572, it became clear that Nobunaga had plans of his own that didn’t necessarily involve the Mori.

    Though the Shogun had largely been under Nobunaga’s control since 1565, at first, it had been a subtle arrangement. Nobunaga was in charge, but Yoshiaki was permitted to still act like the Shogun, even if his commands and proclamations (such as they were) were increasingly screened and eventually written by Nobunaga.

    Oda Nobunaga.

    Yoshiaki didn’t passively accept this, however. His problem was that he had little military strength of his own (a problem for the Ashikaga Shoguns since the very start), and with Nobunaga’s pre-eminent military position, the Shogun needed help. He thought he might find it in the Mori, one of the few clans that had the strength to challenge Nobunaga directly.

    In 1573, at the recommendation of the Shogun, Terumoto was granted the title of Uma no Kami, which translates as “Master of Horse”. Though Imperial titles had long since become little more than baubles, they still carried prestige, and Yoshiaki almost certainly did it to butter the Mori up and bring them over to his side, against Nobunaga.

    Yoshiaki was desperate by this point. Earlier that year, Takeda Shingen, who had agreed to march on Kyoto at least nominally in support of the Shogun, had died suddenly, bringing an end to the prospect of Takeda support. In early Spring, Yoshiaki raised an army anyway, hoping to take advantage of Nobunaga being distracted elsewhere, but instead suffered a series of defeats, which culminated in the Battle of Makishima Castle in July, which saw Yoshiaki exiled from Kyoto.

    The monument at the ruins of Makishima Castle.
    Muscla3pin – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77200674による

    Shortly after this, Nobunaga, aware of his vulnerable position, wrote to Terumoto, assuring him that it was the actions of the Shogun that led to Oda troops formally occupying the capital, and that he would do everything he could to maintain peace in the realm. Given that there hadn’t been peace in the realm for more than a century at this point, it leads us to conclude Nobunaga was just being polite.

    Though Terumoto probably eyed Nobunaga’s expansionism warily, the alliance was, for now, convenient for both sides, as it largely secured the border between the two powerful clans and allowed them to carve up the territory of the smaller clans caught in the middle. Terumoto did continue to try to mediate a peace between Yoshiaki and Nobunaga, though neither side seems to have negotiated with much faith.

    Scholars speculate that both Terumoto and Nobunaga wanted to avoid a situation in which the Shogun would flee to Mori territory, Terumoto because had no interest in helping Yoshiaki, but couldn’t rely on some of his more tenuous vassals not making trouble, and Nobunaga for pretty much the same reason, the Mori were one of the few clans strong enough to oppose him, and if they backed the Shogun, Nobunaga might be in trouble.

    Though Nobunaga was allied with the Mori, he took other actions that would be considered unfriendly. On the Eastern borders of Mori territory (the West, as far as Nobunaga was concerned) lay the Urakami Clan, who dominated the three provinces of Bizen, Harima, and Mimasaka. The Mori and Urakami had engaged in a long war before the Urakami had agreed to submit to the Mori in exchange for recognition of this territory, terms to which the Mori agreed, effectively turning the Urakami into vassals.

    Bizen Province
    Harima Province
    Mimasaka Province

    However, Nobunaga issued a “Red Seal Letter” (an official, legally binding document named for its eponymous red seal), recognising the Urakami as lords of the three provinces. This was, in effect, simply making official something that was already a fact; however, when the Urakami accepted the letter, they effectively ceased to be Terumoto’s vassals, that is, if the Mori accepted the new situation.

    The Mori, not surprisingly, did not. In 1575, they attacked the Urakami, defeating them in a series of battles and essentially eliminating them as a power, taking direct control of the provinces. The Urakami had apparently expected Nobunaga to dispatch forces to aid them, but he had erred on the side of caution, deciding that the Urakami were an acceptable sacrifice for keeping the peace with the Mori, at least for now.

    An immediate consequence of this was that there were no more buffers between the Mori and Oda territories, which now shared a border. The relationship was already tense, and it only grew worse as both sides became involved in Tajima Province. Expecting that Nobunaga would seek to make the province part of his domain, Terumoto made an alliance with the province’s local power, the Yamana. You may remember that name from earlier posts, and well done if you did; the Yamana were still around at this point, though no longer the great clan they once were.

    A map showing the borders between the Mori (in Yellow) and the Oda (in Red) in 1575, with Tajima Province marked.
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39200929

    Then in 1576, the Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, having been forced to flee Kyoto by Nobunaga, found himself in Bingo Province, controlled by the Mori. Terumoto was not happy about this. Although he had ostensibly supported the restoration of the Shogunate, he understood that the only way that could happen was through war with Nobunaga, which he had no interest in. When the Shogun showed up on his doorstep and formally asked the Mori to support him in returning to Kyoto, then Terumoto was in a tricky spot.

