, or Miyoshi Choukei, the eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai and daimyō who ruled seven provinces in Kansai. 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.
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.
Nagayoshi was most known for his role in the political strife at Kyoto in the mid-16th century. Under his leadership, the Miyoshi clan was considered to be at the greatest extent of their power in history.
Biography Miyoshi Nagayoshi was born in 1522 to Miyoshi Motonaga. After his coming-of-age ceremony, Nagayoshi took the name Magojiro Toshinaga and was made governor of Iga.
In March 1536, Nagayoshi became a 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. On July 29, with the support of Miyoshi Nagamasa and Miyoshi Masanaga, he attacked Nakajima and annihilated the rebel forces.
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, 1539, Nagayoshi, who was in Koshimizu Castle in Settsu Province, went to Kyoto, and accompanied Hosokawa Harumoto to the shogunate. During the 1530s, a conflict between Nagayoshi and Masanaga 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. The poor relationship with Masanaga extended to colleagues of Nagayoshi, such as Takabatake Naganobu and Yanagimoto Mototoshi, who also resented the influence of Masanaga.
Rise to power In 1539, the shogunate requested that Nagayoshi send troops to support Akamatsu Harumasa during his visit to Kyoto, and Nagayoshi's subordinate Miyoshi Tsunemori sent troops. 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. Nagayoshi then led his army to enter Kyoto for the first time.
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 broke down, and Nagayoshi and Masanaga engaged in a small battle near Myōshin-ji Temple. On the 28th, Nagayoshi, fearing that he would make an enemy of daimyo clans like the Rokkaku and Takeda, accepted the peace agreement and retreated from Yamazaki. In the end, he was not given the magistrate position to control the 17 Manors. 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. After this, Nagayoshi became the deputy governor of Settsu Province and began serving the shogunate. Even as a lesser vassal, the political power of Nagayoshi had grown to the point that he could command the shogun himself to lead the armies from Settsu, Kawachi, Hokuriku, and Ōmi Province to Kyoto, posing a threat to his true superior, Harumoto.
Conflict against Harumoto and the Shogun On December 15, 1540, Nagayoshi married the daughter of Hatano Hidetada, the lord of Yakami Castle. 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, as Nagayoshi and Michisuke collected tax separately, which deepened Nagayoshi's conflict with Harumoto. However, Nagayoshi, who by now controlled Koshimizu Castle and Nishinomiya, the central city of Shimo District, gradually extended his power to the local lords and peasantry (Kokujin).
In 1541, Kizawa Nagamasa rebelled against Harumoto Hosokawa, travelled to Kyoto and pursued shogun Yoshiharu and Harumoto. The Shugodai (military governor) of Kawachi, Yusa Naganori, expelled Hatakeyama Masakuni, another Shugodai whom Nagamasa had supported, and welcomed his brother Hatakeyama Tanenaga, and declared his support for Nagayoshi. As a result, on March 17, 1542, Nagamasa fought against Nagamasa at Taiheiji 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. 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 Nagayoshi's power increased even further. Nagayoshi also appointed Matsunaga Hisahide as commander of the Miyoshi army in the southern part of Yamashiro Province to subjugate the remnants of opposing forces in Yamato who were still struggling after the subjugation of Kizawa Nagamasa. In 1544, Wada Shingorō, Nagayoshi's vassal, was brutally executed due to accusations of adultery by being sawed alive, it is speculated that Yoshiharu and Harumoto orchestrated this to ruin Nagayoshi's reputation.
On July 21, 1547, in a battle at Shariji against Hosokawa Harumoto, an account from the Ashikaga Kiseiki chronicle states that Nagayoshi emerged triumphant in battle against Harumoto, where 900 of his pike armed soldiers inflicted hundred of casualties on Harumoto's troops. After Shogun Yoshiharu's defeat, and Harumoto's return to Kyoto, Sadayori mediated peace between Nagayoshi and Yusa Naganori. Nagayoshi subsequently took Naganori's daughter as his second wife.
