Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-10)

     Kobayakawa Korehira (?-?), Sadahira’s another younger brother and the 8th son in the family, came to be based in Ikuchi-jima Island, and called his family Ikuchi.  Korehira’s son, Kimizane (?-?), willingly and actively connected himself with the traders at Setoda Port in the island.  In 1422, he managed to be privileged by the Muromachi Shogunate not to pay toll taxes at Hyogo and other ports, although the privilege was confiscated next year as it was detected that he illegally distributed the privilege to the Setoda traders.  Morihira(?-?), who was the head of the family at the time, was authorized to be a steward samurai of the island by the Muromachi Shogunate in 1433.

     With those branch families, many of which had their own sea forces, and with the Tada-no-umi Sea Guards, the Kobayakawa Family grew up to be the Kobayakawa Clan.  Their sea forces were collectively called the Kobayakawa Sea Forces.  However, the clan’s 14th and 15th heads died young, and the clan adopted Takakage (1533-1597) from the Mori Clan to be subordinate to the Mori Clan.  Thus, the Kobayakawa Sea Forces became the second type of the sea forces of the Mori Clan.