Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-8)

     Tohira’s grandson, Shigehira (?-1264), built Takayama-jo Castle in 1206, which kept being the clan’s stronghold until 1552 for 13 generations.  Shigehira also further exploited Nuta Manor.  He built embarkments at the mouth of the Nuta River, and developed extensive rice fields called Nuta 1000 Cho Da, nominally (about) 1000-hectare rice fields in Nuta, with the cooperation of traders in Nuta Bazaar, which was formed on the natural levee at the Nuta Estuary.  He laid the foundations for the growth of the Kobayakawa Family thereafter.  The Kobayakawa Family at the time were changing their character significantly from eastern land samurais fighting on horses to sea samurais commanding sea people.

     The Kobayakawa Family’s 5th head, Tomohira (?-1343), half following Kamakura Shogunate’s orders and half answering Nuta Bazaar traders’ needs, actively performed series of crackdowns on pirates around Nuta Port.  In 1314, he rounded up Uemon Goro and Saemon Jiro, and, in 1319, he even arrested a pirate of Iyo Province, Yagoro Hideie.  The Kobayakawa Family might have organized their own sea forces, to execute these duties against pirates.  Even after the collapse of Kamakura Shogunate in 1333, the family didn’t stop their jobs.  Tomohira’s 3 successors tried to expand their advance into the Geiyo Islands, the islands between Aki and Iyo Provinces, across the Seto Inland Sea even more eagerly and freely.