Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-2)

     When Hideyoshi unified the Japanese Archipelago, he unified not only land of the islands but also waters around the islands.  Before his unification, there were various types of sea forces on the waters.  One extreme type of those sea forces was Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600).  He called himself a pirate warlord.  Another extreme examples of those sea forces were sea guards.  Most of those who were called sea guards were direct vassals of land warlords.  Other neutral sea forces concluded various relations with geopolitically corresponding land warlords.  Some were almost independent, and played power games with and against surrounding land warlords.  That kind of independency was less likely to be seen in Eastern Provinces.  In other words, the sea forces in the west were more like pirates, while those in the east were more like sea guards.  In the west, the Seto Inland Sea was the main artery, and most of the sea was controlled by the Mori Clan at the end of the Warring States Period.  In the east, the Hojo Clan became the champion in the Kanto Plain, with their sea forces clashing against the other sea forces of the Imagawa, Takeda, Miura, and Satomi Clans.

     Ikko-ikki Uprisings and Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) made their biggest clash against each other around Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple in Settsu Province from 1570 to 1580.  Mori Terumoto (1553-1625) sent his sea forces there to break Oda’s blockade and supply the temple.  The sea forces were commanding the Seto Inland Sea at that time.  Although they were lumped together as Mori Sea Forces, a range of sea forces were involved in fact.  They were each based in different sea areas, and had different origins and histories.  Some were organized by, or comprised with, land samurais to guard their ports.  Others had been pirates for generations even from ancient times.  Let me describe 3 typical cases now as it is difficult to depict all their histories readily.