    The Mori had promised Nobunaga that they would not harbour the exiled Shogun. On the other hand, Nobunaga had taken actions that were widely seen as trying to undermine Mori power, and although he had attacked them directly, the damage had been done.

    Terumoto, for his part, took a long time making up his mind. We’ll never know exactly what he was thinking, but it’s easy to imagine that Terumoto had plenty of reason to be wary of Nobunaga, who had already meddled in Mori affairs and would probably do so again if given the chance. The Mori were also one of the few clans with the power to actually face Nobunaga directly, something that Terumoto must have been aware of.

    Terumoto would declare for the Shogun in May 1576, effectively ending his alliance with Nobunaga and setting the Mori on a collision course with the Oda, but more on that next time.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E8%BC%9D%E5%85%83
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%8Dri_Terumoto
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%88%E5%B1%B1%E5%AF%8C%E7%94%B0%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A7%87%E5%B3%B6%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%B1%E5%8D%B0%E7%8A%B6
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashikaga_Yoshiaki

  • Memento Mori, Part 1.

    Memento Mori, Part 1.

    If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might be forgiven for thinking that Japanese history was mostly focused on the Kanto or Kansai regions (modern Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, respectively). Whilst the capital was in Kyoto, and some of the most powerful clans were based either there or in the Kanto, there were others, just as powerful and just as ambitious, who were based in other parts of Japan.

    One such clan was the Mori, who we have mentioned briefly previously but are deserving of a much closer look. The subject of this post is Mori Motonari, and though he would go on to establish himself and his clan as one of Japan’s strongest, when he was born in 1497, there was little to indicate that the Mori would be anything other than a regional footnote.

    Mori Motonari, our subject for today.

    In the early 15th century, the most powerful clan in the region was the Ouchi, who played a significant role in the turmoil surrounding Kyoto and the Ashikaga Shogunate in the late 1400s. The Mori were based in Aki Province, in modern-day Hiroshima Prefecture, and found themselves caught up in the conflict between the Ouchi and the Hosokawa, who by this point were in effective control of the Shogunate.

    In 1500, in a bid to avoid having to choose sides, Motonari’s father, Hiromoto, retired as head of the clan and was replaced by his son (Motonari’s older brother), Okimoto. Motonari would have a tough childhood, even by the standards of the day. His mother died in 1501, and his father in 1506, either from stress or alcohol poisoning (or a combination of the two).

    In 1507, Okimoto had chosen his side, as he accompanied the Ouchi to Kyoto, leaving 10-year-old Motonari back in Aki. The young lad then had his income embezzled by unscrupulous vassals, leaving him destitute. However, the embezzler died suddenly in 1511, and Motonari’s income was restored.

    Also in 1511, Okimoto returned from Kyoto and set about preserving the clan’s position in Aki Province. In 1513, Motonari would make a formal pledge of loyalty to his brother, supporting Okimoto’s rule, and (ideally) avoiding the kind of fratricidal violence that plagued so many of Japan’s other clans.

    Aki Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1645417

    In 1515, there was an outbreak of violence in Aki and neighbouring Bingo (yes, it was really called that) province. In response, the Ouchi dispatched a member of the Takeda Clan to restore order. (You may remember we spoke previously of several branches of the Takeda family, this one is sometimes called the Aki-Takeda, due to the location of their base.)

    The Aki-Takeda proved to be unreliable vassals, however, as they took advantage of the chaos to rebel against the Ouchi and take control of several castles for themselves. Okimoto, continuing his service to the Ouchi, would attack the Aki-Takeda and take one of their castles, forcing them to withdraw and giving birth to a local rivalry that would be important for Motonari and the Mori Clan.

    In 1516, Okimoto died suddenly, aged just 24, apparently also from alcohol poisoning. His son was just two years old, and so Motonari would become the guardian and acting head of the clan. A sudden change in leadership can leave a clan vulnerable, and the Aki-Takeda sought to take advantage, attacking several castles in Aki Province that protected the Mori heartlands.

    Mori Okimoto, Motonari’s brother. His sudden death paved the way for Motonari’s rise to power, though it would be said he deeply mourned his brother’s passing.

    Motonari was obliged to respond and proved his mettle several times in the war that followed. Between 1517 and 1522, Motonari would engage in a series of sieges and battles against the Aki-Takeda, which would see Mori gradually extend control across southern Aki province (in the area around modern Hiroshima), and even into neighbouring Bingo.

    Despite his personal successes, the overall situation remained chaotic, and in 1523, the Amago Clan, seeking to expand their influence, advanced into Aki Province. Motonari, who had fought for the Ouchi up to that point, switched sides and aided the Amago in their conquests of several castles in the region.

