Virtual Upper Tada Manor 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Kyutoku-ji Temple Site

 

     Kyutoku-ji Temple is said to have been founded to pray for the comfort of Yamanaka Shikanosuke (1545-1578) and his lord, Amago Yoshihisa (1540-1610), in the other world.  They were both from Izumo Province.  Then, who founded a temple for them in Kawabe County, Settsu Province?  First of all, who was Shikanosuke?

     On November 21st, 1566, the Amago Clan was destroyed by the Mori Clan, and Yoshihisa was confined under the supervision of the Mori Clan.  From that time on, Shikanosuke relentlessly fought to revive the Amago Clan.

     In 1568, Shikanosuke, Tachihara Hisatsuna (1531-1613), and some former vassals of the Amago Clan asked Amago Katsuhisa (1553-1578), who was a monk in Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto, to return to secular life.  They secretly waited for an opportunity to restore the Amago Clan.

     In April, 1569, Mori Motonari (1497-1571) sent troops west to northern Kyushu to attack the Otomo Clan.  Shikanosuke made use of the opportunity and began invading Izumo Province from the east.

     On June 23rd, Shikanosuke and others boarded several hundred boats from Tango Province and Tajima Provinces, sailed west, and landed on the Shimane Peninsula.  They first occupied the nearby Chuyama Fort.  Shikanosuke and others issued a call for restoration of the Amago Clan, and former retainers who had stayed in the province gathered in droves, and, within 5 days, their army numbered more than 3,000.  Later that month, Shikanosuke and the Amago-related samurai captured Shin’yama Fortress, which Taga Mototatsu had guarded.  They built Suetsugu Fortress, which later became Matsue Castle, on the north shore of Lake Shinji and used it as their base.  They expanded their power in the province.

     In mid-July, Shikanosuke set out to capture Gassan-Toda Castle, the former residence of the Amago Clan.  Shikanosuke drove the Mori forces into the castle, but failed to seize it.

     In the meanwhile, as Shinnosuke had the upper hand over the Mori Army, some samurai in Iwami Province revolted against the Mori Clan.  Shinnosuke temporarily left the siege and went to rescue them.  On his way to Iwami Province, Shikanosuke defeated the Mori Army in Harate County in Izumo Plain (today's Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture), and then captured 16 fortresses in Izumo Province.  His troop strength  expanded to over 6,000.  Shikanosuke also won over the powerful local samurai of Izumo Province, such as Yonehara Tsunahiro (?-1613) and Mitoya Hisasuke (?-1591).  He came to control almost the entire Izumo Province.

     In addition to Izumo Province, Shikanosuke captured many important fortresses in Hoki Province, including Odaka Fortress near the border between Izumo and Hoki Provinces, Yabase Fortress in the center, and Iwakura Fortress on the border with Inaba Province.  He persuaded Jinzai Motomichi (?-1578) of Sueyoshi Fortress to his side, and then gained the samurai who controlled Hino County (today's Hino District, Tottori).  He expanded his influence throughout Hoki Province.  He also turned his sister's husband, Saeki Shichirojiro, who was the castle guard at Takada Castle, which was later called Katsuyama Castle, in Mimasaka Province, to his side.  He expanded his influence over Inaba, Bingo, Bitchu, and Mimasaka Provinces.

     On January 6th, 1570, Mori Terumoto (1553-1625), Kikkawa Motoharu (1530-1586), and Kobayakawa Takakage (1533-1597) led a large army from Yoshida-Koriyama Castle to suppress the Amago Restoration Forces.  The Mori forces went north and entered Izumo Province, where they captured Amago Restoration Forces' fortresses one by one before moving towards Gassan-Toda Castle.  Meanwhile, Shikanosuke was being held up by the rebellion of Oki Tamekiyo, and was unable to seize Gassan-Toda Castle.  Therefore, in order to prevent the advance of the Mori forces, Shikanosuke set up camp in Fube (today's Fube, Hirose-cho, Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture) and prepared for the decisive battle.

     On February 14th, the Amago Restoration Forces were defeated by the Mori Army at Fube.  Shikanosuke remained as rear guard while his allies fled, and after preventing the collapse of the forces, he returned to Suetsugu Fortress.  The Mori Army, victorious in the battle, entered Gassan-Toda Castle on the 15th, relieving the castle from the siege by the Amago Restoration Forces.  The Amago Restoration Forces, on the other hand, began to decline due to its defeat in this battle.

