＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
When asked who the first ruler of the Sengoku period was, most people would probably answer Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582). However, before that, a military commander named Miyoshi Nagayoshi was commanding the nation from Akutagawayama Castle in Takatsuki.
Takatsuki is also famous for the Christian daimyo Takayama Ukon (1552-1615), but Miyoshi Nagayoshi is unknown nationwide. However, Takayama Ukon’s father was actually originally a subordinate of Miyoshi Nagayoshi.
It has been announced that Miyoshi Nagayoshi will also appear in this year’s NHK Taiga drama (played by Yamaji Kazuhiro), so it will be exciting to see how he will be portrayed from a new perspective.
So, in this article, I would like to take a look at Miyoshi Nagayoshi, a military commander with ties to Takatsuki who has been lost to history.
1. About Miyoshi Nagayoshi
Miyoshi Nagayoshi (1522-1564) was a Sengoku period warlord born in Awa Province (Tokushima Prefecture) as the eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, lord of Awa Shiboshi Castle. He was also a feudal lord of the Kinai and Awa Provinces.
His father, Miyoshi Motonaga, was a vassal of the Hosokawa clan, the guardian of Awa, and was responsible for propelling Hosokawa Harumoto to the position of ruler of the Kinai region. However, he was assassinated in the Ikko Ikki uprising, which was orchestrated by Hosokawa Harumoto, who feared Motonaga’s growing power, and Miyoshi clan members Miyoshi Masanaga and Kizawa Nagamasa.
Nagayoshi inherited the family headship at the age of 10 after his father’s death, and two years later began serving Kanrei Hosokawa Harumoto. He subsequently repeatedly defected and returned to the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Hosokawa Harumoto.
However, in 1549 (Tenbun 18), he won a decisive victory over the forces of his father’s enemy, Hosokawa Harumoto, and entered Kyoto, becoming the ruler of Japan and establishing the Miyoshi government. In 1553 (Tenbun 22), he defeated the allied forces of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Harumoto, exiling them to Omi, and establishing a de facto dictatorship. While the Shogun and Kanrei remained in power technically, it had become a puppet government of Nagayoshi.
He maintained order in Kyoto in the Shogun’s absence and guarded the estates of the nobles. If he had pursued and thoroughly destroyed Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Kanrei Hosokawa Harumoto at this time, the Miyoshi government might have become even more solid. He appears to have been a “compassionate” military commander, lacking the “ruthlessness” of Oda Nobunaga, which is why he ended up being a “short-lived ruler of Japan.”
He then moved to Akutagawayama Castle in Takatsuki.
In 1558 (Eiroku 1), he made peace with Yoshiteru, and in 1560 (Eiroku 3), he moved to Iimoriyama Castle (Daito City/Shijonawate City, Osaka Prefecture), leaving Akutagawayama Castle in the hands of his son, Yoshinaga.
However, in 1563 (Eiroku 6), his eldest son, Yoshioki, died, and the successive deaths of relatives and close associates left him feeling weak, mentally and physically unstable, and indiscreet. In 1564, believing the slander of his vassal, Matsunaga Hisahide (1508-1577), he murdered his younger brother, Ataka Fuyuyasu, and died of illness the same year. As a result, the Miyoshi clan lost real power to Matsunaga Hisahide, also known as the “tyrant of turbulent times.” As an aside, Matsunaga Hisahide was a local lord from Higashiyosumi, Takatsuki City.
In 1568, Oda Nobunaga set out for Kyoto with Ashikaga Yoshiaki under the pretext of restoring the Muromachi shogunate. Nobunaga and his men set up camps at Kiyomizu-dera and To-ji temples, but instead of entering the city of Kyoto (central Kyoto), they first attacked Akutagawayama Castle in Takatsuki, where the Miyoshi clan was holed up. This was because they could not feel safe going to Kyoto (central Kyoto) unless they eliminated the threat posed by the Miyoshi clan, who ruled the Kinai region, and captured Akutagawayama Castle, one of the bases of power in Japan.
After capturing Akutagawayama Castle, Nobunaga announced the deployment of his new military commanders to rule the country there. This was, in effect, Nobunaga’s first “Declaration of Rulership of the Nation.”
As an aside, in March 2017, Akutagawayama Castle was selected as one of the “100 Most Famous Castles in Japan” by the Japan Castle Foundation.
During the Sengoku period, Christian missionaries visited Japan and reported on the state of affairs in Japan to Europe. In the illustration “Changes in Japan’s Rulers” in the “Historical Atlas” by Chatelain, published in the Netherlands in 1718, the rulers are listed as “Emperor,” “Ashikaga Shogun,” “Miyoshi-dono,” followed by the names of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu.