    This relationship would be relatively short-lived, however. In 1523, Okimoto’s son (Motonari’s nephew), who had been the nominal head of the clan, died, aged just 9. As was common, there was no clear successor, and although he had been the de facto head for years, Motonari was opposed by a faction that wanted his half-brother in charge instead.

    Initially, Motonari was able to secure enough political support to be named head of the clan, and he was even recognised as such by the Amago. Almost as soon as the ink was dry, though, the Watanabe Clan, who had supported Motonari’s half-brother, began agitating against him.

    The situation worsened when several other clans joined the conspiracy, apparently with the approval (or possibly even direct support) of the Amago Clan. Motonari’s position was still insecure, and he was forced to take action, launching a purge of those involved. Japanese politics at this time was usually an extremely bloody affair, and it wasn’t uncommon for entire families to be wiped out as punishment for rebellion.

    Though Motonari ordered the death of his half-brother and his key supporters, he stopped there. No harm was done to the wives and children of the conspirators, as Motonari himself seemed to believe the incident was not so much a rebellion as it was interference from the Amago. Indeed, it was even suggested at the time that Motonari deeply regretted the killings, blaming himself for not having been able to stop the conspiracy, and the Amago for having encouraged it.

    Quite why the Amago were so keen to conspire against Motonari isn’t clear, but they’d soon have cause to regret it. In 1525, as a response to Amago meddling, Motonari switched sides again, giving his support back to the Ouchi, who had largely stabilised their own situation by this point. Motonari would use this new alliance to expand his control of Aki Province even further, as many of the local clans remained loyal to the Amago and were now prime targets for Motonari’s revenge and political ambitions.

    Mori Motonari’s Battle Flag.

    Over the next few years, Motonari would use a combination of diplomacy, threat, and outright force to establish broad control of Aki Province. In 1532, 32 local vassals of the clan signed a document pledging to follow Motonari’s lead and establishing him as the final arbiter in legal matters within the province. Also that year, Motonari was (with the support of the Ouchi) granted an Imperial title. As we’ve discussed previously, these titles were largely just for show by this point, but they did serve to increase Motonari’s personal prestige.

    In 1540, the ongoing Amago-Ouchi war reached a new level of escalation, as the Amago marched into Aki Province with 30,000 men. Standing in their path was the Mori home castle at Yoshida-Koriyama, which quickly came under siege. Despite being outnumbered as much as 10 to 1, Motonari held out, and the Battle of Yoshida-Koriyama (which was actually a series of battles) eventually ended in the Mori’s favour, as the castled was relieved by Ouchi reinforcements, and the Amago were forced into a humilitating retreat, ending their attempts to conquer Aki, and leaving Mori control of the province in a much stronger position.

    In 1545, Motonari’s wife died, and shortly after that, he announced his retirement as head of the clan. In a letter to his son, he strongly implied that it was grief over the passing of his wife that led him to make the decision. In 1546 (or possibly 1547), Motonari formally retired in favour of his son, Takamoto. However, as was common, Motonari’s ‘retirement’ was just for show, and he retained almost complete control of the clan.

    As control over Aki and Bingo provinces was established, and Mori power increased, Motonari was now in a strong enough position to deal with his remaining internal enemies. In 1550, after gaining the tacit approval of the Ouchi (still the Mori’s nominal overlords), Motonari launched a violent purge of the Inoue Clan, one time vassals of the Mori, who had begun to operate independently, presenting a threat to Mori internal stability.

    Bingo Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1652300

    What followed was the massacre of up to 30 individuals, which left the other Mori vassals fearing for their lives. However, Motonari gathered 238 of them and had them sign a pledge of loyalty and obedience. All agreed, and the end of the Inoue Clan further cemented Motonari’s position.

    A year later, the Ouchi themselves fell victim to an internal coup, their leader was assassinated, and replaced by his son, though the real power would be with the new regent, Sue Harutaka (pronounced soo-eh, by the way). Motonari took advantage of the chaos to capture several castles that remained loyal to the old Ouchi Lord, and Harutaka agreed, recognising the Mori as lords of the Aki and Bingo provinces.

    This rapprochement didn’t last long (they never do), with Harutaka soon regretting the power he had given Motonari, and he demanded that he return control. Motonari, unsurprisingly, refused, and shortly after that, conflict broke out. The problem for the Mori was one of numbers; Harutaka was regent of the Ouchi Clan, the regional power, and could muster 30,000 men, to the Mori’s 5000.

    Fortunately for Motonari, the Ouchi were facing several rebellions in the aftermath of the coup, and their forces were divided. This gave the Mori their chance, and at the Battle of Oshikibata in 1554, the Mori, despite being outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, launched a surprise attack against the Ouchi and won.

    A later image of Motonari at the Battle of Itsukushima.

