Japanese Sengoku Figures 40 Yoshisuke Ito (Part I)

In the previous part, we introduced the powerful minister Kai Soyun of the small daimyo Aso family, and in this article, we continue to introduce you to the Ito family, another force in Kyushu, and bring the Ito family to the prosperous "Mishu Taishou" Ito Yoshisuke.

The Ito clan was descended from Eiji, a descendant of Fujiwara Minami Takechimaro, whose son became a geniju to a carpenter and began to change his name to the Kudo clan. Ken's great-grandson, Weiren, served as the envoy of Izu Yokoto, lived in Itosho, Izu Country, and changed his name to the Ito clan. Later, the Yu family and the Yuji brothers separated, and the Honryu side lived in the birthplace of Ito, and became a retainer of the Go-Hojo clan during the Sengoku period. On the other hand, the Ito clan, who succeeded the Yuki lineage, was given the title of head of the Hyuga Kingdom. His son Yu Chao settled in Hyuga Kingdom and became the ancestor of the Hinata Ito clan.

Yoshisuke Ito, infant name Kumatomaru, second son of Ito Yinsuke. Yongzheng was born in the ninth year, and his posthumous name was Ito Yukiyo. On August 18 of the second year of astronomy, his twenty-four-year-old brother Ito Yuyun fell ill. At this time, Yukiyo was supposed to succeed him as the governor of the family, and his uncle Ito Musashi Moritake seized power by force, and at this time the government of the country was completely returned to Yutake. However, the two brothers Yukiyo and Yukichi were forced by their uncles and had to flee from the capital town and hid in Hichiya Castle. The two brothers originally planned to leave Hyuga Country on the ship back to Setouchi. The three provinces of Su Lao Arashi Wu chased them under the boat to persuade, and the two were finally moved, and they got off the boat determined to fight with their uncle and regain their due power.

The brothers Yuqing and Yuyoshi , supported by the three provinces of Arashitake, counterattacked the capital of the county , forcing his uncle Yubu to seppuku . Who expected that before Yukiyo officially became the governor of the family, Yutake's son Ito Zubei contacted Milashi to launch a rebellion. In March of the following year, Yuqing successfully suppressed Miraichi. It is a pity that in the vicious battle, Yuqing lost the pillar Arabu Three Provinces. At the beginning of the fourth year of astronomy, the elder Nagakura Noto Shouyu Province and others supported the third brother Ito Yukichi. Yukiyo, who had lost the three provinces of Araki, had to become a monk in Tomita Township, Koyu Prefecture, in order to take refuge. However, only a year later, Ito Yukichi, the ninth head of the Hinata Ito clan, died of illness in Miyazaki Castle. Yukiyo returned to the customs and returned to Sadohara Castle to succeed him as the governor of the family, becoming the tenth head of the Hinata Ito clan.

The newly succeeded Yukiyo was a great advocate of Kyoto culture, and Yoshisuke carried out activities to promote Buddhism throughout Kyoto, and funded the construction of temples and large Buddhas throughout Kyoto, gradually establishing his prestige. He also frequently offered gold to the imperial court and the shogun's family, so the monks, cultural figures, and secretaries of Kyoto were very enthusiastic about Sukiyo. In the sixth year of astronomy (1537), the twelfth shogun of the shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, gave the word "righteousness" in Ashikaga Yoshiharu to Yukiyo, and Yukiyo changed his name to Ito Yoshiharu. The author of this matter believes that Yoshisuke's high profile in Kyoto is to create momentum, and successfully entered the Kyoto public secretary circle, and also received a reward from the shogun, which greatly increased the young Yoshisuke's prestige and enabled him to sit firmly as the head of the righteous owner.

The Nagakura clan's rebellion lasted for more than a year, until September of the tenth year of astronomy, when the combined forces of Yoshisuke broke Nagakura and Shimadzu and achieved the final victory. In this battle, the rebellion culprit Nagakura Nomoru was killed in battle, Kamisuke fled, and the anti-Yoshiyu forces within the Ito family were swept away. After five years as the head of the Ito clan, the thirty-year-old Yoshisuke finally gained his footing.

