Mōri Terumoto (毛利 輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''
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 ...
''. The son of
Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord
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 ...
, he fought against
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...
but was eventually overcome. He participated in
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: ...
's
Korean Campaign
The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...
(1592) and built
Hiroshima Castle
, sometimes called , is a Japanese castle, castle in Hiroshima, Japan that was the residence of the ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima Domain. The castle was originally constructed in the 1590s, but was largely destroyed by the Atomic bom ...
, thus essentially founding
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
.
Biography
Mōri Terumoto was born 'Kotsumaru' in 1553.,
as the eldest son of Mōri Takamoto at Aki Yoshida Koriyama Castle, the residence of the Mōri clan. His mother, Ozaki no Tsubone, was a daughter of Naito Okimori, a senior vassal of the Ouchi clan and Nagato Shugodai, and was also the adopted daughter of Ouchi Yoshitaka. From May 1554 until October 1555, the Mōri clan defeated Sue Harukata in the Battle of Itsukushima. After that, the Mōri clan annihilated the Ouchi and Sue clans. Therefore, his father, Takamoto, was constantly on the battlefield and never settled down with Terumoto.
When his father,
Mōri Takamoto, suddenly died in 1563, Terumoto was selected as his heir.
[ but his grandfather, Motonari, became his supervisor and the one who actually carried out political and military affairs of the Mōri clan.
In 1564 at what appears to have been an early manhood ceremony, Kotsumaru took the name Terumoto (Teru coming from the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru) and assumed command.][
In 1566, the Mōri's traditional rival, the ]Amago clan
The , descended from the Emperor Uda (868–897) by the Kyogoku clan, descending from the Sasaki clan (Uda Genji).
Kyogoku Takahisa in the 14th century, lived in Amako-go (Izumo Province), and took the name 'Amago'. The family crest is also t ...
, had been destroyed, and Motonari had left instructions that the clan be content with what it had and forego expansionist adventure.[ To a greater or lesser extent, Terumoto followed his late grandfather's instructions. Aside from skirmishes on Kyushu and gradual penetration further east. The first years of Terumoto's rule passed quietly.
In 1569, on October, Ōuchi Teruhiro, a remnant of the former lord of the ]Ōuchi clan
was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 14th to 16th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi in the western tip of Honshu island, compris ...
, invaded Suō Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces.
Its abbreviated form na ...
with reinforcements from the Ōtomo clan. disrupting the control of the Mōri clan's territory. In order to deal with the invasion of the remnants of the Ouchi clan led by Teruhiro, the Mōri clan withdrew their troops deployed in Kyushu and defeated Teruhiro and the remnants of the Ouchi clan that same month. However, this rebellion by Ouchi Teruhiro put Takahashi Akitane in Chikuzen province at a disadvantage, and he was forced to surrender the following year, despite the fact that he had promised in the joint pledge signed by Terumoto, Motonari, Motoharu, and Takakage that "the Mōri clan would not abandon Akitane. The Mōri clan lost its influence in Chikuzen Province and also lost its bases in Buzen Province, leaving only a few castles such as Moji Castle, and the influence of the Mōri clan in Kitakyushu was greatly weakened 。
Later in 1570, Mōri Terumoto along with his generals ' Kobayakawa Takakage' and Kikkawa Motoharu defeated Amago Katsuhisa at Battle of Fubeyama or Battle of Nunobeyama, and forced Amago Katsuhisa fled to the island of Oki. After Terumoto had put down the rebellion led by Ouchi Teruhiro, he set out with a large army from Yoshida Koriyama Castle together with Motoharu and Takakage to defeat the remnants of the Amago clan forces.
When Motonari died in 1571, Terumoto inherited an enormous kingdom that stretched from Buzen on Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
to the borders of Harima and Bizen, a powerful navy (at the time Japan's finest), and the support of two gifted uncles Kobayakawa Takakage and Kikkawa Motoharu.[
]
Conflict with Nobunaga
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 ...
left a testament saying, "There is no need for further territorial expansion. We must not get entangled in central conflicts". However, conflict with Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...
, who sought to expand his dominion, began, within three years after Motonari's death.
In December 1573, Nobunaga acknowledged Uragami Munekage, a key figure in anti-Mōri forces, with control over Bizen, Mimasaka, and Harima. This decision provoked resistance from influential local figures such as Bessho and Kodera. When Munekage's vassal, Ukita Naoie took advantage of this situation and initiated a rebellion, the Mōri supported him.
Furthermore, the Mōri clan intervened in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War
The was a ten-year military campaign that took place from 1570 to 1580 in Sengoku period Japan, carried out by lord Oda Nobunaga against a network of fortifications, temples, and communities belonging to the Ikkō-ikki, a powerful faction of J ...
and gradually escalated their confrontation with Nobunaga.
Terumoto turned to the vaunted Môri navy. In 1576, First Battle of Kizugawaguchi Nobunaga's 'admiral', Kuki Yoshitaka
(1542 – November 17, 1600) was a naval commander during Japan's Sengoku Period, under Oda Nobunaga, and later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was also the ninth headmaster of the Kuki family's school of martial arts, Kukishin-ryū and thus a very ski ...