     In June, the defeat in Fube reduced the power of the Amago Restoration Forces in Izumo Province to just two fortresses, Shin'yama and Takase Fortresses.  On September 5th, however, Motonari fell seriously ill in Aki Province, and the forces of Terumoto and Takakage returned to their home provinces, leaving Motoharu behind.  The situation changed dramatically.  Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces regained their strength.

     Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces recaptured fortresses one after another on the border between Izumo and Hoki Provinces, such as Togamiyama and Sueyoshi Fortresses, which were important shipping bases in Lake Nakaumi.  They also briefly captured Shimizuyama Fort.  They again approached Gassan-Toda Castle.  They also captured Manganji Castle on the north shore of Lake Shinji in order to cooperate with Yonehara Tsunahiro, who was holed up in Takase Fortress.  They cornered Motoharu and attacked his castle, Hirata Castle.  They also succeeded in winning over Oki Saemonnojo, a local powerful samurai of Oki Province.  The Amago restoration Forces gained control of the Sea of ​​Japan and, once again, expanded their influence to the entire Shimane Peninsula.

     On October 6th, 1570, Motonari received news that the Mori Forces were at a disadvantage in Izumo Province.  To support the forces, he dispatched his own naval force, Kodama Narihide (1544-1596), from the Seto Inland Sea to regain control of the seas along the Japan Sea coast.  Thanks to the reinforcements, the Mori Forces gradually gained the upper hand in battles, and the power of the Amago Restoration Forces gradually dwindled, with Togamiyama Fortress falling in late October and Manganji Fortress falling in December.

     Then, on August 20th, 1571, the last stronghold, Shin'yama Fortress, fell.   Amago Katsuhisa fled to Oki Province.

     At the same time, Shikanosuke, who had been fighting from Sueyoshi Fortress, was also defeated and captured by Motoharu.  Shikanosuke was imprisoned in Odaka Castle, but, due to the pleas of Shishido Takaie and Kuchiba Michiyoshi for his life, his life was saved.  Thus, the Amago Restoration Forces were wiped out, and the First Amago Restoration Movement ended in failure.  Later, Shikanosuke, however, found an opportunity to escape.

    I suppose many of you have already lost interest in reading Shikanosuke’s story.  Please, then, skip reading about the Second and the Third Amago Restoration Movements.

Second Amago Restoration Movement

     After escaping from Odaka Castle, Shikanosuke crossed the sea to Oki Province, and then crossed the sea again to return to Honshu around March-April, 1572, hiding out in Tajima Province.  He kept in contact with Murakami Takeyoshi, a pirate in the Seto Inland Sea, and Maki Naoharu, a senior vassal of the Mimasaka Miura Family, and waited for an opportunity to restore the Amago Clan with the false name Kamei.

     In early 1573, Shikanosuke invaded Inaba Province from Tajima Province, captured Kiriyama Castle, and used it as a base.  He seems to have had a plan to use Inaba Province as a foothold to expand his influence to Hoki and Izumo Provinces through various military activities. 

     At that time, Inaba Province was actually ruled by Takeda Takanobu (1529-1573) under the hegemony of the Mori Clan. Takanobu expanded his influence in the province by cooperating with the Mori Clan after winning a battle against Yamana Toyokazu (?-1564), the then Guardian Samurai of Inaba Province, in 1563.

     Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces gained an ally in Toyokazu's younger brother, Toyokuni (1548-1626), who was aiming to revive the Yamana Clan, and fought in various battles throughout Inaba Province, winning victories and expanding their influence. Then, on August 1st, 1573, they won a decisive victory over the Takeda forces in the Battle of Koshikiyama Castle, and began a full-scale attack on Takanobu's stronghold, Tottori Castle.

     The Amago Restoration Forces attacked Tottori Castle, where 5,000-strong Takeda troops were holed up, with about 1,000-strong forces.  They captured the castle in late September of the same year.  The Takeda's retainers who holed up in the castle surrendered, offering hostages to the Amago Restoration Forces.

     Toyokuni entered Tottori Castle, and the Amago Restoration Army established its headquarters at Ichiba Fortress.  Shikanosuke then captured 15 forts in 10 days, expanding his power to over 3,000-strong and succeeding in dominating the eastern Inaba Province.

