The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (5)

       After Ouchi Morimi’s death in battle, his 2 sons, Mochiyo (1394-1441) and Mochimori (1394-1433), fought each other for the succession of the clan.  Although Mochimori once occupied all the provinces the clan was ruling besides a part of the Ishimi Province which Mochiyo escaped into, Mochiyo recovered the provinces with the supports from the local samurais.  Mochiyo defeated and killed Mochimori and succeeded Morimi.

     Later, Mochiyo defeated the Otomo and Shoni Clans, and conquered the Northern Kyushu.  When Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441), the 6th shogun, was assassinated, Mochiyo was, unluckily, sitting in the same room,  was deadly injured, and died before long.
 
   After Mochiyo’s sudden death in 1441, his 2 sons, Noriyuki (?-?) and Norihiro (1420-1465), fought each other, as the matter of course, for the succession of the clan.  Somehow or other, Norihiro overwhelmed Noriyuki, and Noriyuki became a priest and started tutoring his younger brother, Norihiro, and later Norihiro’s son, Masahiro (1446-1495).

     In 1443, the Kingdom of Joseon required Norihiro to send a mission, and he realized at the time that his father, Mochiyo, had secretly sent a (false?) mission to Joseon.  In 1453, Joseon offered a tally to the Ouchi Clan.  The clan was privileged, but was charged with eliminating false missions in return.