, also known as , was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

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

Hosokawa clan The is a Japanese Samurai kin group or clan. Ancestors # Emperor Jimmu # Emperor Suizei # Emperor Annei # Emperor Itoku # Emperor Kōshō # Emperor Kōan # Emperor Kōrei # Emperor Kōgen # Emperor Kaika # Emperor Sujin # Emperor Sui ...

, then the

Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and the Minamoto clan (Seiwa-Genji). They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan and the Takeda clan. At the beginning of the 14th century AD, Ogasawara Nagafusa settled in Shiko ...

and then the Ichijo clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Chōsokabe,"_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._4_ "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.

_History

file:長宗我部家·家系図.jpg.html" ;"title="DF_8_of_80
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF 8 of 80">"Chōsokabe," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 4 DF_8_of_80">"Chōsokabe,"_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._4_[PDF_8_of_80
/nowiki>_retrieved_2013-5-4.

_History

file:長宗我部家·家系図.jpg">right.html" ;"title="DF 8 of 80
/nowiki>">DF 8 of 80">"Chōsokabe," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 4 right">600px A_family_tree_of_Chōsokabe_clan. The_clan_claims_descent_from_Qin_Shi_Huang_(d._210_BC),_the_Emperor_of_China.html" ;"title="DF 8 of 80
/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-4.

History

file:長宗我部家·家系図.jpg">right">600px A family tree of Chōsokabe clan. The clan claims descent from Qin Shi Huang (d. 210 BC), the Emperor of China">first emperor of a unified China. The clan is associated with Tosa Province in modern-day Kōchi Prefecture on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

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

, who unified Shikoku, was the twenty-first daimyō (or head) of the clan. In their early history 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 ...

Chōsokabe Kunichika was a powerful warlord in Tosa Province, Japan. He was the son of Chōsokabe Kanetsugu. His childhood name was Senyumaru (千熊丸).　 After his father Chōsokabe Kanetsugu was attacked by local lords and he killed himself in the Okō Castle ...

'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 regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

(

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

'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 ag ...

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 ...

, Kikkawa Motonaga,

Toyotomi Hidenaga , formerly known as . 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'. He was also known by his court title, . He promot ...

, and

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a daimyō 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 ...

. Motochika surrendered, and forfeited

Awa Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces; Hideyoshi permitted him to retain Tosa. Under Hideyoshi, Motochika and his son

Chōsokabe Nobuchika was the eldest son of samurai lord Chōsokabe Motochika, and lived during the late Sengoku period of Japanese history. After the subjugation of Shikoku by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobuchika and his father followed the Toyotomi into Kyushu Campaig ...

participated in the invasion of neighboring Kyūshū, 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 along with 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 a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

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

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

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 , third son of Chōsokabe Kunichika who was adopted by the Kōsokabe Clan in 1558 was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Chōsokabe clan. He was the castle lord in command of Aki Castle.川口素生編『戦国名物家� ...

, 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 (長宗我部能俊, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Toshimune (長宗我部俊宗, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Tadatoshi (長宗我部忠俊, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Shigeuji (長宗我部重氏, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Ujiyuki (長宗我部氏幸, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Kiyoyuki (長宗我部満幸, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Kanemitsu (長宗我部兼光, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Shigetoshi (長宗我部重俊, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Shigetaka (長宗我部重高, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Shigemune (長宗我部重宗, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Nobuyoshi (長宗我部信能, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Kaneyoshi (長宗我部兼能, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Kanetsuna (長宗我部兼綱, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Yoshishige (長宗我部能重, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Motochika (長宗我部元親, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Fumikane (長宗我部文兼, ? – ? ) # Chōsokabe Motokado (長宗我部元門, ? –1471) # Chōsokabe Katsuchika (長宗我部雄親, ? –1478) # Chōsokabe Kanetsugu (長宗我部兼序, ? –1508) #

(長宗我部国親, 1504–1560) #

(長宗我部元親, 1539–1599) # Chōsokabe Morichika (長宗我部盛親, 1575–1615) # Chōsokabe Moritsune (長宗我部盛恒, ? –1615)

Prominent castles

Okō Castle was a Japanese castle structure located in what is now part of the city of 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 Muromachi and Sengok ...

, The original base of power for the Chōsokabe clan * Urato Castle, The original base of power for the Chōsokabe clan since 1591 * Kira Castle *

Aki Castle was a Japanese castle, castle of the Aki clan in what is now the city of Aki, Kōchi, Aki, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. Ruins still remain and the site was designated an Aki City Historic Site. It is believed the castle was built by Aki Chikauji in 1 ...

Amagiri Castle was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located on the border of what is now the cities of Zentsūji and Mitoyo and the town of Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1990. Histor ...

Ichinomiya Castle Ichinomiya Castle is a mountaintop castle in Tokushima, Japan. History Built in 1338, the castle was built on a strategically important site, with a river in front and on a mountain, both features giving it some protection as natural defenses. I ...

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 four anime shows, an anime movie, a live action show, a magazine series, a trading card game, and numerous drama CDs, light nov ...

'', ''

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 it is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, relea ...

'', ''

Nioh 2 is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 4. It was published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide on March 13, 2020. It is both a prequel and sequel to ''Nioh'' (2017). Versio ...

'', ''

Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games. The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei. ''Nobunaga's Ambition'' takes place during ...

'' 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosokabe Clan Japanese clans

_History

_History

History

Clan heads

Prominent castles

Popular culture

See also

References