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Mōri Motonari

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1497–1571 Also known as Mōri Hiro Moto、The West's Foremost Strategist

Mōri Motonari (1497–1571) was a Sengoku-period daimyō of the Chūgoku region, second head of the Aki Mōri clan, famed for strategy and diplomacy.

Timeline

  1. 1523–1560Itsukushima · Aki ProvinceAfter inheriting the clan, Motonari defeated Saitō Haruyoshi (the Ōuchi clan's de facto retainer) at the Battle of Itsukushima (1555), then campaigned into Izumo to break the Amako clan, establishing Mōri dominance in the Chūgoku region and assigning his three sons to head the Yoshikawa, Kobayakawa, and other branches.
  2. 1561–1570Gassan Toda Castle · Izumo ProvinceAs Oda Nobunaga's power pushed west, Motonari ordered Mōri Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage to lead a coalition in support of the Amako, taking part in battles such as the Second Battle of Gassan Toda Castle, sustaining Mōri hegemony in the west through strategy and diplomacy—his most important military undertaking in his later years.
  3. 1571Yoshida Castle · Aki ProvinceIn his later years Motonari handed government affairs to his three sons and the Ryōkawa, dying of illness at Yoshida Castle in 1571 at the age of seventy-five. Afterward the Mōri clan, assisted by Takamoto, Motoharu, and Takakage, continued to contend with the Oda and Toyotomi powers.

Sources