was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

in the 12th to 14th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi, comprised six

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

at their height, and the Ōuchi played a major role in supporting the Ashikaga in the Nanboku-cho Wars against the Imperial Court. The Ōuchi remained powerful up until the 1560s, when they were eclipsed by their vassals, 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 power ...

History

Local legend in modern Yamaguchi City has it that the Ōuchi clan were of Korean origins, specifically descended from a prince of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

. The ''Ōuchi-shi Jitsruroku'' (大内氏実録), a work of the historian

Kondō Kiyoshi Kondō, Kondo or Kondou (近藤 "near wisteria") is a surname prominent in Japanese culture, although it also occurs in other countries. Notable people with the surname include: * , Japanese ballet dancer * Dorinne K. Kondo, anthropologist * Kond� ...

(近藤清石, 1833–1916), is one of the books which adopt this legend. However, some scholars are in dispute, and even traditions are contradictory to each other. Modern day members of the Ouchi clan think that there is no dispute, and they strongly identify with Baekje. According to the ''Ō uchi Tatarashi fuch ō'' and the ''Ōuchi-shi Jitsruroku'',

Prince Imseong , was the third son of King Seong of Baekje who died in battle with Silla forces in 554. Because of the discrepancies in dates it is thought he was actually third son of Wideok of Baekje. Another way to read or write his name is Rimseong. Japan ...

is the first ancestor of them. Based in Suō Province, towards the western end of Honshū, the Ōuchi were among the primary families to be involved in foreign trade and relations, particularly with China. Following the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

(1467–1477), a strong rivalry developed between the Ōuchi and the Hosokawa family, who were then in power. The two clashed at Ningbo in 1523, and as a result the Chinese closed

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

to Japanese traders. After the incident, the Ōuchi ships were only allowed to trade in China in 1540 and 1549. The Ōuchi also housed the Portuguese

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

for a time in 1551. As a result of their wealth and trading contacts, the Ōuchi gained renown in the worlds of art and culture as well. They possessed countless items of cultural and artistic significance and beauty, from Japan and China, as well as from further abroad. Particularly famous was the invitation by Ōuchi Masahiro of the famous painter Sesshū to Yamaguchi in 1486. In 1551, the ''

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 n ...

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 ...

tried to move

Emperor Go-Nara was the 105th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from June 9, 1526 until his death in 1557, during the Sengoku period. His personal name was Tomohito (知仁). Genealogy He was the second son of Emper ...

and his court from war-torn

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

to Yamaguchi. But the Ōuchi's chief military vassals opposed this plan, fearing that imperial courtiers would displace them. This led to 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 ...

, in which Yoshitaka was forced to commit suicide. Sue Harukata, the leader of the rebellion, installed Ōuchi Yoshinaga as a puppet clan chief, but Yoshinaga was actually the younger brother of long-time Ōuchi rival

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 ...

. This ended the Ōuchi line proper. In 1555, Mōri Motonari, another former vassal of Yoshitaka, defeated Sue Harukata in the

Battle of Miyajima The 1555 was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of Miyajima; 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 clea ...

. Two years later, Yoshinaga committed suicide, ending the Ōuchi clan.

Clan heads

# Ōuchi Morifusa (大内盛房) # Ōuchi Hiromori (大内弘盛) # Ōuchi Mitsumori (大内満盛) # Ōuchi Hironari (大内弘成, ? –1244) # Ōuchi Hirosada (大内弘貞, ? –1286) # Ōuchi Hiroie (大内弘家, 1274?–1300) # Ōuchi Shigehiro (大内重弘, ? –1320) # Ōuchi Hiroyuki (大内弘幸, ? –1352) # Ōuchi Hiroyo (大内弘世, 1325–1380) #

Ōuchi Yoshihiro , also known as Ouchi ''Sakyo-no-Tayu,'' was a Muromachi period samurai clan head and military leader. Yoshirio was the second son of Ōuchi Hiroyo, and a member of the Ōuchi clan which served under Ashikaga Takauji. The Ōuchi became known a ...

(大内義弘, 1356–1400) – Led a revolt against Shogun

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu ...

. # Ōuchi Moriharu (大内盛見, 1377–1431) # Ōuchi Mochiyo (大内持世, 1394–1441) # Ōuchi Norihiro (大内教弘, 1420–1465) # Ōuchi Masahiro (大内政弘, 1446–1495) – one of

Yamana Sōzen was originally before becoming a monk. Due to his red complexion, he was sometimes known as ''Aka-nyūdō'', "the Red Monk". He was one of the ''daimyōs'' who fought against Hosokawa Katsumoto during the Ōnin War in Heian-kyō. Biography Yam ...

's chief generals in the

. #

Ōuchi Yoshioki became a ''sengoku daimyō'' of Suō Province and served as the 15th head of the Ōuchi clan. Yoshioki was born early in the Sengoku period, the son of Ōuchi Masahiro, ''shugo'' of Suō Province and the 14th head of the Ōuchi clan. The firs ...

(大内義興, 1477–1529) – Restored the shogun

Ashikaga Yoshitane , also known as , was the 10th ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who headed the shogunate first from 1490 to 1493 and then again from 1508 to 1521 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshitane was the son of Ashikaga Yoshimi and grandson ...

to power after a fifteen-year absence in 1508. #

(大内義隆, 1507–1551) – The lord who oversaw the height of Ōuchi power and saw it end abruptly. # Ōuchi Yoshinaga (大内義長, 1532?–1557) – The last Ōuchi lord, he was the son of

Sengoku The was a period in 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 feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various ...

'', Ōtomo Yoshiaki, and thus not of Ōuchi blood.

Notable retainers

* Sue Harukata * Sue Nagafusa * Hironaka Takakane * Iida Okihide

Prominent castles

* Ōuchi-shi Yakata : Ōuchi clan's main bastion * Kōnomine Castle : Supporting castle of Ōuchi-shi Yakata *

Wakayama Castle 260px, Layout of the ''tenshu'' is a Japanese castle located in the city Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. For most of the Edo Period, it was the administrative center of Kishū Domain, which was controlled by a cadet branch of the Tokugaw ...

: Sue clan's main bastion * Katsuyama Castle *

Tsuwano Castle Tsuwano Castle was a mid-size castle, now ruins, in Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. History The castle was established by Yoshimi Yoriyuki, and it was initially called Sanbonmatsu-jo. Its first purpose was to watch over the province of Iw ...

* Tsuchiyama Castle

Notes

References

*Sansom, George (1961). ''A History of Japan: 1334–1615''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. *Sansom, George Bailey (1962). ''Japan: A Short Cultural History''. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. *Turnbull, Stephen (1998). ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ouchi family Japanese clans