     However, in early November, Toyokuni switched sides to the Mori Clan after being appeased by Takimi Takatsugu and others.  The Amago Restoration Forces lost Tottori Castle to the Mori Clan in just over a month.  With Tottori Castle taken and his power unstable, Shikanosuke fought the Mori Forces in Inaba Province, and also cooperated with anti-Mori forces such as the Miura Family in Mimasaka Province, the Uragami Family in Bizen Province, and the Otomo Clan in Buzen Province.  He also secretly contacted Shibata Katsuie (1522-1583), a subordinate of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), in an attempt to rebuild his momentum.  In November, 1574, Shikanosuke was given a jar of saltpeter, an indispensable raw material to make gunpowder, by Otomo Yoshishige (1530-1587) for his achievements in defeating the forces of Ukita Naoie (1529-1581) at Katsuyama Castle in Mimasaka Province.  The castle was the base of the Miura Family.

     In May, 1575, Yamana Suketoyo (1511-1580) in Tajima Province concluded peace negotiations with the Mori Clan, known as the "Geitan Peace Agreement."  Suketoyo had previously supported the Amago Restoration Forces, but, as Nobunaga threatened the Yamana Family's control of Tajima Province with his interests in the Ikuno Silver Mine, so it was important for Suketoyo to join forces with the Mori Clan.

     Having lost the support of the Yamana Family of Tajima Province, Shikanosuke captured Onigajo Castle in Inaba Province on June 14-15, 1575, and moved his base there, with Kamei Tsunenori taking over Ichiba Fortress.  Onigajo Castle was located at the junction of the mountain routes among Inaba, Tajima, and Harima Provinces.  He secured a route from Inaba Province through Harima Province to Kyoto while avoiding Tajima Province, the territory of the now rival, Yamana Family.

     In June, Kikkawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage led a 47,000-strong army to Inaba Province and launched an all-out attack on the Amago Restoration Forces.  Motoharu captured the Amago Restoration Forces' forts one by one, and on August 29th, they launched an attack on Onigajo Castle, where Shikanosuke was holed up.  The Amago Restoration Forces succeeded in fending off and repelling the attacks of the Mori Forces, but in early October, Ichiba Fortress fell, and Onigajo Castle was the only base left for the Amago Restoration Forces in Inaba Province.  However, due to rising tensions between the Oda and Mori Clans along the Seto Inland Sea, on October 21st, the Mori Forces built forts around Onigajo Castle and withdrew from Inaba Province.

     However, with the demise of the Mimura Family, one of the anti-Mori forces, the decline of the Uragami Family, and the surrender of Miura Family in Mimasaka Province to the Mori Clan, the Amago Restoration Forces was completely isolated in Inaba Province.

     Furthermore, even after the withdrawal of the main force of the Mori Forces, including Motoharu, the remaining Mori Forces continued to pressure Onigajo Castle, so, around May, 1576, the Amago Restoration Forces left the castle and withdrew from Inaba Province.  Thus, the second Amago Restoration Movement also ended in failure.

     Uh-oh, we’ve reached the end of the second Amago Restoration Movement just at long last.  Please don’t hesitate to skip the third one.

The Third Amago Restoration Movement and the Death of Shikanosuke

     After retreating from Inaba Province, Shikanosuke went to Kyoto, relying on Oda Nobunaga.  When Shikanosuke met Nobunaga in Kyoto, Nobunaga praised him as a "good man" and gave him a fine horse named "Shijuri Kage".  Shikanosuke then set out to restore the Amago Clan under the Oda Clan.

     In 1576, Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces joined the army of Akechi Mitsuhide (1516-1528) and participated in the siege of Yagi Fortress in Tajima Province and Momii Fortress in Tanba Province.  In November, when Akechi's army was defeated at Momii Fortress, Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces became the rear guard of the army, and fought against the pursuing Hatano and Akai troops, splitting them apart and preventing the army from collapsing, for which they received a reward from Mitsuhide.

     In 1577, Shikanosuke accompanied Nobunaga's eldest son, Nobutada (1557-1582), to the siege of Kataoka Castle and Shigisan Castle, where Matsunaga Hisahide (1508-1577) was holed up. Shikanosuke distinguished himself by being the first to intrude into Kataoka Castle and the second to intrude into Shigisan Castle.  Shikanosuke also killed Kawai Shogen, a general under Hisahide, in single combat.