    A year later, Harutaka himself led a large army to put down the Mori, laying siege to Miyao Castle on Itsukushima (site of the famous ‘floating’ Torii gate), with 20,000 men. Unbeknownst to Harutaka, however, was that this was exactly what Motonari had hoped he’d do. The Mori had one of the most powerful navies in Japan at the time, and what followed was a combined sea and land operation, in which the outnumbered Mori launched another surprise attack, trapping the Ouchi and effectively wiping them out, with Harutaka himself amongst the dead.

    The Battle of Itsukushima was not the end of the Ouchi, but they were never again a serious force. Over the next two years, the Mori would expand into the former Ouchi heartlands of Suo and Nagato provinces, as well as advancing in Iwami Province, gaining control of the valuable silver mines there.

    In a sign of how far things had changed, the Amago, who had previously been able to exert control over the Mori, now found that they had to deal with them on equal terms, with the conflict over the Iwami Silver Mines ending in the Mori’s favour.

    Iwami Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1682513

    In 1563, with Mori control reaching new heights, Takamoto, Motonari’s son and heir, died, leaving his son, Terumoto, as the new ‘leader’ of the Mori. The reality, of course, was that Motonari had retained control, and Terumoto was a child besides, leading to a kind of ‘dual leadership’, which was supposed to last until Terumoto came of age, but of course lasted much longer.

    In 1566, Motonari, with Terumoto in tow, attacked the last Amago stronghold in Izumo province, forcing their surrender in November, and bringing a final end to the Amago, who had once been the region’s dominant power.

    The next year, Terumoto was 15, and officially came of age, with Motonari announcing he would end the ‘dual leadership’. Apparently, Terumoto begged him to reconsider, and so Motonari would stay on as co-leader, though his health was already declining, and by the end of the 1560s, it was becoming clear that Motonari’s time was nearly up.

    Mori Motonari would eventually pass away in June 1571, aged 75, possibly from cancer or old age. At his birth, the Mori had been a minor clan in a distant province, the proverbial leaf on the wind, buffeted to and fro depending on the whims of their powerful neighbours. As he lay dying 75 years later, Motonari ruled one of the largest territories of the era, and had established his clan as one of the truly great Sengoku Clans.

    It would fall to his grandson, Terumoto, to continue this legacy, and though he would often prove equal to the task, fate was not yet done with the Mori Clan.

    Mori Terumoto

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E5%85%83%E5%B0%B1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8E%B3%E5%B3%B6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8E%B3%E5%B3%B6%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%B2%E9%95%B7%E7%B5%8C%E7%95%A5
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8A%98%E6%95%B7%E7%95%91%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E7%94%B0%E9%83%A1%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E7%94%B0%E9%83%A1%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E6%A9%8B%E8%88%88%E5%85%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A6%99%E7%8E%96
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A3%AC%E7%94%9F%E7%94%BA_(%E5%BA%83%E5%B3%B6%E7%9C%8C)
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%8A%E5%85%83%E7%9B%9B
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Province
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E8%88%88%E5%85%83

  • The Power in the Provinces Part Two

    The Power in the Provinces Part Two

    Western Japan

    Western Japan was, much like the Kanto, away from the centre of power, but still close enough to be a perpetual source of trouble.

    The Ouchi

    The mon of the Ouchi Clan
    By Mukai – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7845833

    At the end of the 15th Century, the Ouchi Clan were one of the strongest in Japan. Based at Yamaguchi, in the furthest west of ‘The West’, they were in an enviable position. Their centre of power was far enough away from Kyoto that they were often spared the worst of the destruction, and the city of Yamaguchi, positioned as it was, near the coast, was a prime location for getting involved in the trade with China and Korea.

    These close links to mainland Asia go back into the mists of time. Unlike many other clans, the Ouchi did not claim descent from one of the ‘Imperial’ Clans (Fujiwara, Minamoto, or Taira). Instead, they claimed as their ancestor a Korean prince, Prince Imseong, although the long years involved make a definitive link impossible to prove.

    During the Nanbokucho Period, the Ouchi proved to be staunch supporters of the Northern Court and the Ashikaga Shoguns, earning them rich rewards, and by the time of the Onin War, they had extended their control into Northern Kyushu, officially on behalf of the Shogun, but effectively ruling their little empire independently.

    During the Onin War, the Ouchi sided with the Yamana Clan and the Western Army. In fact, after the decline of the Yamana during the war, it was the Ouchi who stepped forward and played the leading role in securing Western military victories in the West. When the war ended, the Ouchi regained control of their former territories in northern Kyushu, and would continue to be one of the leading powers at the dawn of the 16th Century.

    Their links to international trade continued during this period as well, in fact, during the mid-16th Century, they would prove to be one of the key clans in what became called “Nanban trade”, literally the “Southern Barbarian Trade”, the ‘Barbarians’ in this case, being the Portuguese, who arrived in Japan in the 1540s.

