Personnalité historique

Amago Tsunehisa

Deputy of the governor of Izumo (shugodai)

Amago Tsunehisa (1458-1541) is the founder of the power of the Amago, one of the great warrior houses of western Japan in the Sengoku period. Descended from a family of deputies (shugodai) of the Kyōgoku in Izumo Province, he retook Gassan-Toda Castle in 1486, from which his father had been removed, and made it the centre of a domination that, around 1521, extended over eleven provinces of Chūgoku. Under his authority, the castle was enlarged and a castle town prospered at the foot of Mount Gassan. He also had the Izumo shrine rebuilt. His statue stands today at the foot of the castle, in the city of Yasugi, where he is regarded as one of the three great strategists of Chūgoku.

Naissance1458

Décès1541

FonctionDeputy of the governor of Izumo (shugodai)

MaisonClan Amago

ÉpoqueMuromachi / Sengoku period

Histoire & patrimoine

From deputy to lord of eleven provinces

The Amago were originally merely lieutenants of the Kyōgoku, governors of Izumo residing in Kyōto. The attempt at independence by Kiyosada, Tsunehisa's father, failed; Tsunehisa retook Toda in 1486 and, taking advantage of the weakening of the provincial authorities, made the Amago an autonomous power whose influence covered eleven provinces, from Oki to Harima, in the early 1520s.