     In October, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi, under orders from Nobunaga, began his march to Harima Province, Shikanosuke and the Amago Restoration Forces left Akechi's army and fought under Hideyoshi's Army.

     In December, when Hideyoshi captured Kozuki Castle, the base of the Mori Clan in western Harima, Shikanosuke entered the castle with his lord, Amago Katsuhisa.  The Amago Restoration Forces would use this castle as a base to try to restore the Amago Clan.  Kozuki Castle was a small castle, but it was located on the border of Bizen, Mimasaka, and Harima Provinces, and was an important base for ruling the region.  As the castle's guard, Shikanosuke not only defended the area, but also acted as a mediator between the Oda Clan and the Emi Family in Mimasaka Province.  He tried to appease and conciliate the Mimasaka local samurai.

     On February 1st, 1578, Ukita Hidenaga's general Makabe Jiroshiro attacked Kozuki Castle with about 3,000-strong forces.  In this battle, Shikanosuke led about 800-strong forces in a night attack on the Ukita Army, killing Jiroshiro and resulting in a victory for the Amago Restoration Forces.

     From mid February to late March, Bessho Nagaharu (1558-1580) of Miki Castle raised against Nobunaga and sided with the Mori Clan.  The Mori Clan was at war with the Oda Clan, and saw this as an opportunity.  In April, the Mori Clan marched to Harima Province with a more than 30,000-strong army led by Motoharu and Takakage.  On April 18th, they laid siege to Kozuki Castle, where the Amago Restoration Forces were held up.

     On May 4th, upon receiving news that Kozuki Castle was besieged by the Mori Army, Hideyoshi, along with Araki Murashige (1535-1586) and others, led an army of 10,000-strong to the rescue of Kozuki Castle, setting up camp at Takakurayama Fortress.  He was defeated by the Mori Forces in the Battle of Takakurayama on June 21st, and was ordered by Nobunaga to give priority to the attack on Miki Castle.  He withdrew from their camp on June 26th and retreated to Mt. Shosha.  As a result, Kozuki Castle was left isolated and without support, their food supplies were running out, and more and more samurai were leaving the castle.  On July 5th, the Amago Restoration Forces surrendered to the Mori Forces.

     As conditions for surrender, Amago Katsuhisa, his younger brother, Michihisa (1554-1578), and his son, Toyowakamaru (?-1578), committed seppuku suicides, and Shikanosuke and Tachihara Hisatsuna (1531-1613) were captured alive, and was taken to Mori Terumoto, who was stationed at Bicchu Matsuyama Castle. However, on the way there, at a ferry stop in Ai-no-watashi, Shikanosuke was assassinated by Fukuma Motoaki 

     Ugh, at very long last, we reached Shikanosuke’s death.  You may find me persistent, but it was Shikanosuke who was persistent.  His persistence, however, appealed to the Edo-Period people.  He became the main protagonist of the Kabuki play Ko no Tori, The Birds of the Gods, and appeared in several other plays.  Not only his persistence but his motivation to revive his lord’s lordship might have struck chords with those who had become masterless under the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Many of them became farmers or merchants, but some of them kept being jobless samurai, looking for a new master as samurai. 

     The Warring States Period was a world where the stronger preyed upon the weaker.  Weaker warlords were either destroyed or swallowed by stronger warlords.  Low-ranking samurai became masterless and jobless when their master or lord was abolished.  The Toyotomi Clan was the largest to have been abolished, and the Tokugawa Shogunate continued to abolish other rivalry clans one by one.  Even under the Pax Tokugawana, central high-ranking powerful samurai were busy destroying regional small and medium domains to increase their territories and income.  Those caused more and more masterless samurai to whom it was a moving theme to revive their master lord.

     After the Meiji Restoration, his loyalty to his lord, Katsuhisa, was praised as a model of loyalty to the Emperor, and he appeared in an elementary school textbook.  Even after World War II, Shikanosuke kept his popularity.  He is one of the main playable characters in Samurai Warriors 5, and is a playable character in Sengoku Basara 4.  He also appeared as a non-playable character in other Warring-States-Period video games.  If you have heard of the historic names in my lengthy story, you might be a nerd of such video games.

     Although Shikanosuke died young, he kept being a hero for nearly half a millennium, overcoming radical social fluctuations.

