Personnalité historique

Ōuchi Yoshinaga

Head of the Ōuchi clan

Ōuchi Yoshinaga (1532-1557), born Ōtomo Haruhide, was the last head of the Ōuchi clan, a powerful house of western Japan based at Yamaguchi. The younger son of Ōtomo Yoshiaki and brother of Ōtomo Sōrin, he was placed at the head of the Ōuchi in 1552 by Tō Harukata, after Ōuchi Yoshitaka had been overthrown. Threatened by the expansion of Mōri Motonari after the Battle of Itsukushima, he began building Kōnomine Castle on the mountain overlooking Yamaguchi in 1556-1557, but had to abandon it unfinished in 1557. Having taken refuge in Nagato, he took his own life at Chōfuku-ji, thereby ending the Ōuchi line.

Portrait de Ōuchi Yoshinaga
Naissance1532, province de Bungo
Décès3e jour du 4e mois de Kōji 3 (1557), Chōfu
FonctionHead of the Ōuchi clan
MaisonClan Ōuchi (né dans le clan Ōtomo)
ÉpoqueSengoku period
Histoire & patrimoine

An Ōtomo at the Head of the Ōuchi

Born into the Ōtomo house of Bungo, Haruhide was for a time the adopted heir of Ōuchi Yoshitaka. Following Tō Harukata's coup against Yoshitaka, he was installed in 1552 as head of the Ōuchi under the name Yoshinaga, nominal leader of a clan whose real power was held by Tō.

Château de KōnomineChâteau de Kōnomine
Frise chronologique

Repères dans sa vie

1532

Born in Bungo Province, the younger son of Ōtomo Yoshiaki.

1544

Adopted by Ōuchi Yoshitaka; the adoption was annulled in 1545 when a son was born to Yoshitaka.

1552

Installed as head of the Ōuchi clan by Tō Harukata after Yoshitaka's fall.

1555

Defeat and death of Tō Harukata at the Battle of Itsukushima against Mōri Motonari.

1556-1557

Had Kōnomine Castle built on Mount Kōnomine (338 m) to defend Yamaguchi.

1557

The Mōri enter Yamaguchi; he abandons Kōnomine, takes refuge at Katsuyama Castle in Nagato, then takes his own life at Chōfuku-ji (today Kōzan-ji) in Chōfu.

Patrimoine associé

Les châteaux liés à cette personnalité

1 lieu
Réseau historique

Personnalités liées

Portrait de Ōtomo Yoshiaki
Ōtomo YoshiakiFather→
Portrait de Ōtomo Sōrin
Ōtomo SōrinElder brother→
Portrait de Ōuchi Yoshitaka
Ōuchi YoshitakaAdoptive father (1544-1545)→
Portrait de Tō Harukata
Tō HarukataProtector and true holder of power→
Portrait de Mōri Motonari
Mōri MotonariAdversaryHis troops take Yamaguchi in 1557.→
Portrait de Ichikawa Tsuneyoshi
Ichikawa TsuneyoshiChâteau en commun→
Portrait de Ōuchi Teruhiro
Ōuchi TeruhiroChâteau en commun→
Approfondir

Ōuchi Yoshinaga dans l’histoire

Kōnomine, the Last Castle of the Ōuchi

Following the defeat at Itsukushima (1555), Yoshinaga had a mountain castle built on Mount Kōnomine to cover the Yamaguchi residence. Sources differ on when the work began (spring 1556 or 1557). Still unfinished when the Mōri arrived in 1557, it was abandoned without a fight; the Mōri completed it afterwards. Its ruins, with stone walls at the summit, have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1959.

Documentation

Sources de la fiche

Cette synthèse croise plusieurs sources pour documenter les lieux, événements et relations historiques.