Hosokawa Harumoto

Timeline

1. 1527–1532Ōmotsu (Settsu Province) · JapanIn his early years Harumoto built up power on the remnants of his father Sumimoto's retainers. In June 1531, at the Battle of Ōmotsu in Settsu, he allied with Urakami Munamune and others to defeat and drive the former kanrei Hosokawa Takakuni to death, seizing effective control of the shogunate in one stroke. Thereafter Harumoto assisted shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu as kanrei (or de facto kanrei), directing shogunate affairs. The following year he suppressed the Ikkō uprisings across the region, consolidating control over the Kinki area.
2. 1532–1540Kyoto · JapanIn the 1530s Harumoto was at the height of his power, directing Muromachi shogunate affairs as kanrei or de facto kanrei. He arranged for shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu to return to Kyoto, nominally restoring shogunal order. From 1533 to 1536 he continuously suppressed the Hokke and Ikkō uprisings, striving to stabilize the Kinki region. At the same time he began to favor Miyoshi Nagayoshi, son of Miyoshi Motonaga, gradually creating the latent threat that would later slip out of his control.
3. 1541–1563Sakamoto, Ōmi · JapanAfter the 1540s, conflict between Harumoto and his retainer Miyoshi Nagayoshi intensified. In 1549 Nagayoshi launched a coup, advancing on Kyoto with his army; Harumoto and shogun Yoshiharu were forced to flee to Ōmi. Harumoto repeatedly attempted counterattacks with outside help from the Rokkaku and others, but none succeeded. Miyoshi Nagayoshi became the new overlord of Kinki, while Harumoto lived as an exile wandering in Ōmi, dying of melancholy in 1563 at the age of forty-nine.