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.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-7)

     As their name “Kawanouchi” (literally Among-Rivers) suggests, the sea guards were composed of local powerful families living in the Ota River Delta, and of Butsugo-ji Temple, which was located in the delta.  The temple had been founded in 1459 by the former lord of Kusatsu Castle as a Tendai-Buddhism temple, and had turned to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in 1496.  Such as they were, the sea guards were much less efficient in naval strength and mobility than the Murakami Clan, who were pirates born and living in the sea.  That was why the Mori Clan had to struggle to win the support of the Murakami Clan when they sought the naval supremacy in the Seto Inland Sea.  Nevertheless, the sea guards were very loyal to the Mori Clan, and were the most reliable sea forces for the clan.

     Now let’s move on to the second type of the Mori Sea Forces: the Kobayakawa Sea Forces, whose main unit was the Tada-no-umi Sea Guards.

     The Dohi Family was living in Dohi County, Sagami Province.  Dohi Sanehira (?-?1191) was the second son and started living in Kobayakawa Village in Dohi County.  His son, Tohira (?-1237), started calling his family Kobayakawa.  When Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) took up arms against the Taira Clan in 1180, the father and son followed him and fought against the Taira Clan.  Tohira was later appointed as a manorial steward samurai of Nuta and Takehara Manors in Aki Province.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-6)

     The Kodama Family had been one of the Kamakura Shogunate’s vassals who had been transferred to western provinces to bring the whole nation under the shogunate’s control.  The family was from the northern corner of Musashi Province, which adjoined Sagami Province, where Kamakura was located.  Their ancestors were members of one of the Musashi Seven Corps.

     The most part of Musashi Province was plateaus deeply covered with volcanic-ash soil, which was suitable for stock farming, not for rice growing.  In ancient times, many of the naturalized Silla people then were sent to Musashi Province, and engaged in the farming.  On that base, many stock farms were set up there, including 6 imperial stock farms.  The custodians of those farms later formed small-scale samurai families.  By marriage, those samurai families composed 7 corps on the plateaus in the province.

     Some members of the KodamaCorp were transferred to Takehito Village, Toyota County, Aki Province to prepare for so called the Mongol invasion of Japan, or for the invasion by the allied forces of China and Korea.  The village was located in the mountains between Yoshida Manor and the Seto Inland Sea.

   

     Therefore, the Mori Clan and and the Kodama Family were land samurais in their origins.  In 1554, however, the Mori Clan occupied Kusatsu Castle and Kusatsu Port, and got the gateway to the sea for the first time.  The port had been called Ikusa-tsu (literally Battle Port) in ancient times, and had been used as an important naval port in sending troops for the Battle of Baekgang in 663.  After the occupation, Kodama Naritaka was appointed to be the lord of the castle, and to lead the Kawanouchi Sea Guards there.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-5)

     Tokichika first governed Yoshida Manor in Aki Province remotely and indirectly as an absentee land lord.  He was such an able man as to make a member of the council of the Rokuhara Agency of the Kamakura Shogunate, which ruled Western Japan as well as Kyoto, where the agency was located, and its surrounding areas on behalf of the shogunate.  However, he was living in the last days of the shogunate, hated the chaos, and retreated to Yoshida Manor in 1336 after the collapse of the shogunate in 1333 with his great grandson, Motoharu (1323-?), but couldn’t enjoy a peaceful retired life.  It was a time of upheavals, the period of the Northern and Southern Courts.  His son, Sadachika (?-1351), and grandson, Chikahira (?-1375), were fighting for the Southern Court, which was losing.  Tokichika had Motoharu fight for the Northern Court, or for Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), calmed Takauji down, and invited his son and grandson to Yoshida Manor.  He built Koriyama Castle there, and ruled the manor.  At long last, Motoharu was guaranteed the proprietary of the manor in 1376 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

     From Tokichika’s time, the family generated branch families.  Through the competition and coordination among themselves, the families formed the base for the Mori Clan.  In addition, the fame as a nationally distinguished family enabled the Mori Family to lead other local families in Aki Province to form a union against warlords around them and against the central government as well.  It might have been during this process that the Kodama Family became dependent on and even subordinate to the Mori Clan.

     Kawanouchi Sea Guards were led and commanded by Kodama Narikata (1513-1586) and his son, Narihide (1544-1596).

Toyotomi Hideyoshi—The Third Pirate King of Japan (0-4)

     Before we talk about Kawanouchi Sea Guards, we should understand, first of all, who the Mori Clan, their lord, were, and where they were from.

      Oe Hiromoto (1148-1225) was a competent bureaucrat.  In the early days of the Kamakura Shogunate, he was invited from Kyoto to Kamakura by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder of the shogunate. Hiromoto played a critical role in establishing the shogunate system.  His fourth son, Suemitsu (1202-1247), inherited Mori Manor, Aiko County, Sagami Province, and started calling his family Mori.  During the Kamakura period Mori was one of prominent family who were direct vassals of the shogunate due to the fame of their ancestor Hiromoto.

     Suemitsu and most of his family members were killed in Hoji Battle, or Miura Rebellion, in 1247, but his fourth son, Tsunemitsu (?-?), narrowly escaped the death and barely secured their estates in Echigo and Aki Provinces.  He allocated Yoshida Manor in Aki Province to his fourth son, Tokichika (?-1341).