Who was this person?
A Sengoku-period warlord and kanrei (deputy shōgun) of the Muromachi shogunate. After the strife within the Hosokawa clan known as the Eishō Disturbance, he allied with Ōuchi Yoshioki of Suō to take control of Kyoto, installed shōguns, and directed shogunate politics for many years. But the defection of retainers weakened him, and he lost his life after defeat by Hosokawa Harumoto and the Miyoshi.
| Name | Hosokawa Takakuni (細川高国) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1484 – 1531 |
| Period | Muromachi period |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born the son of Hosokawa Masaharu of the Yashū branch of the Hosokawa clan. He was later adopted by Hosokawa Masamoto, head of the main Keichō line, who held real power in the shogunate as kanrei. The character "Taka" in his name was granted by the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshitaka, later called Yoshizumi.
His adoptive father Masamoto was murdered by retainers, and a struggle over the succession broke out within the Hosokawa clan, known as the Eisho Disturbance. Masamoto had three adopted sons: Sumiyuki, Sumimoto and Takakuni. Takakuni first backed Sumimoto, helped to defeat Sumiyuki and installed Sumimoto as head of the family.
When Ōuchi Yoshioki, lord of Suō, marched on Kyoto with the deposed former shōgun Ashikaga Yoshitane, Takakuni broke with Sumimoto and allied with Yoshioki. Seizing Kyoto, he drove Sumimoto and the shōgun Yoshizumi to Ōmi, restored Yoshitane as shōgun and became kanrei himself.
Sumimoto's forces advanced on Kyoto and Takakuni briefly withdrew to Tanba. Counter-attacking with Ōuchi Yoshioki, however, he won the Battle of Funaokayama in northern Kyoto. The death from illness of the former shōgun Yoshizumi, whom Sumimoto's side supported, also worked in his favour. The long struggle between Takakuni and Sumimoto is called the War of the Two Hosokawa.
Ōuchi Yoshioki, who had stayed in Kyoto for ten years supporting the regime, returned to his domain of Suō. From then on Takakuni had to govern alone, but the loss of this strong military backing invited a comeback by Sumimoto's side, based in Awa.
Attacked by Sumimoto and his retainer Miyoshi Yukinaga, he fled to Ōmi, but with help from Rokkaku Sadayori and others he struck back at Kyoto. He won the Battle of Tōji-in; Yukinaga took his own life and Sumimoto soon died of illness in Awa. Takakuni became, in effect, the ruler of Kyoto and its surroundings.
When the shōgun Yoshitane, who had fallen out with him, left Kyoto for Awaji, Takakuni brought in Kameōmaru, son of the former shōgun Yoshizumi, and made him shōgun. This was the twelfth shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu. Holding the power to make shōguns, Takakuni became the central figure of Muromachi politics.
Over the tally trade with Ming China, envoys sent separately by the Hosokawa and the Ōuchi clashed in the Ming port of Ningbo, in what is called the Ningbo Incident. It exposed the rivalry between the two houses over trade profits, and afterwards trade with the Ming came to be led by the Ōuchi.
He became a monk under the name Dōei and passed the headship and the post of kanrei to his son Tanekuni. That same year, however, Tanekuni died young, and with no other heir Takakuni had to return to politics as head of the family.
Believing slander from his kinsman Hosokawa Tadakata, he had his senior retainer Kōzai Motomori killed. Motomori's angry brothers Hatano Motokiyo and Yanagimoto Kataharu rebelled, and in Awa Sumimoto's son Hosokawa Harumoto and Miyoshi Motonaga also raised troops. Takakuni's regime was badly shaken.
The armies of Yanagimoto Kataharu and the Miyoshi invaded Kyoto, and Takakuni was defeated at the Battle of Katsuragawara. He fled to Ōmi with the shōgun Yoshiharu and his regime collapsed. He then visited lords in various provinces, such as the Asakura of Echizen and the Kitabatake of Ise, seeking help to make a comeback.
Allied with Uragami Muramune of Bizen, he invaded Settsu, but was betrayed by Akamatsu Masasuke, whom he had trusted as an ally, and suffered a crushing defeat known as the Daimotsu Collapse. He fled to Amagasaki but was found and took his own life at Kōtoku-ji. He is said to have sent his farewell poem to his son-in-law Kitabatake Harutomo.
A. A Sengoku-period warlord and kanrei (deputy shōgun) of the Muromachi shogunate. After the strife within the Hosokawa clan known as the Eishō Disturbance, he allied with Ōuchi Yoshioki of Suō to take control of Kyoto, installed shōguns, and directed shogunate politics for many years. But the defection of retainers weakened him, and he lost his life after defeat by Hosokawa Harumoto and the Miyoshi.
A. Period: Muromachi period. Born in 1484, died in 1531.
A. After his supporter Ōuchi Yoshioki returned home, Takakuni had his retainer Kōzai Motomori killed in 1526; Motomori's brothers turned against him and joined Hosokawa Harumoto and the Miyoshi of Shikoku. Defeated at the Katsura River the next year, he was driven from Kyoto, and his attempts to recover ended in defeat at Daimotsu in 1531.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Hosokawa MasamotoAshikaga YoshitaneŌuchi YoshiokiHosokawa HarumotoAsakura Sōteki
Ashikaga YoshimiHino TomikoHatakeyama MasanagaŌuchi MasahiroAshikaga YoshihisaHosokawa MasamotoAshikaga YoshitaneŌuchi Yoshioki
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.