Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

After returning to Wakasa, Yoshishige began to prepare for the post-war evaluation. After all, more than a month had passed since the Western Expedition, and it was time to reward those meritorious officials.

But at this time, Yamamoto Shigeyuki asked for a meeting and said that Atagoyama Castle was about to be completed and the city could be moved in late April.

Yoshishige thought about it and felt that the new city had a new look, so it would be a good idea to hold the post-war evaluation in the Takeda clan's new main castle. This would be a good opportunity to reward people for their merits and celebrate the move of the city, which was a double happiness.

This proposal was supported by Yamamoto Shigeyuki, who immediately said that he would go back and speed up the construction to make Atagoyama Castle match the strength of the Takeda clan.

However, he came here for another reason. He heard that the head of the Akamatsu clan, Akamatsu Masamura, was recently given the taboo character "Haru" by Ashikaga Yoshiharu and officially changed his name to Akamatsu Harumasa. Under the protection of the shogunate and the Urakami clan, he returned to Harima Province from Sakai Port and gathered his retainers at Harima Tatsuno Castle again, intending to restore his rule over the three countries of Harima, Bizen and Bimasaka.

The Akamatsu clan rose from Akamatsu Village in Sanae County, Harima Province. At the beginning of the establishment of the Muromachi shogunate, they were listed as one of the "four positions" along with the Isshiki clan, the Kyogoku clan, and the Yamana clan. During the Akamatsu Yoshinori period, the Akamatsu clan's territory not only included the three states of Harima, Bi, and Saku, but also occupied part of Settsu, and controlled the position of samurai-shoshi in the shogunate, which was unrivaled for a time.

However, with the outbreak of the "Kakitsu Rebellion", the Akamatsu clan was once tragically wiped out. Although Akamatsu Masanori, who came from the Akamatsu clan, regained the post of guardian of Harima after the "Onin War", his authority in the three states was no longer as strong as before, especially as the Urakami clan, a branch of the Akamatsu clan, continued to grow, making the Akamatsu clan feel threatened.

After Akamatsu Masanori died, Akamatsu Yoshimura, who was from the Akamatsu branch family, inherited the position of head as a son-in-law. However, due to his young age, the power of the family was divided up by the Urakami clan and the Bessho clan, who served as guardians.

In 1518, Akamatsu Yoshimura, unwilling to be a puppet, ordered an attack on Urakami Muramune, the new head of the Urakami clan. However, the Urakami clan had surpassed the Akamatsu clan in power by then, and Muramune gathered the people of Bizen, Bitchu, and Bimasaka to defeat Akamatsu Yoshimura.

In 1520, the Urakami army captured Iwaya Castle in Mimasaka. Akamatsu Yoshimura sent Kodera Noritoki, the lord of Kodera Castle, to counterattack, but they were defeated by Nakamura Norihisa, the guardian of Mimasaka who was pro-Uragami, and the reinforcements Ukita Noriie.

Soon after, Urakami Muramune captured Akamatsu Yoshimura and placed him and the eight-year-old Akamatsu Masamune under house arrest in Harima Murozu (Muroyama). He then forced Akamatsu Yoshimura to give way to Akamatsu Masamune, making the latter a puppet of the Urakami clan.

A year later, Urakami Murakami, who was worried that Akamatsu Yoshimura would make a comeback, decided to go all out and sent assassins to kill Akamatsu Yoshimura. This typical "rebellion of the inferior over the superior" resulted in Bizen, Mimasaka and central and western Harima falling into the hands of the Urakami clan.

In 1531, Urakami Muramune, who supported Hosokawa Takakuni, led his troops to invade Settsu Province. Although Akamatsu Masamune participated in the battle as a rear guard, in order to avenge his father, he secretly promised to become an insider for Hosokawa Harumoto.

The result was that when the two sides were fighting at a critical moment, Akamatsu Masamune suddenly attacked Hosokawa Takakuni and Urakami Muramune from behind, causing the latter's army to be defeated. In the end, Urakami Muramune was killed in the battle, and Hosokawa Takakuni was forced to commit suicide. This was the "Great Collapse" that changed the world of Kinki.

