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Japanese samurai (1522–1564) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miyoshi Nagayoshi (三好 長慶, March 10, 1522 – August 10, 1564), or Miyoshi Choukei,[1] the eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai and daimyō who ruled seven provinces in Kansai.[2] He was considered the most powerful figure during the Sengoku period before the rise of Oda Nobunaga, as Nagayoshi controlled the central government of the Shogunate.[3][4]
Miyoshi Nagayoshi | |
|---|---|
三好 長慶 | |
 Portrait of Miyoshi Nagayoshi | |
| Head of Miyoshi clan | |
| In office 1549–1564 | |
| Succeeded by | Miyoshi Yoshitsugu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1522 Yamashiro Province, Japan |
| Died | July 4, 1564 (aged 42) Kawachi Province, Japan |
| Spouse | Hatano Tanemichi's daughter |
| Relations | Miyoshi Yoshikata (brother) Atagi Fuyuyasu (brother) Sogō Kazumasa (brother) Miyoshi Yoshitsugu (adopted son) |
| Children | Miyoshi Yoshioki |
| Parents |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Miyoshi clan |
| Rank | Daimyo (Lord) |
| Battles/wars |
|
Nagayoshi held the court titles of Shūri-dayū (修理太夫) and Chikuzen no Kami (筑前守). During his tenure, the Miyoshi clan would experience a great rise of power, and engage in a protracted military campaign against its rivals, the Rokkaku clan and the Hosokawa clan, while also engaging in conflict against Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the Shogun.[5]
Nagayoshi was most known for his role in the political strife at Kyoto in the mid-16th century.[6] Under his leadership, the Miyoshi clan was considered to be at the greatest extent of their power in history.[7]
Miyoshi Nagayoshi was born in 1522.[6] After his coming-of-age ceremony, Nagayoshi adopted the name Magojiro Toshinaga and was called the governor of Iga.[a]
In March 1536, Nagayoshi became a military commander under Hosokawa Harumoto. He attacked the rebels in Nakajima in Settsu, which was led by Hosokawa Harukuni and the Hongan-ji Temple militant faction leader Shimotsuke Yorimori. However, Nagayoshi was defeated in this battle and fled to Nagamasa Kizawa, and with the support of Miyoshi Nagamasa and Miyoshi Masanaga, he attacked Nakajima and annihilated the self reliant rebel forces by July 29.[9][10][11]
In 1538, Miyoshi Masanaga began to take control of Kyoto after Takahata Naganobu left Kyoto. However, Nagayoshi was dissatisfied with the fact that his father's former residence in Kyoto had been taken up by the shogun. On January 14 of the following year, Nagayoshi, who was in Koshimizu Castle in Settsu Province, went to Kyoto, and the next day accompanied Hosokawa Harumoto to the shogunate.[b] During these periods from 1530s, the conflict between Nagayoshi and Masanaga that occurred is said to have been due to Masanaga's control of Kyoto and the extent of Masanaga's influence over Harumoto after the deaths of Katsukuken Shūsō and Kizō Nagamasa. These bad terms against Masanaga also extended to colleagues of Nagayoshi, such as Takabatake Naganobu and Yanagimoto Mototoshi, who also resented the influence of Masanaga.[12]
In 1539, Nagayoshi had been asked by the shogunate to send troops to support Akamatsu Harumasa during his aforementioned visit to Kyoto, and Nagayoshi's subordinate Miyoshi Tsunemori sent troops.[12] In return, Nagayoshi asked to be appointed governor of the 17 manors of Kawachi Province (Kawachi jū nana-kasho) in June of the same year, and the shogunate agreed.[c] Thus Nagayoshi then led his army to enter Kyoto for the first time.[1]
