was a senior retainer of the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

throughout the latter

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 ...

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

. Hidemoto was the eldest son of Mōri Motokiyo and initially began service under the Toyotomi as a military commander under his cousin Terumoto, the head of the

Mōri clan The was a Japanese clan, 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 in Aki Province. Durin ...

Service under Hideyoshi

In 1597, Hidemoto became a highly esteemed figure beneath the Mōri, and, by variable means, was chosen specifically by

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

to lead the Army of the Right in the Second Invasion of Korea, where he commanded 30,000 soldiers. Hidemoto was additionally backed by six generals that were assigned to his right wing:

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was . His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi's Seven ...

, who possessed 10,000;

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography Nagamasa's childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577 his fathe ...

, who wielded 5,000; Nabeshima Naoshige with 12,000; Ikeda Hideuji tasked with 2,800;

Chōsokabe Motochika was a prominent ''daimyō'' in Japanese Sengoku period, Sengoku-period. He was the 21st chief of the Chōsokabe clan of Tosa Province (present-day Kōchi Prefecture), the ruler of Shikoku, Shikoku region. Early life and rise He was the son and ...

, who wielded 3,000; and Nakagawa Hidenari, who respectively possessed 2,500. With these preparations thus made, Hidemoto and his supporters led the initial Japanese offensive within the Korean province of

Gyeongsang Gyeongsang Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Joseon Korea. Gyeongsang was located in southeastern Korea. The provincial capital of Gyeongsang was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the kingdom of Silla, which unified Korea in ...

. They marched towards

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

after assaulting

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, taking both

Sacheon Sacheon (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Sacheon's chief fame comes from its being the site of two naval battles in the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), Seven Year War. ...

and Changpyong. Following this campaign, Hidemoto obtained a far greater power when he was made the governor of Suō and

Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...

s, which he held up until the decisive

Sekigahara Campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked by a ...

of 1600. He married daughter of

Toyotomi Hidenaga , formerly known as or . He was a half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most powerful and significant warlords of Japan's Sengoku period and regarded as 'Hideyoshi's brain and right-arm'. Life Hidenaga was also known by his court tit ...

later Daizen-in.

Battle of Sekigahara

At the outset of this campaign, Hidemoto was determined to support the forces of

Ishida Mitsunari 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 Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

, dubbed the "Western Forces". Since his cousin, Terumoto, possessed 128,000 soldiers that he would use to back the Western forces of Mitsunari, Hidemoto intended to assist the Western forces of Mitsunari. He gathered his armaments with great immediacy, equipped himself with 15,000 soldiers and stationed his entire army on Mt. Nangu, with his generals distributed along the eastern borders of the mountain. However, to make the circumstances go from detrimental to entirely beneficial, Kikkawa Hiroie, a general of Hidemoto, refused to move against the Eastern forces at the start of the battle. As Hiroie was the leading general of the army, Hidemoto was prevented from reaching the frontlines, placing him with little other choice than to resentfully retreat without offering his support to the Mitsunari. Later, as a general resolution to such an event, Hidemoto's original fief was dropped from 200,000 to a modest 50,000 out of sympathetic consideration to Terumoto's service, causing Hidemoto a proper level of humiliation.

Service under Ieyasu

Hidemoto has been believed a surpassing leader unlike his below-average father-in-law,

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overc ...

. He used to be one of the most Jacobinical objectors to Ieyasu, but he turned to a supporter of Ieyasu after

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, ...

. Hidemoto apparently remained as first commander under Ieyasu throughout 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 ...

. He more than likely assisted in the Sieges of Osaka and the later

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an rebellion, uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpo ...

before he eventually died in 1650.The Samurai Sourcebook

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Hidemoto Daimyo People of the Imjin War Samurai 1579 births 1650 deaths Mōri clan Hidemoto