After that, with the support of the new Kanrei Hosokawa Harumoto, Akamatsu Masamura briefly restored his rule over Harima. However, the good times did not last long. In 1537, Akihisa Amago launched a large-scale expedition to the east, defeated the Akamatsu clan, and briefly gained control of the three states of Harima, Bi, and Mi. Akamatsu Masamura was exiled and finally hid in Sakai Port.

Akamatsu Harumasa, who changed his name this time, dared to return to Harima to grab land just after the Amago clan withdrew its troops. He must have been supported by a powerful force. After thinking it over, Yoshishige finally realized that although he returned to Harima under the escort of the shogunate and the Urakami clan, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the shogunate was only a supplement, and the real role should be played by the Urakami clan with its entangled roots in the three states.

It is said that the Urakami clan originated from Urakami-sho in Iseyi County, Harima, and had served as vassal of the Akamatsu clan for generations since the Nanboku-chō period. Especially during the period of Urakami Norimune, they helped Akamatsu Masanori to revive the Akamatsu clan, but this also aroused the suspicion of the Akamatsu clan, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent hostility between the two sides.

After Urakami Norimune died, his son Urakami Muramune succeeded to the throne and began to unscrupulously seize the power and status of the Akamatsu clan. In the end, he reaped the fruits of his own actions and died in the "Daimonobong".

After Urakami Muramune was killed in battle, the Urakami clan split. The eldest son Urakami Masamune inherited his territory in Harima and made Murozu (Muroyama) Castle his residence; the second son Urakami Munekage inherited his territory in Bizen and made Tenjinyama Castle his residence. The Urakami family was divided into two and faced off against each other.

In order to concentrate his strength to check and balance Urakami Munekage and the Amago clan who were eyeing the three states, Urakami Masamune decided to negotiate peace with Akamatsu Harumasa, allowing the latter to retain a certain amount of power in Harima.

When Amago Akihisa led his eastern expedition to Harima, both Urakami Masamune and Akamatsu Harumasa were defeated, so he escorted Akamatsu Harumasa to flee to Akashi Castle, Awaji, Sakai Port and other places, leaving the three states to be occupied by the Amago clan.

Now that the Amago army has retreated, the Urakami clan has made a comeback relying on its remaining forces in Bizen and Mimasaka, and is trying to continue to use the Akamatsu clan as a shell to maintain its rule over the three states.

However, what the Urakami clan and the Akamatsu clan did not expect was that after only three years away from their homeland, when they returned, the three states would have undergone such great changes. Except for the Bessho clan who was still calling the shots in Harima and Bizen which was still stable, Bimasaka and Harima had undergone tremendous changes.

First, the Kusakari clan, a tough thorn that made the Akamatsu and Urakami clans frown, was uprooted, then the scattered Suga clan was reintegrated, and finally the Takeda clan traveled thousands of miles to Mimasaka and Harima, not only gaining a large amount of land in the two states, but also winning the favor of the local people.

Both Urakami Masamune and Akamatsu Harumasa expressed dissatisfaction and vigilance towards the Takeda clan's coming from afar.

In particular, Akamatsu Harumasa, who was determined to restore the glory of his ancestors and revive his family business, felt a stronger sense of crisis after learning that Okiyomi Castle and Shiroyama Castle were captured by the Takeda clan. He urgently hoped to take advantage of the Takeda clan's unstable foothold and unite with local forces such as Urakami and Bessho to drive Yoshishige and the Takeda clan back to Tajima or Inaba.

When Yoshishige heard this from Yamamoto Shigeyuki, his heartstrings, which had previously relaxed a little, tensed up again.

He didn't know if Akamatsu Harumasa really joined forces with Urakami and Bessho to fight against the Takeda clan, then those people who usually showed neutrality or even close to the Takeda clan would turn against him and change sides, thus putting the Takeda clan in a situation of being surrounded. (End of this chapter)