The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (7)

     The Sagara Clan was a good pupil of the Ouchi Clan.

     In 1547, Muromachi Shogunate, or practically the Ouchi Clan, ordered the Sagara Clan to guard the mission ships, and the clan sent some of their vassal samurais.

     When the Sagara Clan developed Miyahara Silver Mine, they invited a silver refiner, Doun, from Iwami Silver Mine, which was ruled by the Ouchi Clan at the time.

     All in all, the Sagara Clan quickly acquired knowledge and skills necessary for getting along with Ming from the Ouchi Clan and managed to send their first “mission” to Ming in 1554, just 3 years after the Ouchi Clan practically fell with Yoshitaka’s defeated suicide death in 1551, when Yoshitaka was overthrown by Sue Harutaka, his vassal.  Next year, in 1555, the Sagara Clan sent their second “mission” to Ming.  In 1557, the Ouchi Clan, their teacher, even nominally became extinct with the suicide death of Yoshinaga, Yoshitaka’s nephew and a puppet of Sue Harutaka.  This time he was defeated by the Mori Clan.  Sue Harutaka?  He had already been killed in the battle against the Mori Clan on Itsuku-shima Island as early as in 1555.