, had cut the Honganji's sea-lanes and sat in blockade off the coast. Terumoto ordered his fleet, commanded by Murakami Takeyoshi, to make for the waters off Settsu and, once there, the navy inflicted an embarrassing defeat on Kuki and opened the Honganji's supply lines.
In 1577, Hideyoshi captured Kozuki Castle in Harima and gave it to Amago Katsuhisa, who, supported by the famed Yamanaka Shikanosuke, hoped to restore the defunct Amago clan
The , descended from the Emperor Uda (868–897) by the Kyogoku clan, descending from the Sasaki clan (Uda Genji).
Kyogoku Takahisa in the 14th century, lived in Amako-go (Izumo Province), and took the name 'Amago'. The family crest is also t ...
to power in Izumo. Perhaps goaded by the mere name of the new defender of Kozuki as much as anything else. In 1578, Terumoto sent his uncles to laid Siege of Kōzuki Castle. This they did, and both Katsuhisa and Shikanosuke were killed.
Later in 1578, Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi, Kûki Yoshitaka defeat Takeyoshi and drove the Mōri away. A further attempt by the Mōri to break the blockade the following year was turned back, and in 1580 the Honganji surrendered.
After Hongan-ji surrender, this allowed Nobunaga to concentrate on the Mōri and he sent two sizable contingents westward into the Chugoku region. Hashiba Hideyoshi was to march along the southern portion of the arm (the Sanyodo) while Akechi Mitsuhide
, first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...
moved into the upper provinces (the Sanindo).
By this time, Ukita Naoie had already defected to the Oda clan, and the Mōri clan found themselves in a difficult military situation.
By 1582 a Mōri defeat seemed inevitable. Hideyoshi had forced his way into Bitchu province and laid siege to Takamatsu Castle. Shimizu Muneharu (a former Mimura retainer) defended Takamatsu stoutly, but its loss would all but open the way into Bingo and Aki, the Mōri homeland. Hideyoshi knew that Takamatsu would be a tough nut to crack and that heavy losses would only benefit the Mōri, so he resorted to a stratagem. Diverting the waters of a nearby river, he flooded the castle grounds, making Takamatsu a soggy island. By now Terumoto had brought up a relief force, but hesitated to attack Hideyoshi directly. Shimizu, for his part, responded to an offer by Hideyoshi that would spare the lives of his men, and committed suicide after ordering his men to surrender.
Service Under Hideyoshi
After the death of Nobunaga at Honnoji Incident in 1582, and probably most relieved at Hideyoshi's evident generosity, Terumoto agreed, to make peace and allowing Hideyoshi to speed home and defeat Akechi Mitsuhide
, first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...
before anyone else was the wiser for it. As frustrated as the Mōri may have been by their discovery of the truth, they did not break the truce, and in time became Hideyoshi's closest supporters.
In 1583 he became a vassal of 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: ...
.[ Terumoto sent the 'Two Rivers' (Kobayakawa and Kikkawa) to lead troops for Hideyoshi in his Invasion of Shikoku (1585)] and Kyushu Campaign
is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
(1587). He sent ships to assist Hideyoshi in his reduction of the Hojo at 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 H ...
.
When Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592, Terumoto himself led the "7th Division" with 30,000 troops there, although much of his time seems to have been taken up fighting Korean partisans at Gyeongsang Province
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 i ...
.
In 1599, Terumoto made a Kishômon (blood oath ritual) with Ieyasu to pledge loyalty each others, the content of the oath that both Terumoto and Ieyasu "would never betray each others and act as if they both are biological brothers".
Terumoto was a member of the council of Five Elders
In the history of Japan, the was a group of five powerful formed in 1598 by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only five years old and a ...
appointed by Hideyoshi.[ At the height of his power in late 16th century, Terumoto controlled 1.2 million '']koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...
''. This means he could mobilize more than 40,000 men to a battle. He sided on 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 ...
, one of Hideyoshi's Go-Bugyo, to fight against 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 ...
as the "General Commander", but was not present at 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, ...
, the leadership on the battlefield was led by Ishida Mitsunari. Terumoto 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 ...
defending Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga.
Early life
Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...
at the time and later surrendered to Ieyasu soon after Mitsunari defeat at Sekigahara. Ieyasu reduced Terumoto's domains, leaving him only Nagato and Suō Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces.
Its abbreviated form na ...
s, worth 369,000 koku in total.
After Sekigahara
In August 1614, tensions between the Edo Shogunate and 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 ...
rose due to the issue of the inscription on the bell of the Great Buddha Hall of the Hokoji Temple. The Toyotomi clan called the Mōri clan to join their side. However, Terumoto declined the invitation.
The Toyotomi clan also failed to convince the Mōri clan under the lead of Mōri Terumoto to join their side. Terumoto instead rather supporting the Tokugawa shogunate, as on November 3, Terumoto ordered his vassals Mōri Motochikazu and Motoyuki Sugimori, who were in charge of Mōri Hidemoto's absence, to send half of the troops east if Hidemoto asked them to march out to aid the shogunate fought the Toyotomi, while the remaining half, including Sugimori, Motoyoshi Nishi, and Shichirobei Misawa, were to stay in Chofu as caretakers, and to retreat to Hagi if something happened that would make it impossible to maintain Chofu. On November 9, Kikkawa Hiroie, daimyo of Iwakuni, Suō Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces.