Later in April, Nagayoshi chose Masanaga, who was in seclusion in Tanba Province, to go into Kyoto at the will of Hosokawa Harumoto. On July 14, peace talks ended in failure, and Nagayoshi and Masanaga engaged in a small-scale battle near Myōshin-ji Temple. On July 28, Nagayoshi, fearing that he would make enemies of the daimyos such as Rokkaku clan and Takeda clan, accepted the peace agreement and retreated from Yamazaki, on the border between Settsu Province and Yamashiro Province. In the end, he was not given the magistrate position to control Kawachi's 17 Manors. Later in August, he entered Koshimizu Castle in Settsu. Until then, the heads of the Miyoshi clan had always based themselves in Awa, and there were cases where they would retreat to Shikoku and try to make a comeback when they found themselves in political or military difficulties in the Kinai region, but after Nagayoshi entered the castle, he never returned to Awa province for the rest of his life, and instead established Settsu as his new base.[13] After this, Nagayoshi became the deputy governor of Settsu Province and began serving the shogunate. Even as a subordinate vassal, the political power of Nagayoshi had grown to the point that he could essentially commanded the shogun himself to lead the armies from Settsu, Kawachi, Hokuriku, and Ōmi Province to Kyoto, posing a threat to his true superior, Harumoto.[14][15][16]
On December 15, 1540, Nagayoshi married the daughter of Hatano Hidetada from the Hatano clan, the lord of Yakami Castle.[17] Later, around September 1541, Nagayoshi changed his name from Toshinaga to Norinaga, and in June of that year, Nagayoshi independently collected coin taxes from Tsuga Manor in Ubara County, which prompted a protest from Harumoto, since Harumoto had placed his close aide, Iwa Michisuke, in charge of collecting taxes. However, Nagayoshi ignored this, and proceeded with tax collection in Shimo District of Settsu Province (Toshima District, Southern Kawabe District, Muko District, Ubara District, and Yabe District). This led to the taxes being collected twice over, as Nagayoshi and Michisuke collected the tax separately, which deepened Nagayoshi's conflict with Harumoto. However, Nagayoshi, who now had control over Koshimizu Castle and Nishinomiya, the central city of Shimo District, gradually extended his power to the local lords and peasants (Kokujin) of Shimo District.[18]
In 1541, Kizawa Nagamasa, who rebelled against Harumoto Hosokawa, went to Kyoto and pursued Shogun Yoshiharu and Harumoto, so the Shugodai (military governor) of Kawachi, Yusa Naganori, expelled Hatakeyama Masakuni, another Kawachi Shugodai who Nagamasa had supported, and welcomed his brother Hatakeyama Tanenaga, and declared his support for Nagayoshi. As a result, on March 17 the following year (1542), Nagamasa fought at Taiheiji against Nagamasa in an attempt to attack Kawachi Takaya Castle. Nagamasa was defeated and killed by Naganori, who had been joined by reinforcements from Masanaga and Nagayoshi in the ensuing battle.[19][20][21] As a result of this battle, the Kizawa clan, which had been in power in the Kinai region for the past ten years, fell, and the power of Nagayoshi became even stronger.[22] Nagayoshi also appointed Matsunaga Hisahide as a commander of the Miyoshi army in the southern part of Yamashiro Province to subjugate the remnants of opposition forces in Yamato who were still struggling after the subjugation of Kizawa Nagamasa.[23][24] In 1544, there was another accident which further deteriorated the relationship of Nagayoshi with Shogun Yoshiharu and Harumoto. Wada Shingorō, a vassal of Nagayoshi, was executed with the brutal punishment of being sawed alive due to accusations of adultery. This accident was speculated as being orchestrated by Yoshiharu and Harumoto to ruin the reputation of Nagayoshi.[25]
in 1547, in a battle at Shariji on July 21 against Hosokawa Harumoto,[26] an account from the Ashikaga Kiseiki chronicle states that Nagayoshi emerged triumphant in a battle against Harumoto, where 900 of his pike armed soldiers inflicted hundred of casualties on Harumoto's troops.[27] After Shogun Yoshiharu's defeat and Hosokawa Harumoto's return to Kyoto, Nagayoshi made peace with Yusa Naganori and others through Sadayori's mediation. Nagayoshi then took Naganori's daughter as his second wife. It is said that this was a political marriage stipulated in the previous peace talks.[28][29][30]