A series of pro-shogunate measures not only enabled the Itō clan to gain the support of the shogunate in the struggle with the Shimazu clan, but also greatly benefited Ito Yoshisuke himself. In the winter of the fifteenth year of astronomy, Yoshisuke was promoted to three officials, so he was known as the "three dukes" in the "Hyuga Chronicle", and in the seventeenth year of astronomy, Yoshisuke was ranked in the highest rank of the shogunate family "shogunate generation imperial companion". The following year, due to the early death of his eldest son, Huanhumaru, Yiyu called himself "Three Initiators" when he became a monk and was proud.

After quelling the Nagakura clan's rebellion, Ito Yoshisuke changed the territorial policy of Yuyo and Yukichi and restarted the expansion of the Ito clan. In order to seize the rule of southern Hinata, the Ito clan had to deal not only with the Hogo clan and the Toyoshu Shimazu clan, but also the powerful rivals behind the two Satsuma Shimazu clan.

Because Yoshisuke's grandfather Yoshikoku died in the war with the Shimadzu family, his hatred for the Shimadzu family is deep. The Shimadzu family has been the guardian of Satsuma, Osumi, and Hinata since ancient times.

It was difficult for the Ito clan alone to compete with the three forces, so Yoshisuke married his eldest daughter Takashiro clan to the seventeenth generation head of the Osumi Hefu clan through frequent marriages and diplomatic activities, and the second daughter Aso married Kitahara Kansho, who occupied Hinata Makoin at this time, and wooed Higo Sagara Yoshiyō. Yoshisuke relies on the three families of Hefu, Kitahara, and Sagara as foreign aid to deal with the alliance of the Kitago and Toyoshu families and contain Satsuma's Shimazu Takahisa.

In March of the twelfth year of astronomy, Ito Yoshisuke once again became fattened. The Ito army besieged the city of Pelido Mountain Castle, and under the continuous offensive day and night, the Shimadzu army of the Pelido Mountain Castle held on for two days, and finally the enemy fell to the castle, and more than 40 of the remaining defenders abandoned the city and fled, and the Itō Army took advantage of the victory to pursue and captured more than 20 people including Kashiwahara Bichu Guard. In October of the thirteenth year of astronomy, Ōtomo Yoshikan's envoy, Seikein, came to Eikeiji Temple in Ofui and began peaceful negotiations. Yiyu was resolute, the negotiations failed, and Dinghuiyuan returned in vain.

Yoshisuke suspended the attack of the Ito Army and decided to first divide the Toyoshu Shimazu clan. This policy soon paid off, and the Ito clan soldiers were able to gain the land without bloodshed. Shimadzu Hiroshita, relying on rumors, did not distinguish between true and false, and summoned Takamoto Youemon to the claustrophobi of Obei. Gao Yuan was soon rescued by his relatives, and Kaesong defected to Ito Yoshisuke.

Because of Shimazu Tadahiro's self-destruction of the Great Wall, Yoshisuke's army was in full swing after breaking through the Uhat Ridge, and the troops pointed directly at Kumagai New Castle, which belonged to the general of Ofui Nango, Kitago Tadano. Yoshisuke built a fortress at Nakaoling Ridge, a key point east of Obei, and the city lord Zhongzhi led hundreds of people to hold the city, and the Ito army burned the city with rockets. The fire was fierce, and the Ito Army took the opportunity to land on the city. In this battle, the defenders to the castle lord Kitago General Jian Zhongzhi were completely destroyed, and Kumagai New Town was also burned to ruins in the fire.