    Despite their wealth and power, the Ouchi would eventually become overstretched. Facing powerful clans in Kyushu and nearer to home, they would initially see success, crushing the Shoni Clan of Kyushu in 1536, and facing the Amago Clan of Izumo Province in 1541. An initial victory over the Amago was followed by a serious defeat in which the Ouchi clan’s heir was killed.

    Ouchi Yoshitaka, who oversaw the decline of his clan.

    After this, the head of clan, Yoshitaka, began neglecting affairs of government, and the Ouchi would enter a period of steep decline. In 1551, Yoshitaka was killed in a rebellion, and over the next five years, the Ouchi’s once expansive domains were chipped away, as rivals took advantage of the chaos, and even formerly loyal vassals (most notably the Mori Clan) went their own way, often violently.

    The Ouchi would enter terminal decline from this point. There was a brief attempt at a restoration in 1569, but it was crushed by the Mori, and the original Ouchi Clan ceased to exist. A supposed branch of the family, the Yamaguchi Clan, would survive as rulers of the Ushiku Domain, in modern Ibaraki Prefecture, but they appear to have died out in the male line in 1991.

    The Mori

    The mon of the Mori Clan.
    Kashiwamon – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91163213による

    Like the Hojo in the Kanto Region, the Mori were arguably the most successful clan based in Western Japan. Despite this, the origins of the clan are actually in Sagami Province, close to the modern city of Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture. From there, the clan would branch off (as they always seem to) into several different ‘Mori’ Clans, but the one we are focusing on here is the ‘Aki Mori’ Clan, which came to be based in Aki Province in what is today Hiroshima Prefecture.

    During the period of the Kamakura Shogunate, the Mori clan remained largely aloof, and when the Emperor Go-Daigo overthrew the Kamakura, the Mori did not get involved. This actually worked against them as Go-Daigo adopted a “With me or against me” approach, and the Mori temporarily saw their territories forfeit.

    This backfired pretty spectacularly when, just three years into the “Kenmu Restoration”, Emperor Go-Daigo himself was overthrown by the Ashikaga Family, leading to the establishment of the eponymous Shogunate, and the Mori (who had helped the Ashikaga) being restored to their lands.

    Much like every other major Samurai family, the Mori broke up into several branch families that would often end up fighting each other. Their situation in the mid-15th Century was further weakened by the presence of the powerful Ouchi and Amago Clans in the region.

    Through the late 15th Century, the Mori would find themselves caught between these two powers, but in the 16th Century, several savvy political marriages and a few adoptions improved their position considerably, and they would eventually rise to eclipse their former masters, the Ouchi, entirely.

    Mori Motonari, the man who would lead his clan to the height of their power.

    Throughout the Sengoku Period, the Mori would become the power in the West in the same way the Hojo were the power in the East. When Oda Nobunaga (him again!) drove the last Ashikaga Shogun out of Kyoto in 1576, he sought protection from the Mori, who would remain Nobunaga’s chief rivals in the West until his death (spoilers) in 1582.

    The Mori would make peace with Nobunaga’s successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and remain a major power, eventually establishing their base at Hiroshima. However, the final battles of the Sengoku period would see the Mori choose the losing side, and they were eventually reduced to just two provinces, which became known as the Choshu Domain.

    There they would remain, implacably opposed to the new government, but far enough away from the capital to be too much trouble to get rid of. During the Meiji Restoration in the 19th Century, it was Choshu, and the Mori clan, who would play a leading role in the modernisation of Japan, but that’s a story for another time.

    The Mori family continued through this period and into the modern era, with the current head being Mori Motohide, who works for Hitachi Steel Works, and became the family head in 2020.

    The Amago

    The mon of the Amago Clan

    The Amago were a branch of another clan, the Kyogoku, who were themselves descended from the Sasaki Clan, whose progenitor was a son of the Emperor Uda, who ruled in the late 9th century.

    Emperor Uda, who ruled from 887-897. The Amago claimed him as their illustrious ancestor.

    The Amago Clan themselves were a relative latecomer; their direct ancestor (the ‘first’ Lord Amago) was Takahisa, who took the name Amago for the area (near Kyoto) where he had his manor. In the early 15th Century, he was appointed as the deputy governor (shugo-dai) of Izumo Province (in modern Shimane Prefecture) on behalf of the Kyogoku Clan, who were obliged to reside in Kyoto.

    We’ve discussed in previous posts how the Shogun’s policy of demanding that Shugo reside in Kyoto led to the rise of independently minded deputies; well, the Amago are one of them. Although officially only deputies, the Amago would take advantage of the chaos of the Onin War to consolidate their power, and by the time the war ended, they were in effective control.