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In 1548, on the 12th of the month, Nagayoshi asked Hosokawa Harumoto to pursue and kill Miyoshi Masanaga and his son, but his request was not accepted, so on October 28, he joined forces with his former enemies, Hosokawa Ujitsuna and Yusa Naganori, and rebelled against Harumoto, sending troops to the 17 Manors of Kawachi where they had a rivalry, and besieged Enokami Castle, where Miyoshi Masakatsu was holed up. Nagayoshi's actions were called "Miyoshi Chikuzen no Kami (Nagayoshi) Treason" by Rokkaku Sadayori, who was on Harumoto's side.[31] This conflict caused political turmoil in Kyoto as it also forced shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who had just returned to Kyoto 2 years ago, to now flee again from the city.[6][d]
In February of the following year, 1549, Nagayoshi beat the alliance of Hosokawa Harumoto, Miyoshi Masakatsu, and the Rokkaku clan, forcing them to retreat. Harumoto fled to Sakamoto in Omi Province with Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Yoshiteru. Nagayoshi supported Hosokawa Ujitsuna as his lord in place of Harumoto, and entered Kyoto on July 9. Six days later, on the 15th, he left Ujitsuna behind and returned to Settsu, where Itami Chikaoki, a supporter of Harumoto, was holed up.[33][34][35] On June 24, Nagayoshi defeated Masanaga at the Battle of Eguchi in Settsu.[36][37] This put Harumoto, who supported Masanaga, in a bad position, and on the 28th of the same month, Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Yoshiharu, accompanied by Harumoto, escaped from Kyoto along with Konoe Tanei and Kuga Harumichi, and sought refuge in Omi Sakamoto, relying on Rokkaku Sadayori.[37][36][38] Six days later, on the 15th, Nagayoshi left Ujitsuna behind and returned to Settsu, where Harumoto's supporter Itami Chikaoki was holed up.[33][34][35]
In March of the 19th year of Tenbun (1550), Nagayoshi captured the castle with the help of Yusa Naganori, and pacified Settsu Province.[33][34][35] In November 21, Nagayoshi started to led his army besiege the Nagao castle which held by loyalists of Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The conflict was progressing from small scale urban warfares.[39] In late December, Nagayoshi finally subdued the Nagao castle, which was the last stronghold of the forces of Yoshiteru.[1] This effectively led to the collapse of the Hosokawa government, and the birth of the "Miyoshi clan government".[33][34][35]
In March 1551, Nagayoshi faced two failed assassination attempts, planned by Yoshiteru. Later, On the night of March 7, Nagayoshi invited Ise Sadayoshi to the Kisshoin camp for a drinking party, and an arson incident occurred in attempt to harm Nagayoshi. On the 14th day of the same month, Nagayoshi was invited to the Ise residence and was attacked by a shogunate official, Shinji Kenko, and injured. The next morning, Miyoshi Masakatsu and Kozai Motonari, both of Harumoto's side, set fire to the Higashiyama area.[40] On May 5, Nagayoshi's ally and his wife's adoptive father, Yusa Naganori, was assassinated by the Jishu monk Shuami, to whom he had revered.[41] On July 14, Nagayoshi sent a large army of 40,000 soldiers gathered from Settsu, Awa, Izumi and other provinces under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and his brother, Matsunaga Nagayori, to engage the army of Hosokawa Harumoto in the battle Shokoku-ji Temple in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. Hisahide and Nagayori surrounded Shokoku-ji Temple with a large army of 40,000 men. After fighting that lasted until dawn in July 15, the Shokoku-ji Temple was set ablaze. As a result of this battle, Yoshiteru and Harumoto were unable to return to Kyoto by force, and Rokkaku Sadayori, who supported them, began peace negotiations.[42][43][44][45]