Tadahiro Shimadzu, who knew that he was in danger, decided to ask Shimazu Takahisa of Satsuma for help. Shimadzu Takahisa then sent Ijiin Yamato Mori Tadaaki as a general, and led more than 300 horsemen to aid Tadahiro. On April 2, the eighteenth year of astronomy, the Ijiin army took advantage of the deep lock of the morning fog and raided Nakao Gan, which was guarded by Ito Jibu Shosuke. The surprise blow of the coalition forces surprised the defenders, and the Ito Army has been passive since the beginning of the joint battle. By noon, Nakao was broken, and more than 200 people under Ito Jibu were killed.

When Yoshisuke heard the news of the defeat, he began to order the entire Ito Army to retreat. The conquest lasted six years before and after the Yoshitsune Obi campaign, although it was ultimately lost under the intervention of Satsuma Shimazu. However, this six-year battle had greatly consumed the living strength of the Toyoshu Shimazu clan, and it was difficult to face the Ito clan independently. The emaciated Shimadzu Tadahiro relinquished his position as governor and handed over his adopted son Shimazu Tadahiro, and he died on May 20 of the following year at the age of fifty-two.

In the first year of Eiroku, the Ito Army, with Ito Kaga Moriyuyasu as a general, besieged the Shimazu clan's last stronghold outside Ofui Castle Shinzan Castle. Johor Bahru City has a treacherous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is known as the "first mountain of Fenfei". The two armies stalemated until November of the same year, when Ito Yuan cut off the water source and sent an envoy to persuade him to surrender, but the city lord knew that Yamato Mori Tadayuki flatly refused, and the Itō Army launched a general attack the next day. This battle was the first battle of Yamada Munemasa, a retainer of the Ito clan. At this time, Yamada Munemasa was only seventeen years old, but he showed his true colors to kill Kamezawa Toyozen, a powerful warrior famous in the Hokugo clan. It is said that before the battle, Yamada split the meal in two, eating half of it and vowing to take down Kamezawa and eat the other half. Later, Yu and Kamezawa Fengmae rode and beheaded Kamezawa Fengmae's first rank, and everyone was afraid of his ghost-like martial bravery. I think this incident may be based on the story of Wen Jiu Chopping Huaxiong in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Shimazu Tadashi, who was trapped in Obi Castle, had no choice but to ask Shimadzu Takahisa for help again. Guijiu ordered 3,000 elite troops to rescue Obei, and the Yu soldiers, who had detected the arrival of Satsuma Shimazu's reinforcements, designed to lure the enemy deeper, and led the Shimadzu army to Nakashimada, and in the fierce battle, the Ito ambush suddenly killed, and the Shimadzu army was defeated before and after. Uehara Shikibu Shaosuke, known as the "First Rigid Man of Obi", and Genshiro Uehara were killed.

At the beginning of October of the tenth year of astronomy, Ito Yoshisuke soldiers conscripted Tonfei, and fought together for more than ten years. Shimadzu Tadako took the initiative to cede the Sueyoshi land bordering Satsuma Shimazu to Shimazu Takahisa, and accepted Takahisa's second son Tadahei (Shimazu Yoshihiro) as his adopted son to settle in Obi Castle to jointly defend against the Ito clan.

In July 1561, Ito Yoshisuke established the Kamakura Battle between the castles of Ofui and Sakatani, and at the same time assisted the defeat of Shimazu Takahisa. The Hefu clan captured the second castle of the Kogen Mountain Malay, and Satsuma Shimazu lost more than 70 people, including Shimadzu Right Matsuhisa Masahisa (also known as the Tadashun), and Daiji Daisuke. Satsuma Shimazu, who had suffered a defeat, was unable to assist Obi for a while, and Shimadzu Tadashi sent a joint Japanese to send an envoy to the Ito family on December 21 of the same year, asking for surrender. The two agreed to cede Shibushi to the liver and pay for it, and the fat was in charge of Ito Yoshisuke. On May 18 of the following year, Shimazu Tadashi, who had completed the delivery of Shibushi , moved to Kushima. On the same day, the Ito clan took over Obi with Fukunaga Gonguchi Shaosuke and Kamibeppu Tsuneki Mamoru as the castle generation. It took twenty years, and at this moment he finally captured the manure.