, also known as , was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

kin group. Over time, they were known for serving the

Hosokawa clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group or Japanese clan, clan. The clan descends from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa, through the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga ...

, then the Miyoshi clan and then the Ichijō clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Chōsokabe," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 4 [PDF 8 of 80
/nowiki>">DF 8 of 80">"Chōsokabe," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 4 [PDF 8 of 80
/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-4.

Origin

In accordance to the ''Shinsen Shōjiroku,'' the clan claims descent from Qin Shi Huang (d. 210 BC), the Emperor of China, first emperor of a unified China. However, modern Japanese historians state that the parent clan, "Hata clan" most likely originated from the kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, an ancient kingdom of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Hence making Chōsokabe clan, a branch of the aforementioned Hata clan, also of Silla (Korean) descent.

History

upright=1.8, A family tree of Chōsokabe clan The clan is associated with

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

in modern-day

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

Chōsokabe Motochika was a prominent ''daimyō'' in Japanese Sengoku period, Sengoku-period. He was the 21st chief of the Chōsokabe clan of Tosa Province (present-day Kōchi Prefecture), the ruler of Shikoku, Shikoku region. Early life and rise He was the son and ...

, who unified Shikoku, was the twenty-first

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

(or head) of the clan. In their early history of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, Chōsokabe Kunichika's father Kanetsugu, was killed by the Motoyama clan in 1508. Therefore, Kunichika was raised by the aristocrat Ichijō Husaie of the Ichijō clan in Tosa Province. Later, towards the end of his life, Kunichika took revenge on the Motoyama clan and destroyed them with the help of the Ichijō in 1560. Kunichika would go on to have children, including his heir and the future Daimyo of the Chōsokabe, Motochika, who would go on to unify

. First, the Ichijō family was overthrown by Motochika in 1574. Later, he gained control of the rest of Tosa due to his victories at the Battle of Watarigawa in 1575. He then also destroyed the Kono and the Soga clan. Over the ensuing decade, he extended his power to all of Shikoku in 1583. However, in 1585,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

(

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

's successor) invaded that island with a force of 100,000 men, led by

Ukita Hideie was the ''daimyō'' of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture), and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gōhime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie. Having fought a ...

, Kobayakawa Takakage, Kikkawa Motonaga,

Toyotomi Hidenaga , formerly known as or . He was a half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most powerful and significant warlords of Japan's Sengoku period and regarded as 'Hideyoshi's brain and right-arm'. Life Hidenaga was also known by his court tit ...

, and

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrocities and at ...

. Motochika surrendered, and forfeited Awa, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces; Hideyoshi permitted him to retain Tosa. Under Hideyoshi, Motochika and his son Chōsokabe Nobuchika participated in the invasion of neighboring

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, in which Nobuchika died. In 1590, Motochika led a naval fleet in the Siege of Odawara, and also fought in the Japanese invasions of Korea led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1592. After Motochika died in 1599 at age 61, the next clan leader was his son Chōsokabe Morichika. He led the clan forces in support of the Toyotomi at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

. After 1600, the Chōsokabe were removed as daimyo of Tosa. After the

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

in 1615, Morichika was executed and the clan was ended as a political and military force. Among the retainers to the clan were Kōsokabe Chikayasu, Tani Tadasumi, Hisatake Chikanao, Yoshida Takayori, Yoshida Shigetoshi, Yoshida Masashige. Shirō Sōkabe, the 19th century missionary, was a descendant of the Chōsokabe clan.

Clan heads

# Chōsokabe Yoshitoshi () # Chōsokabe Toshimune () # Chōsokabe Tadatoshi () # Chōsokabe Shigeuji () # Chōsokabe Ujiyuki () # Chōsokabe Kiyoyuki () # Chōsokabe Kanemitsu () # Chōsokabe Shigetoshi () # Chōsokabe Shigetaka () # Chōsokabe Shigemune () # Chōsokabe Nobuyoshi () # Chōsokabe Kaneyoshi () # Chōsokabe Kanetsuna () # Chōsokabe Yoshishige () # Chōsokabe Motochika () # Chōsokabe Fumikane () # Chōsokabe Motokado (, died 1471) # Chōsokabe Katsuchika (, died 1478) # Chōsokabe Kanetsugu (, died 1508) # Chōsokabe Kunichika (, 1504–1560) #

(, 1539–1599) # Chōsokabe Morichika (, 1575–1615) # Chōsokabe Moritsune (, died 1615)

Other members

* Akohime - daughter of Chōsokabe Motochika, she was the last notable survivor of the clan after the Siege of Osaka; being responsible for continuing the Chōsokabe's lineage in

Sendai domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of ...

Prominent castles

Okō Castle was a Japanese castle structure located in what is now part of the city of Nankoku, Kōchi, Nankoku Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It was the original base of power for the Chōsokabe clan who were feudal lords of Tosa Province during the late Murom ...

, the original base of power for the Chōsokabe clan * Urato Castle, base of power for the Chōsokabe clan since 1591 * Kira Castle * Aki Castle * Amagiri Castle * Ichinomiya Castle

Popular culture

The Chōsokabe clan and

in particular are featured in many franchises set in the Sengoku period such as ''

Sengoku Basara is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom, and a bigger media franchise based on it, including three anime shows, an anime movie, a live action show, and numerous drama CDs, light novels, manga, and stage plays. Its story ...

'', ''

Samurai Warriors is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, releas ...

'', ''

Nioh 2 is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 4. It was released by Sony Interactive Entertainment outside Japan on PlayStation consoles. It is a prequel to '' Nioh'' (2017). Versions ...

'', ''

Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games developed and published by Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 in Japan. ''Nobunaga's Ambitio ...

'' and '' Total War: Shogun 2''. Portrayals vary somewhat and some of them are very much fictionalized. For example, ''Total War: Shogun 2'' portrays the clan as master archers while ''Sengoku Basara'' portrays them as

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosokabe Clan Japanese clans

Origin

History

Clan heads

Other members

Prominent castles

Popular culture

See also

References