    When the Kyogoku line became extinct in 1514, with the death of the last lord, the Amago graduated from de facto to actual lords of Izumo, and it would be there that they based their power. The rise of the Amago was initially opposed by the Ouchi, and throughout the early 16th Century, they would engage in something of a hostile coexistence, neither side quite able to overcome the other, with the Ouchi focusing on the west, whilst the Amago had their eyes to the east.

    The Amago would eventually rise to be the masters of eight provinces in the region, but in the 1540s, the rise of the Mori clan would lead to the decline of the Ouchi and directly threaten the Amago. The conflict between these clans would drag on for nearly 40 years, but the Mori would eventually prevail, with the surviving members of the Amago family serving as retainers for the Mori throughout the Edo Period.

    The family itself would survive until 1940, when the last head of the clan passed away without an heir.

    The Akamatsu

    The mon of the Akamatsu Clan
    By お茶飲む人 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53365103

    Unlike many of the other clans we’ve been looking at, the Akamatsu Clan were a family that peaked early, and then never really recovered. The exact origins of the clan are disputed, with some sources suggesting they descended from the Minamoto Clan, whilst others refute this, leading to some confusion.

    What is not disputed is that the Akamatsu Clan originally supported the Emperor Go-Daigo during the short-lived Kenmu Restoration, earning Harima Province for their trouble, only for the province to be forfeited shortly afterwards during Go-Daigo’s controversial “Alienate everyone as quickly as possible” policy, which saw him overthrown by the Ashikaga Shogunate after just three years.

    The Akamatsu, thoroughly alienated as they were, sided with the Ashikaga and had Harima Province restored to them after their victory, and the clan would be steadfast loyalists of the new Shogunate, at least for a while. The Akamatsu remained faithful, but in 1429, a serious peasant revolt in their home province badly weakened them, and not long after that, the Shogun, Yoshinori, came to the throne and proved to be an effective, but extremely paranoid ruler.

    The exact reasons for the so-called Kakitsu Rebellion are unclear, but members of the Akamatsu Clan assassinated the Shogun in 1441, after which they raised an army only to be crushed by the Shogunate army shortly afterwards.

    Branches of the family would survive, and after conspicuous service during the Onin War, the Akamatsu were actually restored to control of Harima Province. For a while, things were looking up. By 1488, the head of the clan, Masanori, had established control of three provinces, and there was every indication that the Akamatsu would enter the 15th century as one of the major players.

    You’ve probably already guessed that that isn’t what happened, though, and you’d be right, good on you for paying attention. Masanori died suddenly in 1496, and his heir was just four years old, meaning that the clan fell into the hands of so-called ‘Elders’ who were supposed to rule until the little lord came of age.

    Akamatsu Masanori, who might have held things together for his clan, if he’d lived.

    This might have worked in more peaceful times, but in the early days of the Sengoku Jidai, it led to chaos. Before long, different factions of the clan were fighting each other, and the Akamatsu entered a period of steady decline. Even after the lord, Yoshimura, came of age, he couldn’t change the situation.

    It got so bad that Yoshimura was first forced to abdicate in 1521 and was then assassinated shortly afterwards. His son, Harumasa, was young and easier to control, which might be why the ‘elders’ favoured him as ruler.

    There was a brief resurgence in 1531, when Harumasa managed to establish his own rule, but years of infighting had effectively bled the Akamatsu dry, and in 1537, the neighbouring Amago Clan invaded and conquered the Akamatsu’s home province of Harima.

    The Akamatsu would return to Harima, but they were never able to establish control of the whole province ever again, and throughout the 16th century, their power was gradually eroded away, until 1568, when they made the somewhat short-sighted decision to resist Oda Nobunaga, who promptly crushed them and took Harima for himself.

    Branches of the family would survive in one form or another, but they never ruled large territories again. In the modern era, a descendant of the clan, Akamatsu Yoshinori, served in several high positions in the Imperial Navy, eventually being granted the title of Baron. His descendants are still going today, although there’s not a lot of information available online.

    Sources
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cuchi_clan
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%86%85%E6%B0%8F
    https://reichsarchiv.jp/%E5%AE%B6%E7%B3%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88/%E7%89%9B%E4%B9%85%E5%B1%B1%E5%8F%A3%E6%B0%8F
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%8Dri_clan
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E6%B0%8F
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E5%85%83%E6%95%AC
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E5%85%83%E6%A0%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%BC%E5%AD%90%E6%B0%8F
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akamatsu_clan
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B5%A4%E6%9D%BE%E6%B0%8F

  • Centralisation.

    Centralisation.

    By the 1380s, the Northern and Southern Court Period (Nanbokucho Jidai in Japanese) had been dragging on for nearly 50 years. This was a period of frequent conflict, and the instability had only served to weaken the power of the central government in Kyoto.

