was a ''

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 ...

'' warlord in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

of western

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He was the second son of

Amago Masahisa Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kunih ...

. Initially named Akihisa (詮久), he changed his name to Haruhisa in 1541 after

Ashikaga Yoshiharu was the twelfth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate from 1521 through 1546 during the late Muromachi period of Japan.Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982). ''Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron'', p. 332. He was the son of the eleventh ''shōgun'' Ashi ...

offered to let him use a ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' character from his name.

Biography

After his father

died early in battle, Haruhisa became the head of

Amago clan Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kun ...

in 1537 after his grandfather stepped down. He launched a series of invasions to expand his domain, going as far as

Harima or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

. His childhood name was In 1540, the

Siege of Koriyama took place from September, 1540 until January, 1541 in Yoshida, Aki Province, Japan during the Sengoku period. Amago Haruhisa, with 30,000 men, attacked Kōriyama Castle, which belonged to Mōri Motonari and was defended by 8,000 men. When th ...

against

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...

ended in a humiliating defeat, and many of his retainers defected believing that Haruhisa's days were numbered. His grandfather

Amago Tsunehisa was a powerful warlord who gained the hegemony in Chūgoku region, Japan starting as a vassal of the Rokkaku clan.__He_ruled_the_domains_of_">DF_53_....__He_ruled_the_domains_of_ Inaba,_Hōki_Province.html"__"title="Inaba_Province.html"_;"title=" ...

died the next year and

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 ...

launched a counterattack to finish the Amago clan. Amago Haruhisa successfully defended Toda castle in the 1542–43 Siege of Toda Castle. Haruhisa managed to stave off the invasion, encouraging those retainers who had defected earlier, and after gathering enough troops, managed to repel it. From this point, Haruhisa worked to secure his footing and control of such domains as

Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo ...

Hōki was a after '' Jingo-keiun'' and before ''Ten'ō''. This period spanned the years from October 770 through January 781. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 770 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The p ...

, Mimasaka, and

Oki Oki or Ōki may refer to: Places *Oki District, Shimane, a district in Shimane Prefecture, Japan *Oki Islands, an archipelago in the Sea of Japan *Oki Province, a former province of Japan *Ōki, Fukuoka, a town in southern Japan *Oki Airport, the ...

. When on 1551, Ōuchi Yoshitaka was killed by Sue Harukata's rebellion, in 1552, the

Muromachi 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 establis ...

offered Haruhisa lordship over eight domains including those four domains he already fully controlled. In his later years, Haruhisa suddenly decided to kill his uncle

Amago Kunihisa was a Japanese warlord during the Sengoku period of western Honshu. He was a son of Amago Tsunehisa. A principle Amako general under Tsunehisa, he led a force that came to be nicknamed the "Shingū army". Kunihisa's faction was named Shingūt ...

as well as those retainers under him collectively called ''Shingūtō'' (新宮党) from the town ''Shingū'' which was their power base, resulting in a serious shortage of battle-proven leaders. While it was generally thought, largely from various fiction works that emphasize Mori Motonari's prowess, that this action was carried out by Motonari in order to weaken Haruhisa's power, it is now thought most likely that this was a move by Haruhisa himself to solidify control of the Amago clan. When Sue Harutaka lost against Mori Motonari dying in the Battle of Itsukushima, Haruhisa saw an opportunity to claim Iwami and making an alliance with Ogasawara clan of Iwami, moved to claim Omori Silver Mine. Motonari launched a counterattack and both clashed in a string of battles with no clear winner. Haruhisa collapsed in

Gassantoda Castle Gassantoda Castle (月山富田城, ''Gassantoda-jō'') was a Japanese castle located in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture. History It is believed the castle was built in the Heian period but this is unclear. Later the castle served as the seat of the ...

on 1560 while engaged in a battle against Motonari and died on January 9. It is written in Unyo Gunjitsuki that

Amago Hisayuki Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kunih ...

commented that Haruhisa was "Quick to act, lacking in the discipline of a general; quick to seek battle, lacking in forgiveness."

Family

* Father: Amago Masahisa (1494-1518) * Mother: Yamada Yukimatsu's daughter * Wives: ** daughter of

** unknown * Children: ** Matashiro **

Amago Yoshihisa was a daimyō (lord) of Izumo Province. He was the eldest son of Haruhisa and he was given the childhood name of . After his father's sudden death in 1560, he became the head of the clan to continue the fight against the Mōri clan. While besi ...

by daughter of

** Amago Tomohisa (1546-1623) by daughter of

(he was the father of Amago Motosato, 7th head of

Amago Clan Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kun ...

** Amago Hidehisa (d.1609) by daughter of

** Daughter ** daughter married Misawa Tamekiyo

Biography

Family

See also

References

Further reading