was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese samurai of the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 and the head of the Mori

Mori clan (Genji)

The was a family of Japanese people descended from the Seiwa Genji. Their line descended from Minamoto no Yoshiie through his seventh son, Minamoto no Yoshitaka, proprietor of Mori-no-shō in Sagami Province...

 family, who served the Saitō clan

Saito clan

The was a Japanese clan in Mino Province during the Sengoku period in the 16th century. According to records, the Saitō clan descended from the Fujiwara clan...

. The Saitō were the lords of the Mino province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

. When the Saitō clan were overthrown by the Oda clan

Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...

 Yoshinari and his family became retainers of Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

.

Yoshinari was the father of the samurai Mori Nagayoshi

Mori Nagayoshi

was an officer under the Oda clan following Japan's 16th-century Sengoku period, and the older brother of the famous Mori Ranmaru.Nagayoshi was known to have such a bad temper and to be particularly ruthless in battle that he came to be known as the "Devil." Nagayoshi's efforts for Toyotomi...

 and Mori Ranmaru

Mori Ranmaru

, born Mori Nagasada , was the son of Mori Yoshinari, and had 5 brothers in total, from the province of Mino. He was a member of the Mori Clan, descendants of the Seiwa Genji....

. After Yoshinari died fighting against the Asakura clan

Asakura clan

The ' are descendants of Prince Kusakabe , son of Emperor Temmu .The family was a line of daimyō which, along with the Azai clan, opposed Oda Nobunaga in the late 16th century...

, Nagayoshi took over the leadership of the clan, but he later died in the battle of Nagakute in 1584.