On Octer 12 1548, Nagayoshi asked Hosokawa Harumoto to pursue and kill Miyoshi Masanaga and his son, but his request was denied. 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, and besieging Enokami Castle, where Miyoshi Masakatsu was holed up. Nagayoshi's actions were dubbed the "Miyoshi Chikuzen no Kami (Nagayoshi) Treason" by Rokkaku Sadayori, who was allied to Harumoto. Link Wikisource:https://ja.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%B6%B3%E5%88%A9%E5%AD%A3%E4%B8%96%E8%A8%98 This conflict caused political turmoil in Kyoto as it also forced shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who had returned to Kyoto just 2 years prior, to once again flee the city.
In February 1549, Nagayoshi defeated 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 instead of Harumoto, and entered Kyoto on July 9. Six days later, on the 15th, he left Ujitsuna behind and returned to Settsu, where one of Harumoto's supporters, Itami Chikaoki, was. On June 24, Nagayoshi defeated Masanaga at the Battle of Eguchi in Settsu. This put Harumoto, who supported Masanaga, in a bad position, and Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Yoshiharu, accompanied by Harumoto, escaped from Kyoto along with Konoe Tanei and Kuga Harumichi on the 28th, seeking refuge in Omi Sakamoto, relying on Rokkaku Sadayori. On the 15th, Nagayoshi left Ujitsuna behind and returned to Settsu, where Itami Chikaoki was staying.
In March 1550, he captured the castle with the help of Yusa Naganori, and pacified Settsu Province. On November 21, Nagayoshi besieged Nagao Castle which was held by loyalists of Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The conflict progressed to small scale urban warfare. In late December, Nagayoshi finally took the castle, which was the last stronghold of the forces of Yoshiteru. This effectively led to the collapse of the Hosokawa government, and the creation of the "Miyoshi clan government".
Miyoshi clan domination 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 working for Harumoto, set fire to the Higashiyama area. On May 5, Nagayoshi's ally and his wife's adoptive father, Yusa Naganori, was assassinated by the Jishu monk Shuami, who he revered. 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 of Shokoku-ji Temple in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto. After intense fighting that lasted until dawn of July 15, the Shokoku-ji Temple was set ablaze. As a result of this battle, Yoshiteru and Harumoto were unable to force their way into Kyoto, and Rokkaku Sadayori, who supported them, began peace negotiations. In 1552, a peace agreement was reached on the condition that Ashikaga Yoshiteru would come to Kyoto. Yoshiteru arrived in Kyoto on January 28, and Nagayoshi came to Kyoto on February 26, where he was made a retainer of the Hosokawa clan, thus becoming a direct retainer of the shogunate instead of just a vassal of the Hosokawa clan. The shogunate was now headed by Yoshiteru, and Hosokawa Harumoto became Kanrei. However, the de facto power still rested with Nagayoshi.
In 1553, Nagayoshi worked to pacify his opposition such as the besieging of Mount Akutagawa Castle. However, On March 8, a conflict between Yoshiteru and Nagayoshi broke out as Yoshiteru captured Reizan Castle. On July 30, Yoshiteru personally took command of the troops. Despite the Shogun's presence, Harumoto's generals, fearing the loss of their troops, made no attempt to attack. On the Miyoshi side, the forces of Imamura Yoshimitsu attacked Ryozen Castle. After the fall of Ryozen Castle, Yoshiteru fled from Kyoto and lived in seclusion in Kutsuki for the next five years. In response to this, Nagayoshi announced an ultimatum that any nobles or samurai clans who decide to follow Yoshiteru will have their domains confiscated. This ultimatum led many to abandon Yoshiteru until only about 40 followers left to accompany him in Kutsuki. 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. 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.
In 1554, the Miyoshi clan dispatched troops to Harima.