Kan Michinaga ---A Pirate Hired by Toyotomi Hideyoshi---

      At the turn of the 16th century, the Atagi Family of Kumano Pirates built Sumoto Castle.  They are said to have organized Awaji Naval Forces.  When the Miyoshi family advanced to Kyoto from Awa Province, the naval forces functioned as military transportation.  In 1528, the family adopted Miyoshi Huyuyasu (1528-1564).  It means the Atagi Family was swallowed by the Miyoshi Family.

     As the Mori Clan gained hegemony in the Chugoku Region and Oda Nobunaga ruled Kyoto and its surrounding areas, their clash was inevitable.  Awaji Island lay at the forefront between the two powers, so the people of Awaji were at a loss as to which side to take.  Atagi Nobuyasu and other local samurai in the province, such as Funakoshi Kagenao, were still undecided.  Under such circumstances, in 1576, the army of Mori Terumoto (1553-1625), by siding with Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537-1597), the 15th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, captured Iwaya Castle on Awaji Island and Kan Michinaga (?-1615) became the lord of the castle.  The Atagi Family might have been wiped out.  When the Mori Clan supported Ishiyama-Hongan-ji Temple, which was under siege by Nobunaga, Michinaga fought for the Mori Clan.  However, in November, 1581, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) attacked Awaji as a general of Nobunaga to gain a foothold to invade Shikoku, and Iwaya Castle fell in one day.  Michinaga escaped and went into hiding.

     After June 3rd, 1582, when Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582) in the Honnoji Incident, Michinaga joined forces with Mitsuhide and seized Sumoto Castle, which belonged to Sengoku Hidehisa (1552-1614), who was subject to Hideyoshi, at that time.  

    On June 9th, in Himeji Castle on his way back from the Chugoku Region to Kyoto, Hideyoshi wrote to Oda Nobutaka (1558-1583), Nobunaga’s third son, that Michinaga entered Sumoto Castle.  He also wrote to the Hirota Family, a local samurai in Awaji, that he was going to sail to the island to destroy Michinaga the next day.   He wrote to Atagi Nobuyasu, the leader of Awaji Naval Forces, that Michinaga would evacuate from the castle even that night.  On the 11th, he wrote to Matsui Yukan, who was in the highest position among Nobunaga’s secretaries, that Hideyoshi dispatched a troop to Sumoto Castle and killed Michinaga’s all soldiers.  As Yukan also worked as Nobunaga’s diplomat, Hideyoshi cared about information networks Yukan had.  All in all, Hideyoshi, who was attacking Mitsuhide, seemed to be worried about Michinaga’s military actions for Mitsuhide.  What if Michinaga would cut the marine transport between Himeji and Osaka minimum or cross Akashi Channel to interfere with Hideyoshi’s advance to Kyoto at worst?

     Actually, Michinaga wasn’t killed but fled to Shikoku and became a vassal of Kosokabe Chikayasu (1543-1594), a member of the Chosokabe Clan.  In the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584, Michinaga attacked Kishiwada Castle on March 18th, but was defeated.

     In 1585, the Chosokabe Clan surrendered to Hideyoshi and Michinaga automatically surrendered to him.  Under the Toyotomi Regime, Michinaga was granted some territories in Awaji Province but was transferred to Iyo Province soon.  It wasn’t a demotion but was a part of Hideyoshi’s preparation to invade Kyushu.  After that, Michinaga led his naval forces under Hideyoshi’s supervision, and sent the forces to the Kyushu Campaign of 1586–1587, the Third Siege of Odawara in 1590, and the Imjin War (1592–1598), in which  Michinaga served mainly as guards for the transport fleet.  The only major naval battle Michinaga took part in was the Naval Battle of Chilcheollyang on August 28th, 1597.

     Michinaga didn’t accomplish any spectacular achievement in actual fighting, but compiled Kan-ryu Suigun Yoryaku, the Kan Style Naval Technique, which was handed down from generation to generation by his offspring.