In 1552, peace agreement was made on the condition that Ashikaga Yoshiteru would come to Kyoto. Yoshiteru came to Kyoto on January 28, and Nagayoshi came to Kyoto on February 26, where he was given the status of a retainer of the Hosokawa clan and became a direct retainer of the shogunate instead of a vassal of the Hosokawa clan. The shogunate was now headed by Yoshiteru the shogun, and Hosokawa Harumoto became Kanrei. However, the de facto power still actually held by Nagayoshi who now control the government of shognate unofficially.[46][47][48]
in 1553, Nagayoshi also saw several actions. Meanwhile, Nagayoshi himself working to pacify several oppositions such as when he besiege the Mount Akutagawa Castle.[49] However, On March 8, the conflict between Yoshiteru and Nagayoshi broke again as Yoshiteru captured the Reizan Castle.[50] On July 30, Yoshiteru personally took command of the troops.[51] However, despite the Shogun's presence himself, Harumoto's generals, fearing the loss of their troops, made no attempt to attack.[52] On the Miyoshi side, the forces of Imamura Yoshimitsu attacked Ryozen Castle.[51] After the fall of Ryozen Castle, Yoshiteru fleed from Kyoto and lived in seclusion in Kutsuki for the next five years.[49] In response to this, Nagayoshi announced ultimatum to threaten any nobles or samurai clans that decide to follow Yoshiteru will have their domains confiscated. This ultimatum caused many abandon Yoshiteru until only about 40 followers left to accompany him in Kutsuki.[53][54][55] Meanwhile, after Akutagawa Magojuro's downfall, Nagayoshi moved into the Castle of Mount Akutagawa and made it his residence. While Koshimizu Castle was the political base of Shimogori, Akutagawa Castle had risen from a political base of Kamigori in Settsu to a central government of the Kinai region for the Hosokawa government during the reign of Takakuni and Harumoto, and Nagayoshi took over as its base.[49] Later, Nagayoshi also negotiated with the Imperial Court and repaired the earthwalls of the Akutagawa castle, which followed with, the Miyoshi army was active in military activities, with the Matsunaga brothers dispatching troops to Tanba Province.[56][57][58]
in 1554, the Miyoshi clan dispatching troops to Harima.[56][57][58]
In June 1558, Yoshiteru, accompanied by Hosokawa Harumoto, Miyoshi Masakatsu, and Kozai Motonari, moved to recapture Kyoto, and engaged in battle with the Miyoshi forces at Shogunyama Castle, where the battle of Kitashirakawa occurred. The Miyoshi forces gain the field advantage when the forces of his uncle Miyoshi Yasunaga, Miyoshi Sanekyu, Ataka Fuyuyasu, and Togawa Kazutoshi, led by his three younger brothers, crossed the sea to Settsu, and Rokkaku Yoshikata, realizing that he could not fully support Yoshiteru, attempted to make peace.[43] Later, Nagayoshi banished Ashikaga Yoshiteru from Kyoto.[2] on November 30, after the assassination of Yusa Naganori, Yasumi Munefusa (Naomasa), who was appointed as the new shugodai (military governor), banished Hatakeyama Takamasa to Kii Province. In response to this development, Nagayoshi ordered Matsunaga Hisahide to march to Izumi Province on May 29, 1559, but he was defeated by Yasumi's Negoro-shu, and Hisahide retreated to Settsu Province. Nagayoshi joined Hisahide and advanced to Kawachi on June 26 with a large army of 20,000. On August 1, he took Takaya Castle, and on August 4, he took Iimoriyama Castle, and restored Takamasa as Kawachi shugo. He banished Munefusa to Yamato Province and appointed Yukawa Naomitsu, who had been in league with him, as shugodai. Hisahide also marched to Yamato on the pretext of pursuing Munefusa, and began his conquest of Yamato from Shigisan Castle, which stands near the border between Kawachi and Yamato.[59][60][61]
In 1560, Nagayoshi moved his castle from Akutagawayama Castle to Iimoriyama Castle. He handed over Akutagawayama Castle to his son, Yoshinaga (Yoshioki).[62][e][f]
