Nagayoshi Miyoshi (2/2)A man who preceded the three great heroes

With this death as a turning point, Harumoto Hosokawa's second son, Haruyuki, led the Hosokawa family to return to arms and raise an army. This battle continued until 1562, and his younger brother Miyoshi Mikyu was also defeated and killed in this battle.
Furthermore, in August of the following year, Eiroku 6 (1563), his only biological child, Yoshioki Miyoshi, died young at the age of 22. The Miyoshi family adopted Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, the son of Kazutoshi Sogo and nephew of Nagayoshi, to inherit the Miyoshi family.

At this point, Nagayoshi lost his biological son and many of his younger brothers, but in May 1564, Miyoshi Nagayoshi summoned his only remaining younger brother, Fuyuyasu Ataka, to his castle, Iimoriyama Castle, and killed him. Masu. It is said that the reason for this was due to slander from Hisashi Matsunaga, or because he believed that his nephew Yoshitsugu Miyoshi would be a hindrance to succeeding the Miyoshi family. However, during this period, due to the deaths of his children and siblings one after another, he developed mental and physical abnormalities and became ill.

In June of the same year, Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, who had become the heir, went to Kyoto to take over the family headship, but as soon as he finished greeting Yoshiteru Ashikaga and others, he returned to Iimoriyama Castle. Then, in July, Nagayoshi Miyoshi passed away at the age of 43. His graves are located at Shinkan-ji Temple in Yao City, Daitoku-ji Juko-in Temple in Kyoto City, and Nanshu-ji Temple in Sakai City, and his portraits exist at Juko-in Temple in Daitoku-ji Temple and Nanshu-ji Temple. The portrait of Jukkoin was designated as an important cultural property.

After the Miyoshi family

After the Onin War, the Kanrei family, the Hosokawa family, took charge of government affairs, and after more than 30 years of civil war, the Miyoshi family took control of Japan, centering on the Kinai region. The successor to the Miyoshi family was Nagayoshi's nephew Yoshitsugu Miyoshi. However, since Yoshitsugu was young, Nagaitsu Miyoshi, a representative of his family, and Hisashi Matsunaga, who was Nagayoshi's vassal, played a central role in supporting him as his guardian. However, in 1565, Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, Nagaitsu Miyoshi, and others attacked and killed Shogun Yoshiteru Ashikaga (the Eiroku Incident). This action led to a conflict between Nagaitsu Miyoshi and Hisashi Matsunaga, the guardians, and a three-year civil war erupted. In addition, Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, who was deprived of the initiative by his guardian Nagaitsu Miyoshi, abandoned his family despite being the head of the head family and ran under Hisashi Matsunaga.

Oda Nobunaga saw this civil war between the Miyoshi family as an opportunity. He supported Yoshiaki Ashikaga, the younger brother of the murdered Yoshiteru Ashikaga, and invaded the Kinai region, expelling the Miyoshi family to Shikoku. Hide Matsunaga and Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, who were in conflict with Nagaitsu, fell to Nobunaga Oda, and the Miyoshi government collapsed. Yoshitsugu Miyoshi and Hisashi Matsunaga also rebelled against Oda Nobunaga and were defeated, resulting in the end of the Miyoshi family as daimyo. The Miyoshi family remains the lineage of Yasunaga Miyoshi, who served the Chosokabe family and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.

Akutagawa Mountain Castle

Akutagawa Yamashiro is a mountain castle located in Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture. The castle was built on Mt. Miyoshi in Takatsuki City and was called ``Akutagawa Castle'', but the castle around Tonomachi in Takatsuki City was also called ``Akutagawa Castle'', so the history of Takatsuki City is twofold. In order to distinguish between the two, the castle on Mt. Miyoshi was called ``Akutagawayama Castle'' and became established.

Akutagawa Yamashiro was written in the ``Kabayashi Masayoriki'' in the 7th year of Eisho (1520) and was built around this time. At first it was a castle belonging to the Nose clan, but it expanded into a larger castle when Kanrei Harumoto Hosokawa made it his residence.
Harumoto Hosokawa, who was running an unstable government, often holed up in the stronghold of Akutagawa Mountain Castle and took command, but this was because Akutagawa Mountain Castle was a strong and impregnable castle. Harumoto Hosokawa was chased by Nagayoshi Miyoshi, but the castle was so well located and sturdy that Nagayoshi also used it as his residence.

When Miyoshi Nagayoshi died, control passed from the Miyoshi family to the Oda family, and the Takayama family, which was under the Oda family, became the lord of the castle, but when the Takayama family captured Takatsuki Castle, they moved their residence, and Akutagawayama Castle became an abandoned castle. .
In Reiwa 4, Akutagawayama Castle became a nationally designated historic site, and the remains of the castle and a stone monument have been erected there.

Iimoriyama Castle

Iimoriyama Castle is a mountain castle located on Mt. Iimori in present-day Daito City and Shijonawate City, Osaka Prefecture.
It is believed that it began during the Nanbokucho period, and there is a description in "Taiheiki" of Ko Moronao of the Northern Court attacking the Southern Court, which had barricaded itself in Iimoriyama Castle. At this time, it is thought that the castle was still only a strong Jinya.
In the Muromachi period, the shugo daimyo Hatakeyama family ordered their vassal Nagamasa Kizawa to develop the castle, and from this time it transformed into a permanent castle.

When Kizawa Nagamasa was later defeated by Miyoshi Nagayoshi, Nagayoshi moved his residence from Akutagawayama Castle to Iimoriyama Castle in 1560, as a castle that could keep an eye on the Kinai area. Since Nagayoshi Miyoshi made this castle his residence, Iimoriyama Castle is also considered to have been the center of politics for a time.

After Miyoshi Nagayoshi's death, Iimoriyama Castle was put under the control of the Miyoshi family, but the castle was taken away by Oda Nobunaga's advance. Iimoriyama Castle was abandoned by the Oda family. Currently, Mt. Iimori is used as a hiking course and is loved by local residents, and was designated as a national historic site in 2021.

Miyoshi Nagayoshi Warrior Parade Festival

Miyoshi Nagayoshi ruled the world, albeit for a short period of time. There is a festival that is connected to Nagayoshi.

Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture "Miyoshi Nagayoshi Warrior Parade Festival"

Nagayoshi Miyoshi was born in Shiboujo, a lawn castle in Mino-cho, Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture. To commemorate this birth, Mino Town holds the ``Miyoshi Nagayoshi Warrior Procession Festival'' in autumn. The festival features events unique to the birthplace, including a parade of warriors by the townspeople and demonstrations by an invited gun corps.

Daito City, Osaka Prefecture "Miyoshi Nagayoshi Warrior Procession in Daito"

Iimoriyama Castle was the residence of Miyoshi Nagayoshi in his later years and was the center of the Ohbanzu region, mainly in the Kinai region. The ruins of Iimoriyama Castle were located in what is now Daito City, Osaka Prefecture. The city holds the ``Miyoshi Nagayoshi Warrior Procession in Daito'' in spring to get familiar with Nagayoshi Miyoshi, who was the ruler of the country at Iimoriyama Castle. The festival is a festival where the citizens take center stage, including sword fighting demonstrations and warrior parades.