Kazutoyo Yamauchi (1/2)Advancement in the Sengoku period and the merits of Naisuke

The era of warring states. There was a daimyo who served Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and whose territory included Kochi Prefecture. This is Kazutoyo Yamauchi. Kazutoyo's father opposed Oda Nobunaga in Owari Province and was destroyed. After wandering, Kazutoyo served the Oda family and survived the Sengoku period. It was his wife Chiyo who helped Kazutoyo Yamauchi get promoted. This time, we would like to take a look at Kazutoyo Yamauchi, the founder of the Yamauchi family that flourished as the national shogun of Kochi Prefecture throughout the Edo period, and his wife Chiyo.

birth and wandering

Kazutoyo Yamauchi was born in Iwakura, Owari Province (currently Iwakura City, Aichi Prefecture) as the third son of Naritoyo Yamauchi, a vassal of the Iwakura Oda family. His father, Naritoyo Yamauchi, was a local samurai in Kuroda, Owari-Haguri District, but he began to serve the Iwakura Oda family and became a powerful vassal, being appointed to the charge of Owari Kuroda Castle.

By the way, the Iwakura Oda family was a powerful family among the Oda families in Owari Province, controlling the upper four districts of Owari Province (the lower four districts were the Kiyosu Oda family, where Oda Nobunaga's Oda Danmasada family served). However, when Oda Nobunaga took over as head of the Oda Danmasada family (a family of three magistrates who supported the Oda Yamato no kami family, which ruled the four lower districts of Owari Province), it was forced into decline.
During this conflict in Owari Province, Kazutoyo's father and older brother died, and the Yamauchi family was dispersed.

Kazutoyo wandered around the country with Goto Joki and Sobue Kanzaemon, who were vassals of the Yamauchi family, and served different lords in Owari Province, Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture), and Omi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture).
Eventually, he served Kagetaka Yamaoka, the lord of Setajo Castle in Omi Province, but even though Kagetaka served Oda Nobunaga, he ran away.
Kazutoyo, who was left behind, began to serve as a subordinate of Oda Nobunaga from around 1568.

From a vassal of the Oda family to a direct vassal of the Hashiba family

Kazutoyo Yamauchi's first battle is said to have been at the Battle of Anegawa in June 1570.
In the first year of Tensho (1573), during the Battle of Tonezaka, a battle with the Asakura clan, he was able to take down the enemy general despite being seriously injured by an arrow piercing his cheek. At this time, the arrow that was stuck in his cheek was pulled out by his servant Goto Tamesho, and it is said that the arrow became a family heirloom of the Goto family and is passed down to this day.

In this way, Kazutoyo Yamauchi was given a territory for his accomplishments in battle and entered into a marriage. There are various theories that Chiyo (or ``Matsu''), who became Kazutoyo's wife, was the daughter of a vassal of the Azai family, but they were married by around 1573.

However, in 1576, he became a retainer of Hideyoshi Hashiba, a vassal of the Oda family. Hideyoshi Hashiba had difficulty finding powerful vassals, so he searched for and approached Oda Nobunaga's vassals who might be willing to join him. The person who is called out will also move from being a vassal of the Oda family to a vassal of the Hashiba family, so their status will drop, but their territory will increase accordingly.
Kazutoyo accepted this invitation and changed his position from being a vassal of the Oda family to a vassal of the Hashiba family. In 1577, he owned 2,000 koku.

Hashiba Hideyoshi set out to conquer the Chugoku region under the orders of Oda Nobunaga, and Kazutoyo also participated in the Battle of Miki, the capture of Tottori Castle, and the Battle of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle as Hideyoshi's subordinate.

As a Daimyo of the Toyotomi family

Kazutoyo Yamauchi served as Hideyoshi Hashiba's subordinate, but in 1582, the Honnoji Incident occurred and Oda Nobunaga died.
From this point on, a conflict broke out within the Oda family after Nobunaga's death. Katsuie Shibata, the chief retainer of the Oda family, and Hideyoshi Hashiba were at odds, leading to the Battle of Shizugatake. Kazutoyo Yamauchi continued to make achievements, including being the first to attack Ise Kameyama Castle in the preliminary battle.

While establishing his position within the Hashiba family, Kazutoyo became the chief retainer of Hidetsugu Hashiba (later Hidetsugu Toyotomi). When Hidetsugu acquired territory in Omi Province, Kazutoyo Yamauchi also became the lord of Nagahama Castle and had a fief of 20,000 koku.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who won the conflict within the Oda family and unified the country, conducted the Odawara conquest (subjugation of the Gohojo family) in 1590. Oda Nobunaga's second son, Oda Nobunaga, who objected to this post-war process, was amended, and Kazutoyo was given a territory of 51,000 koku in Kakegawa, Totomi Province.
In this way, Kazutoyo Yamauchi established himself as a daimyo within the Toyotomi family, albeit a small one.

Battle of Sekigahara

In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away.
After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the five elders, and Kagekatsu Uesugi came into conflict. Ieyasu subjugates Uesugi. In 1600, Ieyasu departed from Osaka to conquer Aizu. Kazutoyo also joined this subjugation force and followed Ieyasu to the Kanto region.

However, when they reached Oyama, Shimotsuke Province, Ishida Mitsunari rose up to subdue Tokugawa Ieyasu in Osaka. While the feudal lords of the Toyotomi family who had arrived and followed Ieyasu were at a loss as to whether to leave, Kazutoyo declared that he would follow Tokugawa Ieyasu, and also offered his castle, Kakegawa Castle, to Ieyasu's army.

Kazutoyo Yamauchi also followed Tokugawa Ieyasu's army, which had returned from the Kanto region in order to subjugate Ishida Mitsunari, who stood in Osaka. Kazutoyo participated in the prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara, the capture of Gifu Castle, and the main battle of Sekigahara.
The Battle of Sekigahara ended in victory for Tokugawa Ieyasu.

After the war, the Tokugawa family gave him 98,000 koku (later 202,600 koku due to stone repair) from Tosa Province in recognition of his proactive statements on Ieyasu's side in the Kanto region.
Kazutoyo Yamauchi, who wandered all over the country and served the Oda and Toyotomi families, rose to become the lord of a country.

To the daimyo of Tosa

In 1601, the year after the Battle of Sekigahara ended, Kazutoyo Yamauchi moved from Kakegawa to Tosa.
There was a large increase in territory, and manpower was needed to govern the new territory, but there was great opposition in Tosa Province, with demands for the reinstatement of the former master Chosokabe Morichika, and he brought along new vassals he had sought in other regions. It was the entry into Japan.

There was a great backlash in Tosa Province, and Kazutoyo took measures such as suppressing it.
At the same time, Urato Castle, the residence of the Chosokabe family, was in an area prone to flooding, so Kochi Castle was newly constructed. A castle town was formed around Kochi Castle, creating the prototype of the current Kochi City.

Kazutoyo Yamauchi worked hard to manage his new territory, Tosa Province, but in 1605, he passed away at the age of 61 in Kochi Castle.
Kazutoyo had no children, so his younger brother Yasutoyo's son Tadayoshi Yamauchi took over and Tosa Province was ruled by the Yamauchi family until the Meiji period.

Kazutoyo and his wife Chiyo

Kazutoyo Yamauchi's wife, Chiyo (or ``Matsu'') is said to have been born in 1557 in Iimura, Omi Province. There are various theories about her origin, but the most likely one is that she was the daughter of Tomooki Wakamiya, a vassal of the Azai clan.