16th head of the Kimotsuki clan
Kimotsuki Kanetsugu (1511-1566), sixteenth head of the Kimotsuki clan, brought the power of this old house of Ōsumi to its height from Takayama Castle (Kōyama), the family seat for eighteen generations in what is now the town of Kimotsuki. After eliminating his uncle in 1533, he expanded his lands by taking Takaoka (1538) and then several strongholds in southern Kyūshū, and in 1562 seized Shibushi, approaching control of the whole Ōsumi Peninsula. Initially tied to the Shimazu through marriages, he broke with them around 1558-1561, allied with the Itō of Hyūga, and killed Shimazu Tadamasa. The Shimazu counteroffensive of 1566 brought down Takayama according to Japanese Wikipedia, and Kanetsugu died the same year; the town dates the clan's final defeat to 1573. The castle, a vast complex of enclosures separated by dry moats, has been a National Historic Site since 1945.
Takayama Castle overlooks the confluence of the Honjō and Kuriyama rivers, protected to the east by shirasu cliffs. A fortress suited to mounted warfare, it served Kanetsugu as a base for his expansion across Ōsumi and as far as Shibushi.
Born, eldest son of Kimotsuki Kaneoki.
Eliminates his uncle Kanechika and becomes the 16th head of the clan.
Takes Takaoka Castle, a step towards dominance over Ōsumi.
Seizes the castles of Mobiki, Hirabusa, Anraku and Aibara.
Hands over leadership of the clan to his son Yoshikane while retaining real power.
Breaks with the Shimazu, allies with the Itō; capture of Meguri Castle and death of Shimazu Tadamasa at Takeharayama (1561).
Capture of Shibushi: maximum extent of Kimotsuki lands.
Counteroffensive by Shimazu Takahisa: fall of Takayama (Kōyama) according to Wikipedia; Kanetsugu dies the same year (suicide according to some sources, weakly attested).
Final defeat of the Kimotsuki by the Shimazu (1573), transfer of the clan to Ata and abandonment of Takayama Castle (1580).
Kanetsugu first sought an alliance with the Shimazu: he married a daughter of Shimazu Tadayoshi, and his sister married Shimazu Takahisa. The rupture, between 1558 and 1561, led him to ally with the Itō of Hyūga and opened a war that ended in the ruin of his house.
Cette synthèse croise plusieurs sources pour documenter les lieux, événements et relations historiques.
