Yamana (clan)

Yamana coat of arms

Yamana Sōzen

The Yamana ( Japanese 山 名氏 Yamana-shi ) were a family of the Japanese sword nobility ( Buke ), which was derived from Minamoto no Yoshishige ( 源 義 重 ) and through him from the ( Seiwa Genji ). Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi they lost their rank as provincial governors around 1580.

Known members of the family

• Yoshinori (義 範) was a son of Yoshishige. He was the first to take the name Yamana.

• Tokiuiji (時 氏; † 1372) was a descendant of Yoshinori in the 8th generation. He stood on the side of the Shogun Ashikaga Takauji , took part in the battle of Takanoshita in the province of Suruga in 1340 and in the campaign in Kyushu in 1336. In 1340 he sent En'ya Takasada (塩 谷 高 貞) to his death in the province of Izumo and became betto of the samurai-dokoro and governor of the province of Inaba and Hōki . When he, sent by Takauji, was supposed to save Hosokawa Akiuji (細 川 顕 氏; + 1352), who had been defeated by Kusunoki Masaura (楠木 正 行; 1326 –1348), he was completely defeated in 1347 in the battle of Urino ( Settsu province ) where he received seven wounds. From 1352 he supported the Southern Dynasty and fought against the Ashikaga. In 1362 he conquered the provinces of Mimasaka , Bizen , Bitchū , Inaba and Tamba . He then renewed his connection to the Northern Dynasty and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira left him his five provinces. Then he shaved his head and took the name Dōjō. - Tokiuji had 11 sons.

• Moroyoshi (師 義; † 1376) was Tokiuji's eldest son. At the age of 14 he took part in his father's battles. Shogun Ashikaga Takauji promised him the small province of Wakasa , but died before it could be officially handed over to him. After the victory at Hachiman in 1352, he renewed his request, but was rejected by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira . Angry, he returned to Hōki and in 1352 implored his father to join the Southern Dynasty. The following year he beat Yoshiakira at Kyoto, but was then defeated in 1355 himself. After conquering the provinces of Mimasaka , Bizen and other provinces, he rejoined the Ashikaga and became betto of the samurai-dokoro. He later shaved his head and called himself Dōkō.

• Yoshimasa (義理) was the second son of Tokiuji. He conquered the provinces of Izumi and Kii in the name of the Ashikaga . Then he got into a dispute with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and attacked in. He was beaten, however, with his younger brother Ujikiyo lost his life. He surrendered and was forced to shave his head. He took the name Sōkō and retired to the Kōkoku-ji temple.

• Ujikiyo (氏 清) was the fourth son of Tokiuji. He was governor of Tamba Province, then Izumi Province. He was against the Ashikaga, but was beaten and killed by Ishshiki Akinori (一色 詮 範; † 1406).

• Ujiyuki (氏 幸) was a son of Moroyoshi. He revolted against Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1390 , but was defeated. He submitted, and two years later, when the provinces of the Yamana were divided, he received the Hōki Province.

• Mitsuyuki (満 幸; † 1395) was another son of Moroyoshis. In 1384 he became governor of the provinces of Izumo and Tamba. He was ordered in 1390 along with Ujikiyo to suppress the rebellion of his brother Ujiyuki and his nephew Tokihiro. Some time later Ukiyuki left his provinces to him, so that he owned Hōki and Oki in addition to his previous provinces. At that time the Yamana owned 11 provinces, 1/6 of the entire country. That is why people called her lords of a sixth (六 分 の 一 殿, Rokubun-no-ichi dono). For Shogun Yoshimitsu that was too much power, so he decided to do something about it. Mitsuyuki provided a reason when he tried to acquire domains in Izumo province that belonged to the former emperors. Yoshimitsu called his minister Hosokawa Yoriyuki (細 川 頼 之; 1329-1392) back from exile and prepared a campaign against the Yamana. Mitsuyuki did not wait until he was attacked, but marched into Kyoto with his father-in-law. But Yoshimitsu, supported by Isshiki Akinori, Hatakeyma Motokuni (畠 山 基 國; 1352-1406) and others defeated them. Ukikiyo was killed, Mitsukuni was able to escape to Kyushu. The great estate of the Yamana was divided in 1392, only the provinces of Tajima and Hōki were left to them. Mitsuyuki was murdered three years later.

• Tokihiro (時; † 1435), Tokiyoshi's son and nephew of Mitsuyuki, received the province of Tajima in 1592. When he rebelled the following year, he was deposed, his province was withdrawn, and he was ordered to shave his head, that is, to renounce worldly affairs.

• Mochitoyo (持 豊) or Sōzen (宗 全; 1404–1473) was Tokihiro's son. He inherited the provinces of the Yamana, which at the time consisted of Tajima, Inaba and Hōki. In 1441 he participated in the capture of the Bug Shirahata, which sealed the fall of the Akamatsu . He received the province of Harima for this. Then he shaved his head and called himself Sōzen : by this name he is best known. When he had angered Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa , he retired to Tajima and in 1454 sent his son Noritoyo to Kyoto in his place. When Akamatsu Norinao (赤松 則 尚; 1425-1455) invaded Harima in the following year, Sōzen defeated and killed him, then marched against Kyoto. When the Hosokawa clan split, Sōzen took the side of Hosokawa Yoshinari. He also supported the rights of Yoshihisa, son of the Shogun, against Yoshimi. His rival Hosokawa Katsumoto supported Yoshimi, with the great daimyo being split in two: The resulting Ōnin War broke out in 1467 and dragged on for over ten years. Sōsen died two months before his rival Katsumoto died. The outcome of the war was not clear, there were no winners.

• Koretoyo (是 豊), Sōzen's son, defeated Hosokawa Yoshinari near Kintaiji in Kawachi Province in 1462 . During the Ōnin War, he left his father and joined his brother-in-law, Hosokawa Katsumoto.

• Masatoyo (政 豊), a grandson of Sōsen, took part in 1487 in the campaign of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa against Rokkaku Takayori (六角 高 頼; 1462-1520) in Ōmi province .

• Toyokuni (豊 國; 1548–1626), descendant of Masatoyos, was governor of Inaba Province and resided at Tottori Castle . He refused to recognize Toyotomi Hideyoshi's authority for a long time, but finally had to in 1590. Hideyoshi gave him two areas of Inaba, but Toyokuni divided them up among his followers. He himself preferred to wander about the country until his death.

During the Tokugawa shogunate, Toyokuni's descendants stayed in Muraoka (Inaba). After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the head of the house was given the title of baron.

Remarks

1. ↑ Bettō (別 当) was a higher administrator at the Shogunate.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Between 1336 and 1392 the imperial court was split into a northern and a southern dynasty. See Namboku-chō .

literature

• Edmond Papinot: Yamana . In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprint of the original 1910 edition by Tuttle, 1972, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .

Web links

Commons : Yamana  - collection of images, videos and audio files