On March 30, 1561, he welcomed Yoshiteru to his own residence as Shogun, and on May 6, at Yoshiteru's recommendation, he made peace with Hosokawa Harumoto and welcomed him to Fumon-ji Temple in Settsu. His eldest son, Yoshioki, was also promoted to Junior Fourth Rank and a member of the "Gosoubanshu" that same year, and the preferential treatment of the Miyoshi family by the shogunate and imperial court continued. By this year, Nagayoshi's sphere of influence had expanded to 10 provinces, including Kawachi and Yamato, in addition to the eight provinces mentioned above, and he had also strengthened his control over two counties in eastern Iyo Province and southern Yamashiro. In the face of Nagayoshi's great influence, many daimyo, such as the Kono clan of Iyo Province, established friendly relations with Nagayoshi.[65][66][67] During this year, Nagayoshi also met with Jesuits missionary Vilela and issued Shogun's privilege patent for him.[1]
in April 1561, Nagayoshi's decline began when his younger brother, Togawa Kazumasa, died suddenly.][68] This weakened Izumi's control (Izumi Kishiwada Castle was a retained castle). Taking the advantage of this gap, Hatakeyama Takamasa and Rokkaku Yoshikata, with Hosokawa Harumoto's second son Haruyuki as their leader, raised an army in July and attacked the Miyoshi clan from the north and south. This battle continued until 1562, when Miyoshi Saneyasu was defeated and killed by Takamasa on March 5 in the series of Battles of Kumeda.[69][70][71][72]
On March 5, 1562, a military engagement occurred between Nagayoshi and Hatakeyama Takamasa in Kumeda, Izumi Province (Kishiwada City), where eldest brother of Nagayoshi, Miyoshi Saneyasu, was killed and Takaya Castle was fallen to Takamasa army.[73][74] In response, on March 6, Nagayoshi's eldest son, Yoshioki, and Matsunaga Hisahide evacuated Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru from Kyoto to Iwashimizu Hachimangū Shrine.[73][74] On the next day, the Rokkaku forces entered Kyoto.[75][74] agayoshi's younger brother, Ataka Fuyuyasu, barricade his forces in Kishiwada castle in Izumi for while, before retreated.[76][74] Nagayoshi himself barricade his forces at Imoriyama Castle, as Yasumi Munefusa and the Negoro-ji Temple sect rebels besieged him.[77][74] In 20 May 1562, the battle of Kyōkōji ensues, when at first broke out between the Hatakeyama forces surrounding Imoriyama Castle and the forces of Miyoshi Yoshioki and Yasunaga. At some point during this battle, the Matsuura clan soldiers on the Hatakeyama side collapsed and a fire broke out at their camp. Seeing this, Nagayoshi's forces charged out from Imoriyama Castle and attacked the Hatakeyama forces from both sides, with Yukawa Naomitsu being the first to be killed, and the soldiers from Kishu and Negoro-ji rebels of Hatakeyama forces being completely annihilated.[78][79][80] In the end, this battle was won by Nagayoshi over Hatakeyama Takamasa, which effectively eliminated the Hatakeyama clan's influence from Yamato and Minami Kawachi, and solidified the Miyoshi clan control over both provinces.[81]
In August 1563, Nagayoshi, who lost his only heir, adopted Togo Kazumasa's son, his nephew Shigeari (Yoshitsugu). Shigeari, who should have succeeded the Togo clan after Kazumasa's death, was chosen as the successor because his birth mother was the daughter of Kujo Tanemichi, who served as the regent, and it is believed that this good bloodline was the deciding factor.[82] In December, another drawbacks for Nagayoshi occurred, as Hosokawa Ujitsuna, who was the nominal lord of the Miyoshi clan, died of an illness, and shortly before that, Hosokawa Harumoto also died of an illness, leaving the Miyoshi clan regime without Kanrei official that serves as their puppet in pulling the strings of government of Kyoto, which was necessary for the government to remain in power.[83][84][85]
