He is said to have been born at Nakiri Castle in Shima Province, a son of Kuki Sadataka. The Kuki were one of several small lords with castles on the Shima coast, a band of sea warriors who handled ships on the Kumano Sea and Ise Bay. Yoshitaka grew up familiar with the sea and boats.
His elder brother Kiyotaka died and was succeeded by his son Sumitaka, but other Shima lords, backed by the Kitabatake of Ise, attacked the Kuki. Yoshitaka lost the fight and fled to Mount Asama, and the family lost its foothold in Shima.
He is said to have entered the service of Oda Nobunaga through Takigawa Kazumasu. When Nobunaga attacked the Kitabatake of Ise, Yoshitaka joined with his fleet and took Oyodo Castle and other strongholds. For Nobunaga, who needed sea power, he became a valuable asset.
Backed by Nobunaga's power, Yoshitaka subdued the Shima lords, who had lost their patron when the Kitabatake surrendered to Nobunaga. He thus won back the Shima from which he had been driven and came to unite the whole province. This was when the Kuki set out as a naval daimyo house.
When Nobunaga attacked the Ikko uprising at Nagashima in Ise, Yoshitaka led his fleet to surround Nagashima from sea and river. Against rebels in diked river islands that were hard to reach by land, the blockade and attacks by ship played a major role, and his naval strength won recognition among the Oda.
On Nobunaga's orders he built large warships to face the Mori fleet that supplied Ishiyama Honganji by sea. They are said to have been covered with iron plates, though their form is debated. In the second Battle of Kizugawaguchi he defeated the Mori fleet and took control of Osaka Bay.
For his victory at Kizugawaguchi he received additional lands from Nobunaga, bringing his holdings to about 35,000 koku. He rose from leader of the Shima sea warriors to one of the daimyo supporting the Oda regime, and his continued blockade of Osaka Bay contributed to Honganji's surrender.
After Nobunaga fell in the Honnoji Incident, Yoshitaka followed Hashiba Hideyoshi and fought for him in Ise Bay during the Komaki-Nagakute campaign. The next year he was named Governor of Osumi and built a castle at Toba as his base, a castle facing the sea that suited a naval stronghold.
In Hideyoshi's wars to unify the country Yoshitaka led his fleet with distinction. After the campaign against the Shimazu in Kyushu, in the Odawara campaign of this year he attacked Hojo castles on the Izu coast from the sea. For Hideyoshi, the Kuki fleet that carried troops and supplies and held the sea was indispensable.
In Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea, Yoshitaka led a fleet with the large ship Nihon Maru as flagship. But the Korean navy under Yi Sun-sin was strong, and Yoshitaka and others fought hard battles at Angolpo and elsewhere. These struggles at sea were one reason Japanese supply lines became difficult.
Yoshitaka handed the headship to his son Moritaka and retired, taking no part in the second Korean campaign. Living near Toba and Toshi Island, he is thought to have kept influence over the family's course. The commander who had led sea battles for so long stepped back from the stage.
In the Sekigahara campaign his son Moritaka sided with the East while Yoshitaka joined the West and occupied Toba Castle. When the West lost he withdrew to Toshi Island and ended his own life there. It is said that Moritaka had begged Ieyasu to spare his father and been granted it, but the news arrived too late.
Takigawa KazumasuOda NobunagaKatō Yoshiaki
Honda MasanobuChōsokabe MotochikaHasegawa TōhakuToyotomi HidenagaTokugawa IeyasuKanō EitokuFuruta OribeTakenaka Shigeharu (Hanbei)
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.