was the 10th head of the
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyō family of Higo, Kyūshū. The lineage was renowned for valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. They initially distinguished themselves during the Jürchen invasion of ...
of
Higo Province and gained fame for himself and his clan during the defense of Japan during both
Mongol invasions of Japan
Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...
.
Background and family
"Kikuchi Jirō Takefusa" was son of the 9th head of the clan, Kikuchi Takayasu (菊池 隆泰); Jirō (次郎) means "second son". His mother whose name is unknown was from the equally famous
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 ...
and a great-granddaughter of
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...
through his illegitimate son. Takefusa became head of the clan after his father since his elder brother had died young. His younger brother Aritaka was adopted by their retainers, the Akahoshi clan.
[ C3321 "菊池系図"]
First Mongol Invasion (1274)
![Soharakoen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Soharakoen.jpg)
During the first Mongol invasion at the
Battle of Bun'ei
The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima and Iki islands, Kublai Khan's fleet m ...
he fought with his younger brother Aritaka and they were both awarded by the Emperor. Takefusa shot a Mongol general in the face with a signed arrow, precipitating the recall of the first Mongol invasion. Bun'ei is really the name of a campaign comprising many battles.
Battle of Akasaka
The Mongols had defeated or annihilated the defenders on the small islands of
Tsushima,
Iki
IKI may refer to:
* Internationales Kulturinstitut in Vienna
* Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound
* Russian Space Research Institute originally known as IKI RAN
* Iki Airport, IATA code
Iki or iki may refer to:
* Iki Island, a Japanese ...
, Hirato, Taka and Nokono during their island hopping towards the Japanese mainland. Akasaka was the first battle with a real army.
[Goryeosa volume 104 episode 17 "invasion of Tsushima and annihilation"]
The yuan force had landed on Momochi field,
Sawara District and divided into two groups one of which encamped at Akasaka. They were attacked by Kikuchi. j.Takefusa losing about 100 soldiers. The greater group retreated to the hill of
Sōhara, and the smaller group to Tukahara field in
Befu. The yuan force pitched a camp on Sōhara field which had a hill 30m in height and a great vantage point of the streets of
Fukuoka city
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
. The field is now
Sōharakōen "Sōhara Park". The stone monument in the center of Sōharakōen marks the remains of yuan soldiers who were killed during the battle. During this battle, Kikuchi Takefusa gained fame for all the heads of the enemy that he collected.
[『蒙古襲来絵詞』詞四「たけふさ(武房)にけうと(凶徒)あかさか(赤坂)のちん(陣)をか(駆)けお(落)とされて、ふたて(二手)になりて、おほせい(大勢)はすそはら(麁原)にむ(向)きてひ(退)く。こせい(小勢)はへふ(別府)のつかハら(塚原)へひ(退)く、」]
From the diary of one of his commanders,
Takezaki Suenaga
was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both the Battle of Bun'ei and the Battle of Kōan during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Suenaga commissioned the ''Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba'', an illustrated handscroll, in order to provide ...
:
''"Thinking that I was the first to battle of all the warriors from Higo, I set off from the Hakata encampment. On my way to Akasaka, after passing the gate (torii) of the Sumiyoshi Shrine, I met a man on a dapple gray horse at Komatsubara. He wore purple armor with a reverse arrowhead design, and a crimson billowing cape (horo) and, having just defeated the invaders in their encampment, was returning with a hundred horsemen. The pirates had fled. Two had been taken. He looked most brave and had two retainers walking before him on his left and right carrying heads - one pierced on a sword, the other on a naginata. "Who passes here looking so brave?" I asked, and he replied, "I am Kikuchi Jirō Takefusa of Higo Province. Who are you?" I am Takezaki Gorō Hyōe Suenaga of the same province. Watch me attack! Saying so I charged."''
Second Mongol Invasion (1281)
![Takezaki suenaga ekotoba bourui](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Takezaki_suenaga_ekotoba_bourui.jpg)
This was the largest naval invasion in history until D-Day. In the spring of 1281,
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
sent two separate forces. An impressive force of 900 ships containing 40,000 Yuan troops set out from Masan, Korea, while an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships. The Mongols' plan called for an overwhelming coordinated attack by the combined imperial Yuan fleets. The Chinese fleet of the Yuan was delayed by difficulties in provisioning and manning the large number of ships they had.
The Battle of Kōan
![Takezaki suenaga ekotoba3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Takezaki_suenaga_ekotoba3.jpg)
The Eastern Route Army arrived at Hakata Bay on June 21, and decided to proceed with the invasion without waiting for the larger Southern force which had still not left China. They were a short distance to the north and east of where their force had landed in 1274, and were in fact beyond the walls and defenses constructed by the Japanese. The samurai responded quickly, assaulting the invaders with waves of defenders, denying them the beachhead.