    In 1368, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became the third Ashikaga Shogun. As he was still a minor at the time, the government was initially in the hands of his Kanrei (Deputy) Hosokawa Yoriyuki, whom we talked about last time.

    Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third Ashikaga Shogun. This image is from after he became a monk in later life.

    In 1378, Yoshimitsu assumed power in his own right. He also moved the official Shogunate residence to the Hana-no-Gosho, or Flower Palace, in the Muromachi area of Kyoto. Because of this, the Ashikaga Shogunate is sometimes called the Muromachi Shogunate, though we’ll keep calling them Ashikaga for now, to avoid any more confusion.

    When Yoriyuki was forced to resign by his enemies during the Koryaku Coup, he was replaced by Shiba Yoshimasa, and the wider Shiba Clan saw their fortunes improve further still as Yoshimasa moved to fill several government positions with his family and retainers.

    If you imagine that the Koryaku Coup was a matter of the Shiba Clan replacing the Hosokawa, then you’d be wrong. In fact, after 1379 (the year of the coup), the power of the Shogunate increased considerably, with the centralisation of government put in place by Yoriyuki falling not into the hands of the Shiba, but the Shogun himself.

    Some historians have speculated that Yoshimitsu actually worked to engineer the conflict between the Hosokawa and Shiba Clans, playing both factions off each other in order to increase his own power. Whilst there are no clear records of any such plan, Yoshimitsu took advantage of the chaos to ensure that no one clan would be in a position to challenge him again.

    The Flower Palace in Kyoto. Yoshimitsu paid close attention to the image of the Shogunate.

    Imperial Politics

    During the 1380s, Yoshimitsu worked to tighten the bonds between the Shogunate and the Imperial Northern Court, whilst ensuring that one was clearly superior to the other.

    The exact relationship between the Imperial and Shogunate government at this time is a bit complicated, but officially, the Shogun served as the Supreme Military commander nominally at the Emperor’s service.

    In reality, of course, the Shogun was a military dictator, ruling the nation in all but name, but formally the Emperor ruled, while the Shogun merely served. To get around this legal technicality, Shoguns were often granted formal rank in the Imperial hierarchy and would often take up positions in the ‘Imperial’ government, further cementing their legitimacy.

    We won’t go into the exact nature of the Imperial hierarchy, but in short, there were nine ranks, with the top three being divided further divided into Senior and Junior levels, whilst ranks four to nine (also called ‘initial rank’) were further divided into four levels (Upper Senior, Lower Senior, Upper Junior, and Lower Junior) for a total of thirty ranks.

    By the 14th Century, Imperial Rank no longer granted very much in the way of actual political power, but it was a mark of prestige, and continues to be so today, although the ranks were reorganised during the 19th Century Meiji Restoration.

    Yoshimitsu was not the first, or last, Shogun to take on Imperial Rank and title, but he did so at a time when the formalities of the Imperial Throne were more important than they would eventually become. By 1382, he had been granted Junior First Rank and took the position of Minister of the Left, effectively Prime Minister.

    In his position as Minister of the Left, he began using the Imperial bureaucracy to issue orders and instructions, effectively turning Shogunate orders into Imperial ones, increasing their weight considerably, and obliging many troublesome lords to fall in line. It was one thing to oppose the Shogun, but another entirely to go against the Son of Heaven.

    Controlling the Imperial Government relied on harnessing the reflected prestige of the Emperor’s Divine heritage, but being Shogun was, and remained, a primarily military position. Whilst Imperial decrees brought a lot of minor lords into line, there were still several powerful clans in Japan who would not bow to anything other than force.

    Yoshimitsu the Warrior

    Fortunately for the Shogunate, Yoshimitsu proved himself adept at playing this role too. You may remember that the Koryaku Coup in 1379 had been led by three clans, the Shiba, Toki, and Yamana; however, it is the Toki and Yamana Clans who are important for this next bit.

    By the late 1380s, the Toki Clan ruled three provinces, whilst the Yamana (through various family members) controlled eleven. These power blocs were far too strong for the Shogun to take on directly; however, in 1388, the head of the Toki Clan died. Instead of allowing the heir, Yasuyuki, to inherit all three provinces (Mino, Ise, and Owari), the Shogun declared he’d only get two (Mino and Ise), whilst the third (Owari) would go to his brother, Mitsutada.

    Owari Province, in modern day Nagoya.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1691740

    It should come as little surprise that Yasuyuki and Mitsutada, despite being brothers, didn’t get along, and it wasn’t long before Mitsutada, who by all accounts was an ambitious sort, began plotting against his brother. Although the details are a bit murky, forces loyal to Yasuyuki attacked Mitsutada and forced him to flee to safety in Kyoto.

