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Baba Yorichika was a staunch Shoni loyalist and although the Baba clan and Ryuzoji clan had fought alongside each other for many years, made a surprise attack on the stronghold of Ryuzoji Iekane in 1545. No-one at Mizugae castle town was ready for any kind of attack especially from a long-time ally. Everyone was completely caught off guard and it was a bloody massacre. Just about every person in the castle including Iekane’s two sons and four grandsons and many retainers were slaughtered. Iekane, now 90 years old, somehow survived. Some sources say he escaped others say he was banished. At 90, losing all of his family in one day, one can only speculate that Yorichika did not see Iekane or the Ryuzoji clan a further threat so he was not pursued. Iekane found his way to a distant relative, the Kamachi clan of Yanagawa castle in neighbouring province of Chikugo to the south of Mizugae castle.
The Kamachi clan were based in Yanagawa castle. They were an important vassal of Otomo Sorin but had some independence as Yanagawa is quite far from Otomo homelands in Buzen (Oita). Iekane arrived at the castle with only a couple of his aids and the castle guards were initially surprised at his appearance and the lack of an entourage. He was quickly guided inside where he told Kamachi Akimori the fate of the Ryuzoji clan. Over the following year with support of the Akimori and many Ryuzoji retainers who had also escaped the Saga bloodbath Iekane raised a formidable army.
Now the tables turned against Baba Yorichika who was caught in an unguarded castle. The castle had still not been fully repaired and the bulk his army were not ready or not willing to fight. Iekane successfully took back his family castle killing the treacherous Baba Yorichika and his son. In retrospect, Yorichika’s actions could be seen in either of two ways. A loyal retainer of the Shoni clan who brought about revenge on a fellow retainer who he thought double crossed his lord. On the other hand, he could be seen as a vicious murderer selfishly turning on an ally for self-gain within the Shoni ranks. So, Iekane is victorious at getting back his home and avenging the murders of his family and he did all this at the age of 91. Amazing stuff! However, there was a major problem. Iekane’s heirs were all dead except for one, his last great grandson, Engetsu. During this turmoil, Engetsu had graduated as a Buddhist monk but a messenger was sent out to find Engetsu as and bring him back to Mizugae castle. Engetsu was informed of what had happened over the last year and Iekane nominated him to become the heir of the Mizugae Ryuzoji clan. The decision to make Engetsu head of the clan came as a shock for everyone, including senior Ryuzoji retainers. Many were not happy which caused a rift within the clan. Iekane was the head of the Mizugae branch of the Ryuzoji, which was not the main line of the clan. The true line of the Ryuzoji followed from Iekane’s older through to his second nephew, Tanemitsu who was the head of the whole Ryuzoji clan. The rift was made worse when Iekane died shortly after, in 1546 at 92 years old. His passing left the whole Ryuzoji clan in a precarious position, Engetsu or Tanimitsu.
Ryuzoji Tanemitsu (1524-1548), the 18th head of the Ryuzoji clan was very much a Hizen loyalist, but he was also partial to Ouchi Yoshitaka which put him at odds with Iekane. Much like his father Tanehisa, 17th head of the clan and who also died young in 1539, he didn’t have the military power that Iekane had and was more of a politician than a warrior which was perceived as weak by the other Ryuzoji clan members. Tanemitsu was still just a young man of 22 years and many of the Ryuzoji senior members believed he was being influenced too much by Ouchi Yoshitaka and becoming a puppet leader. There is no doubt that Tanemitsu fully supported the Ryuzoji clan as a whole as he helped Iekane recover after the loss of Mizugae castle. In 1547, the year after Iekane’s passing Ouchi Yoshitaka granted Tanemitsu the position of Deputy Governor of Hizen. Yoshitaka was a clever politician, giving him this position also sealed Ouchi power in the whole of Hizen province. By doing this, it gave the Ouchi a strong presence in northern Kyushu, but it was also a warning to the Otomo who were traditionally the leading clan in Kyushu who weren’t on friendly terms with their encroaching northern neighbours from western Honshu. However, this was short lived. In 1547 Tanemitsu, as his father had, also suddenly died young, at just 24 years old. Tanemitsu however, had no heirs. Takanobu was now, the only person left who could rightfully make a claim as the head of the Ryuzoji clan and he was quickly voted in by senior clan members to become the 19th head of the Ryuzoji clan.
Takanobu’s posting to head of the Ryuzoji clan was not without drama. Takanobu was also friendly with Ouchi Yoshitaka, as they knew each other through their Buddhist studies. After Iekane’s death the Ouchi clan had consolidated power in northern Kyushu which did not sit well with many Ryuzoji retainers who only a few years earlier had been at war. To make matters worse, in 1550 Yoshitaka openly backed Takanobu and announced him as the lord of Saga castle. This close relationship with Yoshitaka left many of the Ryuzoji retainers suspicious of Takanobu, especially those old enough to remember their previous history, but while Takanobu had the support of Yoshitaka, they were in no position to do anything. However, the following year Yoshitaka died, and a couple of Otomo Sorin backed Ryuzoji clan retainers rebelled, fearing that Takanobu was too close to the Ouchi clan. Takanobu was in no position to fight back and he was forced into exile. Some of the senior Ryuzoji retainers then occupied Saga castle.