At night small boats carried small bands of samurai into the Yuan fleet in the bay. Under cover of darkness they boarded enemy ships, killed as many as they could, and withdrew before dawn. This harassing tactic led the Yuan forces to retreat to Tsushima, where they would wait for the Southern Route Army. However, over the course of the next several weeks, 3,000 men were killed in close quarters combat in the hot weather. Yuan forces never gained a beachhead.
The first of the Southern force ships arrived on July 16, and by August 12 the two fleets were ready to attack Japan. On August 15 a major tempest struck the
Tsushima Straits
or Eastern Channel (동수로 Dongsuro) is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea.
The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima ...
, lasting two full days and destroying most of the Yuan fleet. Contemporary Japanese accounts indicate that over 4,000 ships were destroyed in the storm; 80 percent of the Yuan soldiers either drowned or were killed by samurai on the beaches. The loss of ships was so great that "a person could walk across from one point of land to another on a mass of wreckage".
[Winters, pp. 14–15]
Death and legacy
![Kikushi-shrine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Kikushi-shrine.jpg)
After the battle Takefusa must have gone home to Kikuchi Castle. He died on March 26, 1285, from an unknown illness only four years after the second invasion. His remains were interred at
Kikuchi Shrine
is a Shinto shrine in Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture, in which Kikuchi Taketoki (菊池武時, 1292 – April 27, 1333), Kikuchi Takeshige (菊池武重, 1307?-1338?) and Kikuchi Takemitsu (菊池武光, – 1373) are enshrined. It is o ...
. His son and heir Kikuchi Takamori (菊池 隆盛) had died young even before him so his grandson Kikuchi Tokitaka (菊池 時隆, 1287–1304) became 11th head of the clan. Tokitaka also died young in battle so his brother the famous
Kikuchi Taketoki
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyō family of Higo Province, Higo, Kyūshū. The lineage was renowned for valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. They initially distinguished themselves during the Jurchen ...
(菊池 武時, 1292–1333) became 12th head.
Hayashi Narinaga
was a samurai during the Sengoku period, retainer of the Mōri clan and was a ji-samurai (''koku-jin-ryōshū'') of southern Bingo Province. He held many positions including ''karō'' (clan elder) serving Mōri Motonari and his father Mōri Hiro ...
who was a samurai general during 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 ...
was a descendant of Takefusa. Also,
Saigō Takamori
was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...
who is now known as the "last samurai"; The
Saigo clan was a branch family of the Kikuchi. Another famous descendant through adoption is the artist and scholar
Kikuchi Yōsai
, also known as Kikuchi Takeyasu and Kawahara Ryōhei, was a Japanese painter most famous for his monochrome portraits of historical figures.
Biography
The son of a samurai named Kawahara of Edo, he was adopted by a family named Kikuchi. ...
.
[Louis, Frederic (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.]
Family
*Father: Kikuchi Takayasu (菊池隆泰)
*Mother: daughter of Takuma Yoshihide (託摩能秀女)
**Wife(s): unknown
***1st son: Kikuchi Takamori (菊池隆盛)
***Son: Kai Takemoto (甲斐武本)
***Son: Horikawa Michitake (堀川道武)
***Son: Nagase Takenari (長瀬武成)
***Son: Shimazaki Taketsune (島崎武経)
***Son: Hasama Takekado (迫間武門)
***Son: Kitamura Takemura (重富武村)
Ancestry
See also
*
Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba
is a set of two Japanese illustrated handscrolls ('' emaki'') commissioned by the samurai Takezaki Suenaga (1246–1314) as a record of his wartime deeds and valor during the Mongol invasions of Japan. The first scroll describes Suenaga's acti ...
*
Takezaki Suenaga
was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both the Battle of Bun'ei and the Battle of Kōan during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Suenaga commissioned the ''Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba'', an illustrated handscroll, in order to provide ...
*
Battle of Bun'ei
The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima and Iki islands, Kublai Khan's fleet m ...
*
Battle of Kōan
The , also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan after their failed attempt seven years earlier at the Battle of Bun'ei. In the summer of 1281, the Yuan invaded ...
*
Mongol Invasions of Japan
Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...
*
Genko Borui
*
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyō family of Higo, Kyūshū. The lineage was renowned for valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. They initially distinguished themselves during the Jürchen invasion of ...
*
Hayashi Narinaga
was a samurai during the Sengoku period, retainer of the Mōri clan and was a ji-samurai (''koku-jin-ryōshū'') of southern Bingo Province. He held many positions including ''karō'' (clan elder) serving Mōri Motonari and his father Mōri Hiro ...
References
External links
Mongol Invasion Scrolls Onlineinteractive viewer for ''Moko Shurai Ekotoba'' from
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
.
Takezaki SuenagaSamurai-archives.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikuchi, Takefusa
1245 births
1285 deaths
People of Kamakura-period Japan
Samurai