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The 1555 was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of
Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a ...
; the entire island is considered to be a Shinto shrine, and no birth or death is allowed on the island. Extensive purification rituals took place after the battle, to cleanse the shrine and the island of the pollution of death. The Battle of Miyajima was the turning point in a campaign for control of the
Ōuchi clan was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 12th to 14th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi, comprised six provinces at their height, and ...
and of
Aki Province or Geishū () was a province in the Chūgoku Region of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture. History When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province (one for male Buddhist p ...
, a strategically important province for establishing control of western
Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...
. It was an important step for the
Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's pow ...
in taking the foremost position in western Japan, and cemented the reputation of Mōri Motonari as a cunning
strategist A strategist is a person with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of a strategy. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy ...
.


Background

In 1551, Sue Harukata revolted against his lord
Ōuchi Yoshitaka was the ''daimyō'' of Suō Province and the head of the Ōuchi clan, succeeding Ōuchi Yoshioki. In 1522, he fought the Amago clan along with his father, Yoshioki, to win the control of Aki Province. Upon Yoshioki's death in 1528, Yoshita ...
in the
Tainei-ji incident The was a coup in September 1551 by Sue Takafusa (later known as Sue Harukata) against Ōuchi Yoshitaka, hegemon ''daimyō'' of western Japan, which ended in the latter's forced suicide in Tainei-ji, a temple in Nagato Province. The coup put an ...
, forcing him to commit seppuku. Sue installed the next lord of the clan, Ōuchi Yoshinaga (younger brother of
Ōtomo Sōrin , also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原 義鎮) and Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友 義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Roman Catholicism (Christianity). The eldest son of , he ...
), but effectively led the
Ōuchi family Ouchi or Ōuchi may refer to: Geography * Ouchi, Hubei (), a town in Gong'an County, Jingzhou, Hubei, China Japan * Ōuchi, Akita, a town now merged into Yurihonjō, Akita * Ouchi, Saga, a town now merged into Karatsu-city, Saga * Ōuchi-juku, a ...
and its armies, intent on military expansion. In 1554, Mōri Motonari, as a vassal of the Ōuchi clan, wanted to avenge the betrayed Yoshitaka, and so he rebelled against Sue, whose territorial ambitions were depleting clan resources. The heavily outnumbered force under Mōri attacked and defeated Sue at the
Battle of Oshikibata The was a preliminary round of the battle of Miyajima which was to follow. Mōri Motonari sought to avenge Sue Harukata's coup against their lord, Ōuchi Yoshitaka, and succeeded. Following the battle of Miyajima, the Mōri clan The Mōri ...
. Mōri then departed from the mainland to build a fort, known as
Miyao Castle was a fortification built on the island of Itsukushima (also known as Miyajima) during the Sengoku Period in Japan. Although referred to as a Japanese castle, it did not have a donjon (''tenshu'') or serve as the residence of a land-holding nobl ...
, on Miyajima while proclaiming publicly his woe that it would not hold out long against an attack.


Battle

Miyao Castle was built on a hill near Itsukushima Shrine and facing the mainland, making it a visible and tempting target. Sue commandeered a fleet of merchant vessels and prepared the troops of the Ōuchi clan to cross the channel. In the early hours of 15 October, Sue attacked
Miyao Castle was a fortification built on the island of Itsukushima (also known as Miyajima) during the Sengoku Period in Japan. Although referred to as a Japanese castle, it did not have a donjon (''tenshu'') or serve as the residence of a land-holding nobl ...
in an amphibious
frontal assault The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, full-force attack on the front line of an enemy force, rather than to the flanks or rear of the enemy. It allows for a quick and decisive victory, but at the cost of subjecting the attackers to ...
. Meanwhile, Mōri took advantage of his absence to seize Sakurao Castle, Sue's castle on the mainland. With an embarkation point secured, Mōri Motonari continued with his elaborate plan. He had enlisted the aid of the Noshima Murakami, a gang of local pirates led by Murakami Takeyoshi, who agreed to transport the Mōri troops to Miyajima. The fleet carrying the Mōri forces set out in a driving thunderstorm. Their approach thus obscured, Motonari and two of his sons,
Kikkawa Motoharu was the second son of Mōri Motonari, and featured prominently in all the wars of the Mōri clan. He became an active commander of the Mōri army and he with his brother Kobayakawa Takakage became known as the “Mōri Ryōkawa", or “Mōri's ...
and Mōri Takamoto, landed on the east side of the island, to the rear of the Sue force. Meanwhile, Motonari's third son,
Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Kob ...
, sailed straight toward Miyao Castle in a
feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...
, then retreated so he could be in a position to return the following day, his attack synchronized with the overland assault. At dawn, Takakage and his 1,500 troops landed before the small fortress, and the sound of shell trumpets signaled that all units were in position and the attack commenced. As Takakage's force rushed the front gate of Miyao Castle, Mōri and his troops hit the Ōuchi position from behind. Caught completely by surprise, many of the Ōuchi troops scattered in disarray. Hundreds tried to swim to the mainland and drowned in the attempt. Many more saw that defeat was inevitable and committed '' seppuku''. By 18 October 1555, resistance had ended at a cost of about 4,700 dead among the Ōuchi army. Sue Harukata escaped from the confines of Miyao Castle, but when he saw that escape from the island was not possible, he also committed suicide by ''seppuku''. The Ōuchi clan's senior vassal Hironaka Takakane fought, together with his son, to the end, and he was also killed.


Aftermath

The Sue forces at Miyajima are estimated to have been about 20,000 to 30,000 men, and though estimates of the combined forces under Mōri Motonari range widely from 4,000 to 10,000 troops, it is clear that Mōri was heavily outnumbered. This victory brought the Mōri clan into a preeminent position in western Japan, and established their reputation for strategy and naval tactics. Immediately after the battle, Mōri Motonari ordered that the bodies of the fallen troops be removed to the mainland, and then ordered that the entire battlefield be cleansed of the blood that was spilled, to the point that buildings were scrubbed, and blood-soaked soil was removed from the island. The Mōri clan later funded several construction or renovation projects on the island. The remains of Sue Harukata were transported back to the mainland and positively identified at Sakurao Castle before being accorded a funeral and burial in the
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
of a nearby Buddhist temple in present-day Hatsukaichi city, Hiroshima Prefecture.


See also

*
Ōtomo clan was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took ...


References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1555 in Japan
Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a ...
Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a ...
Mōri clan Ōuchi clan