was the ''

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 ...

'' of

Suō Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suō bordered on Aki, Iwami, and Nagato Provinces. The ancient provincial capital was in Hōfu. Suō was ruled for much o ...

and the head 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 12th to 14th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi, comprised six provinces at their height, and ...

, succeeding

Ōuchi Yoshioki became a ''sengoku daimyō'' of Suō Province and served as the 15th head of the Ōuchi clan. Yoshioki was born early in the Sengoku period, the son of Ōuchi Masahiro, ''shugo'' of Suō Province and the 14th head of the Ōuchi clan. The firs ...

. In 1522, he fought the

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 Kunih ...

along with his father, Yoshioki, to win the control of

Aki Province or Geishū () was a province in the Chūgoku Region of western Honshū, 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 ...

. Upon Yoshioki's death in 1528, Yoshitaka became the head of

. In the 1530s, he led a military actions in the northern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

, defeating

Shōni clan was a family of Japanese nobles descended from the Fujiwara family, many of whom held high government offices in Kyūshū. Prior to the Kamakura period (1185–1333), "Shōni" was originally a title and post within the Kyūshū ( Dazaifu) governm ...

to win control of the area. With his back then secure, in 1540 he again started combating the Amago clan and by 1541, managed to completely control the Aki province. However, in 1542, an invasion into

Izumo Province was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this region was independent an ...

ended in a disaster, with Yoshitaka losing his adopted son Ōuchi Harumochi along with large number of troops against

Amago Haruhisa was a ''daimyō'' warlord in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. He was the second son of Amago Masahisa. Initially named Akihisa (詮久), he changed his name to Haruhisa in 1541 after Ashikaga Yoshiharu offered to let him use a ''kanji'' chara ...

. His 1542–43 Siege of Toda Castle ended in failure. He completely lost his ambitions of expanding his domains and devoted his energy to the arts and culture. His retainers split into two factions. Those led by

Sagara Taketō was a samurai and retainer of the Ōuchi clan and a son of Sagara Masato. Originally from Higo Province, he served the Ōuchi clan as his father had become a retainer of the clan. From around 1543 with the support of Ōuchi Yoshitaka, he led a ...

wanted the Ōuchi clan to simply do nothing more than maintain the control of their current domains, while those led by Sue Harukata wanted to continue expanding. Yoshitaka sided with the former. Under the patronage of Yoshitaka, foreign trade and the arts flourished, and the Ōuchi home city Yamaguchi prospered greatly. In addition, Yoshitaka also attracted the Portuguese missionary

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

, and allowed him to proselytize while he was in Yamaguchi. At the same time, Yoshitaka fostered a close relationship with

Emperor Go-Nara was the 105th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from June 9, 1526 until his death in 1557, during the Sengoku period. His personal name was Tomohito (知仁). Genealogy He was the second son of Emper ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, and sponsored many imperial rites that the imperial court could not have afforded otherwise. On March 27, 1551, the embattled emperor appointed Ōuchi Yoshitaka as Acting Governor of Yamashiro (山城権守), the home province where the imperial capital Kyoto was located, in a bid to leverage the Ōuchi against the ravages of the warlord

Miyoshi Nagayoshi , eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai and powerful ''daimyō'' who ruled seven provinces of Kansai. Nagayoshi held the court titles of Shūri-dayū (修理太夫) and Chikuzen no Kami (筑前守), and was also known by the more ...

, who occupied the capital. Yoshitaka, as Acting Governor of Yamashiro and, by extension, the protector of the court, embarked on a daring plan to relocate the emperor and the court to Yamaguchi. High-ranking courtiers and performers of imperial rites moved to Yamaguchi, including dignitaries such as former regent ('' kampaku'')

Nijō Tadafusa , son of regent Nijō Hisamoto, was a Japanese '' kugyō'' (court noble) of the Muromachi period (1336–1573). He held a regent position kampaku two times from 1518 to 1525 and from 1534 to 1536. His wife was a daughter of regent Kujō Hisatsun ...

and retired Grand Minister (''

Sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the ini ...

'') Sanjō Kin'yori (三条公頼; father-in-law of

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

). By the end of the eighth month of 1551, nearly the whole court, save for the emperor himself and the palace ladies, was in Yamaguchi. The military establishment of the Ōuchi resented Yoshitaka's apparent "weakness" and his plan to settle the imperial court in Yamaguchi — such a move would see privileges accorded to the courtiers and undermine their own standing within the Ōuchi clan. In September 1551, the faction led by Sue Harukata revolted and attempted to take over the Ōuchi clan. With the control of troops in Harukata's hand, it was over in few days—the courtiers and ministers were massacred and Yoshitaka was forced to perform

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

at the Tainei-ji Temple (大寧寺) in Nagato Province after composing his

death poem The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures—most prominently in Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history and Joseon Korea. They tend to offer a reflection on death—both in g ...

: Both the victor and the vanquished are but drops of dew, but bolts of lightning – thus should we view the world. Original: 討人もうたるゝ人ももろともに如露如電応作如是観　

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouchi, Yoshitaka 1507 births 1551 deaths Daimyo Suicides by seppuku Ōuchi clan