One of the reasons Miyoshi Nagayoshi is not well known today as a “ruler of the nation” is the low evaluation he received in “Nihon Gaishi,” a book by the late Edo period historian Rai Sanyo (1781-1832). “Nihon Gaishi” (Nihon Gaishi) is a book that could be called a “bestseller from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era.” While Rai Sanyo highly praises Oda Nobunaga, he gives little praise to Miyoshi Nagayoshi. This seems to have led to the widespread perception that “Oda Nobunaga was the first unifier of Japan.”
The father of Takayama Ukon, a famous Christian daimyo, served Miyoshi Nagayoshi and, following Matsunaga Hisahide, a senior vassal of the Miyoshi clan, once lived in Sawa Castle in Uda County, Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture).
2. Miyoshi Nagayoshi was the “First Unifier of Japan in the Sengoku Period”
(1) What is a “Unifier”?
“Unifier” refers to “a person who seized power over Japan” and “a person who, mainly from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period, brought all of Japan under his control, excluding most of Ryukyu (Okinawa Prefecture) and Ezo (Hokkaido).”
Oda Nobunaga controlled Kyoto, including the Kinai region, and the Imperial Court there, so he could be said to have had nationwide influence. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu truly achieved “national rule” in both name and reality, making them Sengoku daimyo worthy of the title “Tenka-nin.”
By the way, Minamoto no Yoritomo, who called his work the “foundation of the world,” did not achieve nationwide rule. The same was true of Ashikaga Takauji, who founded the Muromachi shogunate.
(2) Requirements for Tenka-nin
① Control the whole country
② Establish a government as a samurai
③ Act as a vassal of the Imperial Court
④ The government must have “national influence”
(3) Miyoshi Government
The Miyoshi Government was Japan’s “central government” that existed from 1549 (Tenbun 18) to 1568 (Eiroku 11). It was significantly different from the “local governments” of other Sengoku daimyo of the same period, and some say it was a pioneering unified government that preceded the Oda government.
At the time, the only daimyo comparable to Miyoshi Nagayoshi was Hojo Ujiyasu of Sagami Province, but there was a huge difference in economic power, culture, and political importance between Kanto and Kinai, and it can be said that the Miyoshi government was the “central government.”
The “government seats” were Iimoriyama Castle (headquarters) in Settsu Province and Akutagawayama Castle in Settsu Province.
The fact that bases were located in places like Shijonawate and Takatsuki may seem inferior compared to modern-day cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. However, Takatsuki was a key transportation hub halfway between Kyoto and Osaka, and was close to the capital, allowing it to oversee the entire Kinai region. Considering the vast territory it controlled, as described below, this was not entirely inappropriate. Kawachi, where Iimoriyama Castle is located, was originally the former territory of Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s father, so it is likely that he chose it as his base.
Edo, where Tokugawa Ieyasu established his shogunate, was a barren wasteland, and Oda Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle on the outskirts of Lake Biwa. However, he made the city flourish through urban planning.
His “controlled areas” included Awa, Sanuki, Awaji, Settsu, Kawachi, Izumi, Yamashiro, Yamato, Tamba, Wakasa, and Harima.
3. Reasons why Miyoshi Nagayoshi failed to become a “world ruler” like Oda Nobunaga.
(1) He failed to overthrow the Muromachi shogunate in Kyoto.
He repeatedly fought and made peace with the shogun and Hosokawa Harumoto, and became the ruler of Japan without relying on the Ashikaga clan. However, he was unable to completely destroy the Muromachi shogunate and completely take control of Kyoto.
(2) The political base was weak, consisting of only a small number of family members.
In the case of Oda Nobunaga, in addition to his own group of retainers, he actively recruited “outside talent” such as Kinoshita Tōkichirō and Akechi Mitsuhide.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in addition to his younger brother Hidenaga, had “military strategists” such as Takenaka Hanbei and Kuroda Kanbei, and among his “close aides” were capable bureaucrat-type retainers such as Ishida Mitsunari.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the eldest son of a minor daimyo, and was held hostage by the Imagawa and Oda clans as a child, but he had a strong group of retainers who shared his joys and sorrows.
In contrast, Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s government was centered around a small group of family members, and there were conflicts within the family as well, so he had a weak organizational base.
