![Bessyo nagaharu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Bessyo_nagaharu.jpg)
was a Japanese ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
'' of the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
. He was the eldest son of
Bessho Yasuharu.
In 1578
Oda Nobunaga called on his retainers to attack 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 ...
. Nagaharu almost decided to allied with the Oda clan, but after hearing that the low-born general
Hashiba Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Co ...
whom he did not respect as the leader, he was revolted, instead allying himself with
Hatano Hideharu
Hatano Hideharu (波多野 秀治 ''Hatano Hideharu'', 1541 – June 25, 1579) was the eldest son of Hatano Harumichi and the head of Hatano clan.
He was a son of Harumichi, but for an unknown reason, he was adopted as a son by Hatano Moto ...
of
Tanba province
was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō sys ...
.
Nagaharu took a stand in
Miki Castle
was a Japanese castle in Miki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was built by Bessho Nagaharu in the Sengoku period. Today some ruins and a partial reconstruction remain at the castle site, and its ruins have been protected as a National Historic ...
, this led to Nagaharu being besieged by Hideyoshi's troops on the orders of Nobunaga, starting the
Siege of Miki.
The siege did not go well for Hideyoshi, and with a revolt by
Araki Murashige
was a retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, head of the powerful "Setssu-Ikeda clan" of Settsu Province. Under Katsumasa, Murashige sided with Oda Nobunaga following Nobunaga's successful campaign to establish power in Kyoto.
Military life
Murashige be ...
and the help of the Mōri clan Nagaharu successfully repelled the Oda force.
But in 1579, Hideyoshi returned and this time instead of launching a direct assault, he launched multiple sieges against smaller castles like
Kamiyoshi Castle and
Sigata Castle to cut off the support from Mōri. This led to a rapid depletion of food, and in 1580, with no hope of another reinforcement from Mōri clan, Nagaharu committed
seppuku in exchange for the lives of the troops in Miki Castle.
Related Pages
*
Miki Castle
was a Japanese castle in Miki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was built by Bessho Nagaharu in the Sengoku period. Today some ruins and a partial reconstruction remain at the castle site, and its ruins have been protected as a National Historic ...
References
*
Japanese Wiki article on Bessho (20 Sept. 2007)
Further reading
*Matsubayashi Yasuaki 松林靖明 (1996). ''Bessho ki: kenkyū to shiryō'' 别所記: 研究と資料. Osaka: Izumi Shoin 和泉書院.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessho, Nagaharu
1558 births
1580 deaths
16th-century Japanese people
Daimyo
People of Muromachi-period Japan
Samurai
Suicides by seppuku