    This act of near fratricide was exactly what the Shogun wanted. Mitsutada had been appointed as Shugo (military governor) of Owari Province, and Yasuyuki had committed an act of rebellion in throwing him out.

    Shogun Yoshimitsu declared Yasuyuki a traitor and ordered loyal forces (led by other members of the Toki Clan, which just highlights how complex family relations were amongst Samurai) to bring him to justice. Yasuyuki was defeated by this coalition, and in the aftermath, the Toki Clan were deprived of Ise Province, whilst the family was split into two branches, one ruling Owari, the other Mino.

    Yasuyuki would survive this episode and would actually return to favour under the Shogunate less than a year later during the Meitoku Rebellion (which we’ll talk about in a minute). Yasuyuki would regain control of Ise Province in 1391, whilst his treacherous brother, Mitsutada, would be deprived of Owari in the same year, apparently due to cowardice and mismanagement.

    This whole episode shows that Shogun Yoshimitsu understood the nature of power politics in this period. Rather than destroy the Toki Clan outright, he weakened just enough to remove them as a threat to the Shogunate, but not so much that they could no longer govern what remained of their territories effectively.

    After dealing with the Toki, Yoshimitsu turned his attention to the Yamana. As we discussed earlier, at this point, the Yamana Clan controlled eleven provinces in Eastern Japan. However, it should be noted that, much like the Toki, the Yamana Clan were not a single, united family. Instead, there were four brothers who were apparently united in name only.

    Good Policy, or Good Fortune?

    Yoshimitsu took advantage of this and pitted the brothers against each other. Some historians claim this was a deliberate policy of the Shogun, whilst others counter that strife within the Yamana family was nothing new, and Yoshimitsu simply grasped an opportunity.

    Throughout 1391, Yoshimitsu had strengthened his position, defeating the Yamana Clan and dismissing his Shiba Kanrei, replacing him with Hosokawa Yoritomo, son of Hosokawa Yoriyuki, who had been overthrown during the Koryaku Coup back in 1379.

    This is often cited as evidence that Yoshimitsu was moving against all three clans. He had engineered the downfall of the Toki, removed Shiba members of his government, and gone out of his way to take advantage of the Yamana’s division, whilst attempting to provoke them into doing something rash.

    In November 1391, one of the Yamana brothers, Mitsuyuki, seized Yokota Manor in Kyoto. The exact circumstances aren’t clear. It is certain that Mitsuyuki took control of the Manor, but it’s not clear if his doing so was actually illegal. The Manor had been an Imperial property, but had come into the hands of the Yamana Family some years earlier; therefore, it’s possible that Mitsuyuki believed he was simply claiming a property that belonged to his family.

    The Shogun and Northern Imperial Court didn’t agree, however. They argued that the property was owned by the head of the Yamana Clan, not Mitsuyuki himself. It is possible that Mitsuyuki was genuinely mistaken, but he had violated the peace, and so the Shogunate confiscated his province (Izumo) as a result.

    Izumo Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1682749

    Now, if you’ve been paying any kind of attention so far (and I hope you have) then you’re probably aware that Samurai aren’t the type to take this sort of thing on the chin, and Mitsuyuki began agitating amongst his relatives, claiming that the Shogun was planning to do to the Yamana what he had done to the Toki, which, to be fair, was probably true.

    Having successfully raised an army, Mitsuyuki and the Yamana marched on Kyoto, where they were met by Shogunate forces led by Yoshimitsu himself. Outnumbered 2-1, the Yamana were defeated, their leaders were killed, captured, or put to flight, and the so-called ‘Meitoku Rebellion’ was brought to a swift conclusion.

    Mitsuyuki himself would escape, and there would be further uprisings of Yamana loyalists until his capture and execution in 1395, but for all intents and purposes, the Yamana were broken. In the direct aftermath of their rebellion, they were reduced from eleven provinces to just three, and although the Yamana Clan would survive, they could no longer challenge the Shogun.

    There would be a similar rebellion in 1399, when the next powerful clan, the Ouchi, would have to be dealt with, but their conflict with the Shogun ended much the same as the other two, with defeat, a reduction in land, but the overall survival of the clan.

    Ashikaga Yoshimitsu could arguably be considered the best of the Ashikaga Shoguns, but his most enduring legacy is not found on the battlefield, but in dynastic politics, which we’ll talk about next time.

    Sources

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashikaga_shogunate
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashikaga_Yoshimitsu
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B6%B3%E5%88%A9%E7%BE%A9%E6%BA%80
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%8E%E5%BE%B3%E3%81%AE%E4%B9%B1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%9F%E5%B2%90%E6%B0%8F
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%9F%E5%B2%90%E5%BA%B7%E8%A1%8C%E3%81%AE%E4%B9%B1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E3%81%AE%E5%BE%A1%E6%89%80
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanboku-ch%C5%8D_period