Amago Haruhisa (March 8, 1514 – January 9, 1561) was a powerful daimyō and warlord in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. Born as the second son of Amago Masahisa, he initially bore the name Akihisa, but in 1541, upon an offer from Ashikaga Yoshiharu, he adopted the name Haruhisa by incorporating a kanji character from Yoshiharu's own name.
Upon the untimely death of his father, Amago Masahisa, in battle, Haruhisa assumed leadership of the Amago clan in 1537, succeeding his grandfather. Eager to expand his territory, he launched a series of invasions, extending his influence as far as Harima. During his youth, he was known by the name Saburōshirō.
The Siege of Koriyama in 1540, pitting Haruhisa against Mōri Motonari, concluded in a humiliating defeat. This led to the defection of many of his retainers, who doubted Haruhisa's prospects for success. The subsequent year saw the passing of his grandfather, Amago Tsunehisa, and Ōuchi Yoshitaka initiated a counteroffensive to crush the Amago clan.
In the 1542–43 Siege of Toda Castle, Haruhisa successfully defended the castle. This victory not only bolstered his standing but also inspired the return of some of his earlier defectors. With sufficient forces gathered, he managed to repel the invasion and gradually solidified control over domains like Izumo, Hōki, Mimasaka, and Oki.
Following the death of Ōuchi Yoshitaka in 1551 due to the rebellion led by Sue Harukata, Haruhisa was offered lordship over eight domains by the Muromachi shogunate in 1552, four of which he already held in his firm grasp.
In his later years, Haruhisa made a sudden decision to eliminate his uncle Amago Kunihisa, along with the retainers under his command, collectively known as Shingūtō. This action, which initially led to a scarcity of experienced leaders, was likely a move by Haruhisa himself to consolidate his rule over the Amago clan, rather than a plot by Mori Motonari as depicted in certain fictional works.
After Sue Harutaka's defeat and death in the Battle of Miyajima, Haruhisa sought to claim Iwami, forming an alliance with the Ogasawara clan of Iwami to seize control of the Omori Silver Mine. This sparked a series of battles with no clear victor. In late 1560, while engaged in battle against Motonari, Haruhisa fell ill at Gassantoda Castle and passed away on January 9, 1561.
Amago Hisayuki, as documented in Unyo Gunjitsuki, remarked that Haruhisa was "Quick to act, yet lacked the strategic discipline of a seasoned general; eager for combat, yet not inclined towards forgiveness."
See also
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Araki Murashige
Araki Murashige (1535 – June 20, 1586) was a samurai and retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, the head of the powerful Settsu-Ikeda clan in Settsu Province. Initially serving under Katsumasa, he aligned himself with Oda Nobunaga after Nobunaga’s successful campaign to establish control over Kyoto.
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Yuki Hideyasu
Yuki Hideyasu (March 1, 1574 – June 2, 1607) was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods, serving as the daimyō of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. Born Tokugawa Ogimaru, he was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Oman (also known as Lady Kogō), a handmaiden to Ieyasu’s wife, Lady Tsukiyama. Due to Ieyasu’s fears of his wife’s reaction to Oman’s pregnancy, Ogimaru and his twin brother were born in secrecy at the home of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu’s retainers. Oman’s other son eventually became a priest, while Ogimaru was raised apart from Ieyasu, whom he only met at the age of three, in a meeting arranged by his older half-brother, Matsudaira Nobuyasu.
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