     What was I talking about?  Yes, why was Shikanosuke's grave built in a remote mountain temple?  It could have been his son that built the grave for his late father.

     Shikanosuke's son became an orphan at the age of 9.  He counted on his uncle, Yamanaka Nobunao (1511-1579), who lived a secluded life in Konoike Village, Kawabe County, Settsu Province.  Shikanosuke's son called himself Shinroku or Shin'emon.  Shinroku inherited his father's persistence and quickness to seize opportunities.  He gave up being a samurai, and started a sake brewery at the end of the 16th century, keeping his bloodline secret.  In 1599, he started sending sake to Edo, the new capital of Japan.  In the 1610's, he moved to Osaka, the center of commerce in Japan.  In 1620's, he started a shipping company.  In 1635, Sankin-kotai, or alternate attendance system, was introduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate.  It required most domain lords to alternately live in their domain and Edo, every year.  Many lords in western provinces became his customers.  Shinroku called himself Konoike Naofumi (1571-1651), the founder of the Konoike Zaibatsu, or the Konoike Conglomerate.  In his family motto, he ordered his offspring to keep their bloodline secret.

Address: 37 Ginzan, Inagawa, Kawabe District, Hyogo 666-0256

Chuyama Castle Ruins

Address: Mihonosekicho Kitaura, Matsue, Shimane 690-1221

Shin'yama Castle Ruins

Address: Hokkicho, Matsue, Shimane 690-0815

Matsue Castle

Address: 1-5 Tonomachi, Matsue, Shimane 690-0887

Site of Odaka Castle

Address: Odaka, Yonago, Tottori 689-3514

Phone: 0859-23-5436

Site of Yabase Castle

Address: 576 Sueyoshi, Daisen, Saihaku District, Tottori 689-3331

Site of Sueyoshi Castle

Address: 576 Sueyoshi, Daisen, Saihaku District, Tottori 689-3331

Katsuyama Castle

Address: Katsuyama, Maniwa, Okayama 717-0013

Koriyama Castle Honmaru Ruins

Address: Yoshidacho Yoshida, Akitakata, Hiroshima 731-0501

Shikanosuke Shrine

Address: Hirosecho Fube, Yasugi, Shimane 692-0623

Takase Castle Ruins

Hikawacho Kanba, Izumo, Shimane 699-0503

Tokamiyama Castle Ruins

Address: Yasugicho, Yasugi, Shimane 692-0011

Shimizuyama

Address: Shimatacho, Yasugi, Shimane 692-0024

Manganji Fortress Site

Address: 881 Nishihamasadacho, Matsue, Shimane 690-0122

Hirata Castle Ruins

Address: 287 Hiratacho, Izumo, Shimane 691-0001

Koshikiyama Fortress Site

Address: 957-2 Kokufucho Mitani, Tottori, 680-0141

Tottori Castle Ruins

Address: Higashimachi, Tottori, 680-0005

Ichiba Fortress Site

Address: Kamitsuguro, Yazu, Yazu District, Tottori 680-0313

Ikuno Silver Mine

Address: 33-5 Ikunocho Kono, Asago, Hyogo 679-3324

Phone: 079-679-2010

Wakasa Onigajo Castle Ruins

Address: Mikura, Wakasa, Yazu District, Tottori 680-0701

Phone: 0858-82-2211

Yagi Castle Ruins

Address: Yagicho Yagi, Nantan, Kyoto 629-0141

Momii Fortress Site

Address: Fukusumi, Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo 669-2513

Ruin of Kataoka castle

Address: 2 Chome-12-2 Shimomaki, Kammaki, Kitakatsuragi District, Nara 639-0205

Shigisan Castle Site

Address: 1308 Shigisan, Heguri, Ikoma District, Nara 636-0922

Phone: 0745-72-2516

Kozuki Castle Ruins

Address: Kozuki, Sayo, Sayo District, Hyogo 679-5523

Phone: 0790-82-0670

Miki Castle Ruins

Address: 5 Uenomarucho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0432

Phone: 0794-82-2000

Takakurayama Fortress Site

Address: Yamawaki, Sayo, Sayo District, Hyogo 679-5302

Mt. Shosha

Address: Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2201

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

Address: 1 Uchisange, Takahashi, Okayama 716-0004

Phone: 0866-21-0461

Ai-no-watashi Site

Address: Abe 9, Ochiaicho, Takahashi, Okayama 716-0061