Takanobu fled to the Kamachi clan in Yanagawa, as his grandfather did a few years earlier. In just two years, Takanobu gathered an army which was strong enough to take back Saga castle. Takanobu proved his worth while in Yanagawa. Takanobu had the gift of a skilled politician as well as a strong warrior. He became seen within the Ryuzoji ranks as the only person who could lead the Ryuzoji out of this dark period. He worked hard building his forces and alliances. After two years his military strength became the most powerful within the Ryuzoji clan and loyalty within his retainers was unquestioned. Takanobu gathered his large army and marched on Saga castle. The battle was uneventful and after short fight, all but one of the rebellious retainers accepted defeat and pledged loyalty to Takanobu, one retainer was captured and killed.
Tanemitsu was the head of the Ryuzoji clan in Yanagawa. His early death left a void within the immediate family. Even though Takanobu was now the strongest Ryuzoji leader, and Ryuzoji retainers were loyal to him, there was still an inkling of doubt amongst the inner circle of the clan whether Takanobu was the rightful head. In 1556 Takanobu’s mother cunningly facilitated Takanobu’s marriage to Tanemitsu`s widow, Nabeshima Kiyofusa, of the very important Nabeshima clan. The Nabeshima clan was a longtime ally of the Ryuzoji and they also had a very strong position within the clan, both politically and militarily. The Nabeshima cavalry was the best in Kyushu. Once the marriage between Takanobu and Kiyofusa became official, Takanobu cemented his position as the 19th head of the Ryuzoji clan.
Over the next couple of years Takanobu fought to solidify his power in Hizen. First target was Shoni Fuyuhisa at Seifukuji castle in 1559. The Shoni clan had been in decline for years and was a shadow of its former glory. The clan, retainers and depleted army had no chance of victory, and realising the end had come, Fuyuhisa committed suicide. Takanobu made quick work over his old adversaries of the Shoni clan vassals, Baba, Yokotake and even the independent groups of the Matsuura of northwestern Kyushu. By 1562 the whole of Hizen was under his control.
Takanobu’s reputation spread far and wide. The Bear of Hizen as he had become known, had taken control and spread his influence throughout northern Kyushu very quickly which caused neighbouring provinces to take note and scramble their own forces who readied for protentional conflict. To the south was the allied clans of the Arima and Omura. To the east were the Otomo, a strong clan made stronger when many defeated Shoni retainers escaped to, after the defeat at Seifukuji castle.
The first to make a move into Ryuzoji lands were the Otomo. On two occasions, Otomo forces attempted slow down the expansion of the Ryuzoji. During the battle of Imayama in 1570, loyal retainers Nabeshima Naoshige and Narimatsu Nobukatsu helped Takanobu win a reversal of fortune and dealt a heavy loss to Sorin’s plans. Otomo Sorin sent a large army of between 60-70,000 samurai to attack Saga castle in April of 1570. At the time, Saga castle was only defended by about 5,000 Ryuzoji samurai. Otomo samurai encircled the castle and sent out scouts to the outer defences of the castle to find out the strength of the defences. A number of small conflicts broke out around the castle. More Otomo samurai moved in and make attacks on the castle turrets and walls, but despite overwhelming numbers Otomo troops were not able to dislodge the Ryuzoji defenders. Reports were sent back to Sorin in Buzen (Oita). Whether the reports were inaccurate or just wrong we don’t know. What we do know is that the Otomo were struggling to capture Saga castle and losing troops eventually giving up and changing to a siege strategy. The Ryuzoji samurai were defending well and must have giving the impression that their forces were much larger than there really was. Eventually, Otomo Sorin grew impatient and sent his younger brother Otomo Chikasada and a further 3,000 samurai to plan for a final attack. Chikasada arrived in Kanzaki, to the north of Saga castle on the 17th August and prepared for a final attack beginning in the morning of the 20th. On the night before the attack the Otomo forces held a big booze up, expecting a quick victory. For the overconfident Chikasada this celebration would be his last! Ryuzoji spies got messages back to Saga castle and told them of the sake party. What the Otomo samurai didn’t know was that they were constantly being spied on by hundreds of Ryuzoji allies from outside of the castle. Getting messengers in and out along with food and essential supplies. A messenger arrived in the castle with word of the party and despite the high risk, Naoshige volunteered along with a small band of samurai to make a surprise attack directly at Chikasada’s base camp up on Mt. Ima. It was a slim opportunity for the besieged Ryuzoji to take the battle to the Otomo. Under the cover of darkness, Nabeshima and his men headed out of the castle through a secret pathway. Word was sent out a few hours earlier to the hundreds of Ryuzoji allies outside of the castle, who all managed to linked up in the mountains to the north of the castle. The Ryuzoji allies formed positions around Chikasada’s camp and waiting. By morning Nabeshima was joined by even more samurai from among the regional retainers and his force now numbered a couple of hundred samurai. At the crack of dawn, the surprise attack began. A big night of celebrations probably left most of Chikasada’s guards feeling a little under the weather and unable to comprehend what was happening as Naoshige and his samurai sprinted into the camp cutting down the enemy samurai with ease. Chikasada was easily found and killed which triggered total chaos among the Otomo main camp and neighbouring camps. Neighbouring camps were just waking up to the sounds of fighting and gunshots. Word quickly spread that Ryuzoji were attacking the camps which began a chain reaction of panic to other camps. Everyone was confused. Otomo samurai began firing their weapons at allied samurai believing them to be the Ryuzoji coming to attack them. Then a short time after, a second message spread around the Otomo camps that Chikasada and many senior generals had been killed. Once the bulk of the Otomo forces heard about the death of their commander, and after a long four month siege Otomo samurai had had enough and began retreating, back to Buzen. Nabeshima and the Ryuzoji allies, chased down as many as they could, by the end of the attack Otomo lost over 2000 samurai. Naoshige returned to Saga castle with his army as heroes.
End of Part 2.
Stu.
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