On May 9, 1564, Nagayoshi summoned his younger brother Ataka Fuyuyasu to his residence, Imoriyama Castle, and executed him. According toAshikaga Kiseki chronicle he did this because he believed the slander ofMatsunaga Hisahide that Fuyuyasu want to usurp the leadership of Miyoshi clan, but as Nagayoshi was physically ill and mentally frail at that time, due to the successive deaths of his relatives and people around him, and he had become ill and lost his wits. After killing Fuyuyasu, he regretted it when he learned of Hisahide's slander, and his illness became even more serious.[86][g] As a result, on June 22, Yoshitsugu, who had become the heir, went to Kyoto to inherit the family headship, but as he returned to Imoriyama Castle immediately after paying his respects to Yoshiteru and others on the 23rd, Nagayoshi's illness appears to have already reached a terminal stage by this time. Then, 11 days later, on July 4, Nagayoshi died of the illness at Imoriyama Castle. He was 42 years old during his death.[89][90][91]
Following his death, Nagayoshi was succeeded by his adopted son, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu (the son of Sogō Kazunari, his younger brother). Nagayoshi died in Iimoriyama Castle in 1564.[92] During his life, tt has not been confirmed that Nagayoshi ever took a concubine. He had only one child, Yoshioki, who is thought to have been born to his first wife.[93]
In retrospect for the assessment of Miyoshi Nagayoshi's leadership character, the strong connection between Nagayoshi with wealthy merchants and tea masters also somewhat contribute to him military, such as when Nagayoshi manage to escape from Hosokawa Ujitsuna's army with the help of citizens of Sakai.[94] Nagayoshi also placed importance on his relationship with Kenhon-ji Temple and its merchants, and protected these temples and their followers, which strengthened his influence over the cities.[95] Modern political theorists John Ferejohn and Frances McCall Rosenbluth further said that the achievement of Nagayoshi in 1547 against his former lord, Hosokawa Harumoto, were quite overlooked in the study of late Sengoku-period. They also saw how militarily Nagayoshi manage to maintain high standard and discipline of his soldiers were the key of his success.[27]
On the other hand, other western historians such as George Elison and Bardwell L Smith also saw that Nagayoshi was not a solely a military man, as he also balanced his military achievements with his literary & cultural appropriations such as his promotions of Japanese tea ceremony masters and Renga poetries.[96] However, historian Hiroshi Sugiyama also said that the later years of his life, Nagayoshi has lost his fierceness due to focus with Renga poetry activities.[97] It was reported that Nagayoshi was holding a renga poetry gathering when his younger brother, Miyoshi Yoshikata. was killed in the Battle of Kumeda. When the news of Yoshikata's death reached him, Nagayoshi recited a poem that impressed everyone around him.[h]
Shoichi Nagae also saw that the case of Nagayoshi's rise to power were though as a model of overthrowing the ruling class and old regimes, although apart from asserting his own interests, Nagayoshi is still a man of integrity who respects old traditions and order, based on how he often does not pursued and annihilate the losing enemies such as Ashikaga Yoshiteru.[99] Hori Takashi quoted Nagae's comment and presented his own argument that the reason Nagayoshi did not pursue or attack Yoshiteru was that it was Nagayoshi's character to abhor excessive violence of war, by reckoning the history of the bloodsheds which suffered by the Miyoshi clan before him.[100] Meanwhile, Akira Imatani also his own opinion that his generosity and tolerance in dealing with the "problematic Shogun" were actually his flaw of character in war condition. Imatani drew parallel here with how Nobunaga dealing against Ashikaga Yoshiaki with heavy hands and more severely was more effective and reasonable from military perspective than how Nagayoshi dealing with the opposition from Ashikaga Yoshiteru.[101] In contrast with Imatani and Nagae, Thomas D. Conlan saw Nagayoshi as usurper and deem him as "brutal conqueror of Kyoto",[6] while John Whitney Hall called him as "treacherous yet valorous" for his reign after his grand entrance on Kyoto in 1539.[1] Nevertheless.
