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 ...

of the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...

through early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. Once the ruler of

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 ...

, his fief was revoked by

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

after 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 ...

. His childhood name was Sen'yumaru (千熊丸).

Biography

Morichika was the 4th son of Chōsokabe Motochika. He was named the heir to the Chōsokabe following

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 ...

's death in 1587 and fought in the

Siege of Odawara (1590) The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hi ...

and 1st Korean Campaigns (1592-93). In 1600, he sided with

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the ...

and commanded 6,600 men. His troops fought against

Ikeda Terumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. His court title was '' Musashi no Kami''. Terumasa was also known by the nickname ''saigoku no shōgun'', or, "The ''Shōgun'' of Western Japan". Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the ...

(though he saw very little action) and was afterwards deprived of his fief despite sending an apology to

. That same year, he had ordered the execution of his elder brother

Tsuno Chikatada Tsuno may refer to: People * Yūko Tsuno (born 1966), Japanese manga artist and doujin writer Places *Tsuno, Kōchi, a town in Kōchi Prefecture * Tsuno, Miyazaki, a town in Miyazaki Prefecture *Tsuno District, Yamaguchi was a district located ...

, who had questioned his right to be Motochika's heir, as ruler of

. In 1614, he went to join the defenders of Osaka Castle against the Tokugawa, he arriving there the same day as

Sanada Yukimura , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

. His Chōsokabe contingent fought very well in both the Winter and Summer at Osaka Campaigns. After the fall of Osaka, Morichika attempted to flee but was apprehended at Hachiman-yama by Hachisuka men. He and his sons were beheaded on May 11, 1615, following the defeat of the Toyotomi and Chōsokabe forces at the

Battle of Tennōji The was fought on 3 June, 1615 between the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori. Tokugawa was besieging Osaka, and Hideyori had planned a counterattack. Both sides were plagued by mistakes until Hideyori's side finally fell. He pre ...

. Chosokabe Morichika Banner; Natsuka Masaie (1562?-1600) Banner.jpg, Chōsokabe Morichika hata-jirushi (right) Chosokabe Morichika Banner and Battle Standard.jpg, Chōsokabe Morichika hata-jirushi and uma-jirushi

Family

*Father: Chōsokabe Motochika (1539–1599) *Mother: Lady Motochika (d. 1583) *Older brother : **

Kagawa Chikakazu also known as Chōsokabe Chikakazu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period.　He was the second son of Chōsokabe Motochika who was adopted by the Kagawa clan in Amagiri Castle. After Chōsokabe clan's successor Chōsokabe Nobuchika`s ...

*Wife: Daughter of

*Children: ** Chōsokabe Moritaka (d. 1615) ** Chōsokabe Morisada (d. 1615) ** Chōsokabe Morinobu (d. 1615) ** Chōsokabe Moritsune (d. 1615) *Grandchild: (son of Moritsune) Chōsokabe Moritane (d. 1615)

External links

Information on Chōsogabe Morichika
1575 births 1615 deaths Daimyo Samurai Chōsokabe clan Executed Japanese people People executed by Japan by decapitation {{samurai-stub