(3) The Successive Deaths of Those Who Supported the Government
Amidst this, the Miyoshi government rapidly declined after 1561, due to the successive deaths of Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s eldest son, Miyoshi Yoshioki, his younger brother, Miyoshi Saneyasu, Ataka Fuyuyasu, and Togo Kazumasa, who had supported the government.
The assassination of his younger brother, Ataka Fuyuyasu, due to slander by Matsunaga Hisahide, who had achieved numerous military feats alongside the “Miyoshi Three” (Miyoshi Nagatsugu, Iwanari Tomomichi, and Miyoshi Masayasu), was a deep regret.
After the death of Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s eldest son, Yoshioki, the Miyoshi family was eventually succeeded by Togo Kazumasa’s son, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, as an adopted heir. However, in 1573, the Miyoshi clan was attacked by Oda Nobunaga, resulting in the demise of the main Miyoshi family. Incidentally, Matsunaga Hisahide was also killed by Oda Nobunaga.
(4) He was a military commander with a generous heart, lacking the ruthlessness of Nobunaga.
Looking at Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s military record, we see repeated battles with similar opponents, victory, peace, and then another battle, followed by either defeat or peace—a cycle of “battle” and “peace.”
He appears to have been a military commander with a very generous heart. Conversely, he also seems to have had a tendency to lack decisiveness.
However, one reason he was unable to completely corner the shogun and kanrei is that long-standing authority cannot be easily denied or eliminated. Even Oda Nobunaga struggled to the end against the repeated resistance of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
The imperial family is a prime example of this. Many powerful figures, including the Seii Taishogun, may have used their authority to effectively neutralize the imperial system, but they never rejected it. There were many examples of emperors and retired emperors who rebelled against military governments being captured and exiled…
(5) Lack of urban planning for castle towns
Tokugawa Ieyasu transformed Edo, then a remote and barren wasteland, into a thriving city through his excellent urban planning.
Oda Nobunaga also prospered by defeating religious forces such as those on Mount Hiei and eliminating their vested interests through free markets and free trade.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi also made good use of Sakai merchants to prosper the city of Osaka.
(6) Lack of a plan to conquer other countries through the recruitment of talented people
Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s recruitment of local lord Matsunaga Hisahide of Takatsuki is perhaps the only notable example of his recruitment.
Oda Nobunaga skillfully used external talents such as Kinoshita Tōkichirō and Akechi Mitsuhide to launch battles aimed at unifying Japan and achieve success after victory.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered one enemy after another with the help of military strategists such as Takenaka Hanbei and Kuroda Kanbei. He also skillfully controlled the powerful daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu, fully utilizing his talent for winning people over.
After Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara and unified Japan, he practiced a “divide and conquer” approach, dividing the daimyo into “relative clans,” “fudai daimyo” (hereditary daimyo) on the eastern side, and “tozama daimyo” (outsider daimyo) on the western side. The third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, established the “sankin-kotai” system, taking wives and children hostage in Edo to prevent them from opposing the Tokugawa shogunate, and successfully implemented a policy of increasing the daimyo’s expenses through sankin-kotai, thereby weakening their power.
Miyoshi Nagayoshi lived in an era when the rise of the ruling class was at its height, and the time for unifying the country was not yet ripe, but in these respects, it must be said that Miyoshi Nagayoshi was inferior. However, it is worth noting that his reign did not end in three days (actually 13 days) like Akechi Mitsuhide’s, but lasted for 19 years.
4. Miyoshi Nagayoshi’s Achievements
(1) Political Achievements
① Permission to Propagate Christianity
Miyoshi Nagayoshi was also known for his religious tolerance and for allowing the “mission of Christianity.” This was 20 years before Oda Nobunaga’s permission to do so. He allowed a wide range of religious beliefs, regardless of sect, including Christianity, Shinto, and Buddhism, to be practiced freely.
② Use of Firearms
Miyoshi Nagayoshi enthusiastically supported the Nichiren sect’s Kenhonji Temple (Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture). This temple was the family temple of his father, Miyoshi Motonaga. What caught his eye was the fact that Kenhonji Temple had many branch temples, even in Kyushu. Among its followers and parishioners were merchants, and he was able to utilize this network to acquire firearms through trade with the West.
Through his ties with Buddhist forces, he used firearms 25 years before Oda Nobunaga.
(2) Cultural Achievements
Miyoshi Nagayoshi excelled in literature and was said to have been a “master of renga (linked verse).” He was an educated man who valued his relationship with the Imperial Court and frequently held renga gatherings. He was also close with cultural figures in the Kinai region, and held many renga gatherings and tea ceremonies with them.