Kuki Yoshitaka

Kuki Yoshitaka, painting from the 17th century.

Kuki Yoshitaka ( Japanese 九 鬼 嘉隆 ; * 1542 ; † November 17, 1600 ) was a naval commander in Japan's Sengoku period from the Kuki family . He served under Oda Nobunaga and later under Toyotomi Hideyoshi .

In the 1570s, Kuki allied with Oda Nobunaga and commanded his fleet, which supported attacks on the Ikkō-ikki on land. In 1574 his help secured the victory for Nobunaga in his third attempt at the fortress of Nagashima (today Kuwana ). In 1576, however, he was defeated by the Mōri fleet in the first of the battles of Kizugawaguchi . Two years later, in 1578, he was victorious in the same place, as he used 'iron ships', on which the arrows and musket balls of the ships of the Mōri ricocheted off.

In 1587 he led together with Konishi Yukinaga , Wakizaka Yasuharu and Katō Yoshiaki Toyotomi Hideyoshi's fleet in a campaign in Kyūshū . Three years later he led the Siege of Odawara and the Siege of Shimoda with Wakizaka Yasuharu and Kato Yoshiaki . He continued to serve as a commander in Hideyoshi's fleet and was involved in the invasion of Korea in 1592 on his flagship Nippon Maru .

In the Battle of Sekigahara , Kuki Yoshitaka fought on the side of Toyotomi's forces. His son, Kuki Moritaka , fought on the side of the opponent Tokugawa Ieyasu . On December 12, 1600, Kuki committed suicide.

swell

• Ron, Roy (1999-2004). 'Genbukan Tokyo Shibu: Kuki Yoshitaka'. Ninpo.org , Dec. 28, 2004. “Kuki Yoshitaka” page .
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.

Web links

• Bujinkan Lincoln (Hanako) Dojo: Kuki Yoshitaka - English (Biography, PDF)