was a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, ''

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 no ...

'' and twelfth family leader of the

Itō clan The are a Japanese clan of ''gōzoku'' that claimed descent from the Fujiwara clan through Fujiwara Korekimi (727–789) and Kudō Ietsugu. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papi ...

, which was active from the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

to 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 Nob ...

. Today, Suketaka is regarded as the "ruler of virtue of the middle-Itō clan".

Biography

Suketaka was

Itō Yoshisuke was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. In his lifetime, he was the head of the Itō clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 21 of 80">"Itō" at ''N ...

's third son.

Early Conflicts

In the year

Eiroku was a after '' Kōji'' and before '' Genki.'' This period spanned the years from February 1558 through April 1570. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1558 : The era name was changed to mark the enthronement of Emperor Ōgimachi. The ...

11 (1568), Suketaka entered Obi castle and conquered the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contr ...

. In the year Tenshō 5 (1577), Yoshisuke's vassals, in particular Fukunaga Suketomo and Mera Norishige, betrayed Suketaka. The Shimazu clan used this opportunity to invade the Itō clan. As a result, Suketaka and his father were forced to flee. They walked from Mera mountain to

Takachiho file:TakachihokyoWithManaiFalls.JPG, 270px, Manai Falls file:Mt.Sobo.jpg, 270px, Mount Sobo file:Yokagura.jpg, 270px, Yokagura is a List of towns in Japan, town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , t ...

, where they asked Otomo Sōrin for protection. Sōrin agreed to this request, as his ambition was to "

ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The n ...

Hyuga province a Christian land." Sōrin invaded

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

and fought against the Shimazu clan, but his army was defeated in the

Battle of Mimigawa The Battle of Mimigawa was fought in Japan between the Ōtomo clan and the Shimazu clan in 1578. The Ōtomo force was led by Sorin's brother-in-law Tawara Chikataka, while the Shimazu clan was led by Shimazu Yoshihisa. Prelude In May 1578, the ...

at the Mimi river. Sōrin lost most of his vassals and Suketaka and Yoshisuke felt shamed. Sōrin moved to

Iyo Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa Province (Tokushima), Awa to the east ...

and asked the Kōno clan for help with their 20 retainers, without Yoshikatsu and Yoshikata. However, they fell into poverty and Kawazaki Sukenaaga, one of his vassals, ran a

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

brewery to earn money.

Restoration of the Ito Clan

At that time, Sanpō, a member of the

Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth ...

, was asked by Kawazaki Sukenaga to pray for the revival of the Itō clan. He met Itō Kamon-no-suke (Itō Nagazane, one of the Yellow Horo Military Commanders) in

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

Harima Province 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 th ...

. Suketaka was introduced to the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

and became

Hashiba Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innov ...

's vassal by Nagazane whose ancestor he shared with Suketaka. After the

Honnō-ji incident The was the assassination of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, on 21 June 1582 (2nd day of the sixth month, Tenshō 10). Nobunaga was on the verge of unifying the country, but died in the unexpected rebellion of ...

, Suketaka became the immediate vassal of Hideyoshi. In the year Tenshō 10 (1582), at the

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, Akechi Mitsuhide, ...

, Suketaka played an active part and was bestowed the Kurikara spear and 500 Koku territory in the

Kawachi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in th ...

as a reward. In the year Tenshō 15 (1587), Suketaka successfully planned the Kyushu conquest. For this achievement, Suketaka was given 28,000 Koku in Kiyotake and Miyazaki city. Finally, Suketaka succeeded in reviving the Itō clan, with himself as daimyo. In the following year, Suketaka's territory was added to the 36,000 Koku and he regained his home of Nichinan city. Suketaka then joined the

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese invasions of Korea may refer to: *Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) *Donghak Peasant Revolution ** Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung *Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fou ...

. In the year Keichō 4 (1599), Suketaka bestowed the original surname "Toyotomi".村川浩平「羽柴氏下賜と豊臣姓下賜」1996年。 In Keichō 5 (1600), in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, Suketaka was at

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

. However, because Suketaka was very ill, he did not join the battle. He sent his son Itō Sukeyoshi to his home and ordered him to prepare for battle. Furthermore, Suketaka communicated secretly to

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

via

Kuroda Kanbei , also known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku through the early Edo period. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christia ...

. In Suketaka's home, his vassal Inazu Shigemasa commanded the Itō army and conquered Miyazaki castle (Akizuki Mototane's castle). Mototane betrayed the West army and communicated with the East army. Due to this situation, the Itō clan was forced to return that castle after the battle, but Ieyasu recognized Suketaka's achievement and promised not to take the territory of the Itō clan.

Death

In 1600, Suketaka died in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

due to an unknown illness.

Legacy

Suketaka's son survived as lord of the Obi domain during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. The present leader of the Itō clan is .

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Suketaka 1559 births 1600 deaths 16th-century Japanese people Daimyo People from Miyazaki Prefecture People of the Azuchi–Momoyama period