Allan Grapard thought that Nagayoshi has converted to Christianity by a Jesuit missionary, Gaspar Vilela.[102] However, Sugiyama pointed out the historical records that he did not convert to Christian, although he tolerated the missionary activities and many of his vassals converted. Sugiyama suggested that Nagayoshi was just similar to Nobunaga, who is tolerant with new system of faiths and had huge curiosity for exotic things.[103]
Historical evaluations of Miyoshi Nagayoshi tends to be fluctuates each periods change. There are references to Miyoshi Nagayoshi in books such as "Asakura Soteki Waki," "Koyo Gunkan," "Hojo Godaiki," and "Todai-ki.", which portray Nagayoshi in a favorable light, and "Hojo Godaiki" places him on the same level as warlords of the following Sengoku period such as Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.[104]
However, mid-Edo period onwards were less generous to Nagayoshi as his image being denigrated. Historicities during this era began to relegate him as just a backdrop post-mortem character for the villainous and treacherous Matsunaga Hisahide, his top vassal.[105] Furthermore, being compared to the so-called "Three Unifiers of Japan"(Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, & Tokugawa Ieyasu), Nagayoshi's existence in historical records gradually fell into obscurity, and he was not even mentioned in Tanaka Yoshinari's historical works of "Ashikaga Jidai-shi" and "Oda Jidai-shi".[106] For long time, the prevailed opinions of Miyoshi Nagayoshi assessments tends to judge him as a mediocre ruler who allowed Matsunaga Hisahide to monopolize the central government. For example, Rai San'yō has portrayed Nagayoshi as "old", "sick", and "ignorant", in his works.[104]
For early modern period, historian Amano Tadayuki has pointed out the comment of Ryōtarō Shiba in his work, "kaidōwoyuku" about Nagayoshi, that Shiba described him as following: "The Miyoshi clan had a refined lifestyle, but they lacked ambition" Tadayuki stated that this view of Shiba were, unfortunately, the general public's assessment of that time about Nagayoshi and the rule of Miyoshi clan,[107] as historians argued that this bias also because the rich history materials of more popular clans such as Takeda clan, Hōjō clan, and Mōri clan, in comparison with the Miyoshi clan and their lords which only possessed very few historical documents about their clan,[108] although documents issued by Nagayoshi's vassals, such as Okonogi Munekuni, remain in a fair number of places, mainly temples and shrines in Kyoto.[109]
Furthermore, Nagayoshi was always compared to the "innovative" and "progressive style" of Oda Nobunaga reign, and is labeled as an old guard politician who is too conservative and cannot adapt to the rapid political changes and upheavals.[3]
Modern history researchers reevaluate and challenged the negative and obscure assessments of Nagayoshi in Edo period,[110] Furthermore, Amano also stated that such assessments of Nagayoshi's "weak character" were completely inappropriate, based on a lack of understanding of the common sense of the Sengoku (Warring states) period.[111] Modern reevaluators such as Akira Imatani, Amano Tadayuki, or Yamada Yasuhiro published several books on the Miyoshi government and the final period of the Muromachi shogunate, which had close ties to it, has renewed the academic interests to research further about the topic of Nagayoshi and the Miyoshi clan reign before Nobunaga.[3]
Thus, modern era Japanese historians recently concluded that Miyoshi Nagayoshi was actually a capable Sengoku period leader, with some kind of "proto-Nobunaga" characteristic as he implemented several policies which were though as innovative during his time.[110][112][113] Like Oda Nobunaga, Nagayoshi had his eye on the economic power of Sakai, as the wealth of the city economy and lucrative trades of the city has allowed him to easily obtain huge military expenses and military supplies. Nagayoshi also had connections with local samurai in the Hosokawa domain area since his great-grandfather Miyoshi Yukinaga and his father Motonaga, and the military power of Shikoku, ruled by his capable younger brothers, especially the powerful navy, and the excellent personal talent of Nagayoshi added to the military power of the Miyoshi army at its peak. In addition, the Miyoshi family's sense of kinship had been strong since Awa was called Ogasawara, and therefore during the time of Nagayoshi, his younger brothers firm defense of Awa enabled him to advance into other regions.[114]
In fact, the so-called Miyoshi Government (Miyoshi-seiken) that run by Nagayoshi from 1549 to 1568 which controlled the central government of both Imperial court and Shogunate was viewed by Amano as pioneer of a unified government that preceded the Nobunaga unification.[4] The only difference was, while the Miyoshi government kept the existence of Shogunate administrations as their puppet and controlling the extents of ceremonial orders and bureaucracy from behind, Nobunaga was simply disband the Shogunate and replace them with his own administration.[115] Regarding the rise of Miyoshi clan, Takahiro Babe has added his own assessment it was also due to the lack of traditional order of the central government which supposedly fill by the Hosokawa clan, which represent the old regime of the central government.[116]
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