Who was this person?
A shugo daimyō of Suō (Yamaguchi) in the Muromachi period and head of the Ōuchi clan. In the Ōnin War he led a large army as a mainstay of the Western Army. He welcomed cultural figures such as Sōgi and Sesshū to Yamaguchi, enjoying waka and renga, and laid the foundations for Yamaguchi to become a cultural capital called the "Kyoto of the West."
| Name | Ōuchi Masahiro (大内政弘) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1446 – 1495 |
| Period | Muromachi period |
| Birthplace | Suō Province |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born the son of Ōuchi Norihiro, shugo daimyō ruling Suō, Nagato (Yamaguchi) and other provinces. The Ōuchi were a distinguished house claiming descent from the royal family of Baekje on the Korean peninsula, and their base Yamaguchi was laid out in imitation of Kyoto, later flourishing so much that it was called "the Kyoto of the West."
His father Norihiro died during a campaign in Iyo (Ehime), and at 19 he succeeded as head of the house. He became a great shugo daimyō ruling Suō, Nagato, Buzen, Chikuzen and more, but was soon drawn into conflicts within the shogunate. The young head had to steer a difficult course while holding his retainers together.
When the Ōnin War broke out over the shogunal succession and other disputes, he joined Yamana Sōzen's Western Army and marched to Kyoto at the head of a great army raised from Chūgoku and Kyūshū. His arrival restored the Western Army's momentum, and the fighting dragged on. Masahiro fought on in Kyoto for nearly ten years as the mainstay of the Western Army.
Around this time the painter-monk Sesshū, under Ōuchi patronage, returned from studying ink painting in Ming China. Masahiro welcomed and supported Sesshū in Yamaguchi, and Sesshū is said to have left many masterpieces with this as one of his bases. The Ōuchi's great wealth supported the work of cultured figures.
Hosokawa Katsumoto of the Eastern Army and Yamana Sōzen of the Western Army died one after the other. Even so the fighting did not end, and Masahiro stayed in Kyoto as the core of the Western Army. The long war left Kyoto a burnt wasteland, and many court nobles and cultured figures fled the capital for the provinces.
He made peace with the shogunate, had his provinces confirmed and withdrew from Kyoto to Yamaguchi. With his return the Ōnin War finally ended. Masahiro welcomed to Yamaguchi court nobles, monks and cultured figures who had fled Kyoto, and Yamaguchi flourished as a provincial cultural centre carrying on the culture of Kyoto.
He attacked the Shōni, rivals for power in northern Kyūshū, and tightened his hold on Chikuzen (Fukuoka) and Buzen. Controlling the port of Hakata was essential for reaping great profits from trade with Ming China and Korea. Masahiro raised the Ōuchi domains into one of the largest powers in western Japan.
The renga master Sōgi visited Yamaguchi on his way to Kyūshū and was welcomed by Masahiro. Masahiro himself excelled at waka and renga and left a poetry collection, the Shūjin Wakashū. As a daimyō not only strong in war but also deeply cultivated, he was respected even by the court nobles of Kyoto.
Around this time he issued one rule after another for governing his domains. These were collected as the Ōuchi house law in the Ōuchi-ke Kabegaki, which set out in detail the conduct of retainers, town regulations, rules for trade and more. Masahiro sought to govern his retainers and domains firmly through law.
As his illness worsened, he handed headship of the house to his son Ōuchi Yoshioki. Yoshioki would later go up to Kyoto to support the shōgun and build the height of Ōuchi power. The domain system and wealth that Masahiro had built became the foundation for his son's achievements.
He died in Yamaguchi at 49. That year the renga anthology Shinsen Tsukubashū, compiled by Sōgi and others, was completed, and it was Masahiro who had strongly backed its compilation. He is regarded as the man who laid the foundation of Yamaguchi's Ōuchi culture, a daimyō who protected and nurtured Kyoto culture in the provinces in an age of war.
A. A shugo daimyō of Suō (Yamaguchi) in the Muromachi period and head of the Ōuchi clan. In the Ōnin War he led a large army as a mainstay of the Western Army. He welcomed cultural figures such as Sōgi and Sesshū to Yamaguchi, enjoying waka and renga, and laid the foundations for Yamaguchi to become a cultural capital called the "Kyoto of the West."
A. Period: Muromachi period. Born in 1446, died in 1495.
A. Ōuchi Masahiro was born in Suō Province.
A. Masahiro was the daimyō who patronised the painter-monk Sesshū, and Sesshū is said to have gone to Ming China on a ship sent by the Ōuchi. After returning he worked with Yamaguchi as a base and left works linked to Yamaguchi. Masahiro's support for culture is said to have widened the stage for Sesshū's activity.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Yamana SōzenSesshūSōgiHosokawa KatsumotoŌuchi Yoshioki
Ashikaga YoshimasaAshikaga YoshimiHino TomikoHatakeyama MasanagaAshikaga 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.