Siege of Kozuki
Encyclopedia
The occurred in 1578, when the army of Mōri Terumoto
attacked and captured the castle of Kōzuki in Harima Province
. Kōzuki had been taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
the previous year and entrusted to Amago Katsuhisa
. When it fell to the Mōri, Amago committed hara-kiri. Amago's loyal and heroic general Yamanaka Shikanosuke Yukimori was captured and killed in the battle.
It is popularly believed in Japan that Yamanaka Shikanosuke, Amago's general, "sold" Amago's life, for the safety of his own men.
The Oda forces were so vastly outnumbered and surrounded in the castle that victory was impossible. Yamanaka Shikanosuke sent a message to the Mōri general offering to surrender, and offering the ritual suicide of his master (Amago). The offer was accepted, Amago committed suicide, and his forces surrendered.
What precisely happened to Yamanaka Shikanosuke after the battle is unclear. Though some sources say he died in the battle, others state that he became a vassal of the enemy lord, Mōri Terumoto, but was assassinated on Mōri's order (along with his new wife).
It should also be noted that Amago Katsuhisa, the Oda vassal lord of Kōzuki Castle, though a member of the samurai class, was not especially experienced or trained as a warrior. Oda Nobunaga was running out of qualified battle-hardened lords to hold his territories, so Katsuhisa was called to Kōzuki from Kyoto, where he was studying to be a Buddhist monk. Katsuhisa was very young, in his early twenties, when he died. A memorial stone stands with his name engraved, along with Buddhist inscriptions, where he took his own life.
Mori Terumoto
Mōri Terumoto , son of Mōri Takamoto and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, fought against Toyotomi Hideyoshi but was eventually overcome, participated in the Kyūshū campaign on Hideyoshi's side and built Hiroshima Castle, thus essentially founding Hiroshima.Terumoto was a...
attacked and captured the castle of Kōzuki in Harima Province
Harima Province
or Banshu was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tamba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji....
. Kōzuki had been taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
the previous year and entrusted to Amago Katsuhisa
Amago Katsuhisa
was a remnant of the Amago clan, a powerful feudal clan in the Chūgoku region, Japan; backed-up by Yamanaka Yukimori, a vassal of the clan.He was born to Amago Masahisa in 1553. In the following year, Katsuhisa's father and grandfather were killed by Amago Haruhisa, leading Katsuhisa to become a...
. When it fell to the Mōri, Amago committed hara-kiri. Amago's loyal and heroic general Yamanaka Shikanosuke Yukimori was captured and killed in the battle.
It is popularly believed in Japan that Yamanaka Shikanosuke, Amago's general, "sold" Amago's life, for the safety of his own men.
The Oda forces were so vastly outnumbered and surrounded in the castle that victory was impossible. Yamanaka Shikanosuke sent a message to the Mōri general offering to surrender, and offering the ritual suicide of his master (Amago). The offer was accepted, Amago committed suicide, and his forces surrendered.
What precisely happened to Yamanaka Shikanosuke after the battle is unclear. Though some sources say he died in the battle, others state that he became a vassal of the enemy lord, Mōri Terumoto, but was assassinated on Mōri's order (along with his new wife).
It should also be noted that Amago Katsuhisa, the Oda vassal lord of Kōzuki Castle, though a member of the samurai class, was not especially experienced or trained as a warrior. Oda Nobunaga was running out of qualified battle-hardened lords to hold his territories, so Katsuhisa was called to Kōzuki from Kyoto, where he was studying to be a Buddhist monk. Katsuhisa was very young, in his early twenties, when he died. A memorial stone stands with his name engraved, along with Buddhist inscriptions, where he took his own life.