Its abbreviated form na ...
, informed Terumoto's aide Motoi Ihara of the situation in the Kamigata region and urged Terumoto to march out. The following day, on November 10, Terumoto entrusted the management of his home province to Masuda Motoyoshi and Yamada Motomune, ote 9and marched out of Hagi on November 11, traveling eastward by sea from Mitajiri, Suo Province. Later, when Tokugawa Hidetada arrived at Fushimi on November 10, Sakai Tadayo, Doi Toshikatsu, and Ando Shigenobu, who were following Hidetada, requested Hidenari and Hidemoto in Edo to march out, and the Mōri clan joined the attack on Osaka Castle from both the home province and Edo.
During the Summer Siege of Osaka, some of the former vassals of the Mōri clan, such as Naito Motomori (Sano Michika), Karasuda Tsuji, Koda Masatane, and Kasai Shigemasa, joined the Toyotomi side. After the Siege of Osaka and the fall of the castle, Motomori was arrested in the outskirts of Kyoto in May. He was interrogated by Yagyū Munenori, an Ometsuke official in charge of the investigation, about the suspicion that Motomori had entered Osaka Castle on Terumoto's orders, but Motomori claimed that he had entered the castle on his own initiative, and committed suicide on the 21st, which resulted in the suspicion against the Mōri clan being dropped. After that, Naito Motomori's sons Naito Motochika and Awaya Mototoyo met with Ieyasu, and were allowed to return to Japan after explaining that they had no connection with Motomori. However, Terumoto forced the two to commit suicide and imprisoned Naito Motochika's son Motonobu.
In 1616, on July 19, Terumoto married his only daughter, Takehime, to Kikkawa Hiromasa. Two days before, on July 17, two days before the wedding of Yoshikawa Hiromasa and Takehime, Terumoto sent a letter with the following contents to Kikkawa Hiroie, and upon receiving the letter, Hiroie immediately replied to Ihara Motoi and Enomoto Motoyoshi that he accepted the gist of the letter:
Death
Finally, his behavior caused resentment among some of his vassals, which led him to retire.[ He was succeeded by Mōri Hidenari. Terumoto died in June 2, 1625 (aged 72) at Yoshida, ]Aki Province
or Geishū () was a province in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture.
History
When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province (one for male Buddhist prie ...
.
Personal info
He was known as a great patron of Hagi ware pottery.
* Father: Mōri Takamoto (毛利隆元, 1523–1563)
* Mother: Ozaki no Tsubone (尾崎局, 1527–1572), daughter of Naitō Okimori (内藤興盛).
** Main Wife: Seikōin (清光院, 1558–1631), daughter of Shishido Takaie (宍戸隆家).
** Concubine: Seitaiin (清泰院, 1572–1604)
*** First Son: Mōri Hidenari (毛利秀就, 1595–1651)
*** First Daughter: Takehima (竹姫, 1600–1644), wife of Kikkawa Hiromasa (吉川広正).
*** Second Son: Mōri Naritaka (毛利就隆, 1602–1679)
** Concubine: Omatsu (於松, ?–1641), fourth daughter of Hane Yamashiro-no-kami Motoyasu (羽根山城守元泰).
** Concubine: Osen (於千, 1550–1658), daughter of Inoue Kawachi-no-kami Narimasa (井上河内守就正).
** Concubine: Otsu (於鶴, ?–1677), daughter of Hanafusa Tarozaemon Yasuyuki (花房太郎左衛門尉某).
** Concubine: Osana (於さな, ?–1644), daughter of Kodama Kozaemon Noritomo (児玉小左衛門真友).
** Adopted Children:
*** Daughter: Komahime (古満姫, ?–1651), second daughter of Shishido Motohide (宍戸元秀). Wife of Kobayakawa Hideaki (小早川秀秋).
*** Son: Mōri Hidemoto (毛利秀元, 1579–1650), first son of Mōri Motokiyo (毛利元清) who was fourth son of the famous 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 ...
.
It is also said that Terumoto had a concubine who acted as an assassin.
Vassals
Four senior vassals who supported Terumoto'[
* Fukubara Sadatoshi][
* Kuchiba Michiyoshi][
* Kikkawa Motoharu][
* Kobayakawa Takakage][
]
Appendix
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* (first published in 1944)
*(''First published'': 藤野保先生還暦記念会編『近世日本の政治と外交』/ Politics and Diplomacy of Early Modern Japan," edited by the 60th Birthday Memorial Committee of Professor Fujino Tamotsu, 1993, 雄山閣, ISBN 4639011954。)
* *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Terumoto
samurai
1553 births
1625 deaths
Mōri clan
Daimyo
People of the Imjin War
People from Aki Province
Tairō
Toyotomi retainers
Deified Japanese men