Ashina Morikiyo (蘆名 盛舜, 1490 – 21 November 1573) was a pre-eminent daimyō of Sengoku Period Japan. Ruling over Aizuwakamatsu in what is now Fukushima, Morikiyo came to control regions in northern Hitachi and Shimotsuke, and was a founding member of the Tōhoku Alliance alongside Uesugi Kenshin and Nikaidō Teruyuki.
A renowned swordsman and strategist, Morikiyo gained the nickname “the Wolf of Aizu”. Whilst his reputation was mostly based upon his early rule, the many years he spent tutoring and advising his son, Motouji are considered his greatest and where most of his famous quotes originated from. He would die in 1573 whilst on a pilgrimage to Nikkō, home to the Futarasan Shrine.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Morikiyo was born in Aizuwakamatsu in 1490, son of Ashina Moritaka and grandson of both Moriakira and Uesugi Fusasada. He spent his early years as a trainee Kannushi (神主, "god master"), a person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto Shrine, at Hagurosan Yunokami Shrine just outside the city. Due to escalating hostilities between his father and older brother, Morishige, a civil war broke out in Aizu.
Morishige would be defeated by his father and fled to the protection of Date Hisamune, although would eventually be allowed back into the family. Following the death of Moritaka in 1518, Morishige would inherit the position of family head. As part of his alliance with the Date Clan, Morishige would assist in the campaign against Mogami Yoshifusa lead by Date Tanemune. However, he would die in 1521 at the age of just forty, leaving Morikiyo as the only remaining male heir of Moritaka.
Morikiyo left his position as Kannushi and returned to Aizuwakamatsu to inherit the position. Thanks to the actions of both his father and older-brother, the Ashina Clan had become a daimyō clan (differentiated from the previous shugo position due to increased autonomy). In the same year as his inheritance, his wife gave birth to a son, who in order to strengthen the alliance with the Date, he married to the daughter of Tanemune.
He also maintained good relations with the Nagao and Uesugi Clans as son-in-law of Uesugi Fusasada. With his northern and western borders secured by alliances, Morikiyo began exerting pressue and influence upon his southern neighbours, especially the Mutsu-Hatakeyama, Iwaki and Tamura Clans.
Securing Southern Mutsu[]
Through a series of small-scale skirmishes and raids, Morikiyo displayed an apt understanding of strategy and very quickly got the better of his rivals who, although possessing greater numbers collectively, were never allowed to unify due to constant manoeuvring and harassment by Morikiyo. Although he suffered a minor setback in 1526 when Iwaki Shigetaka managed to ambush the Ashina near Sakura Lake, Morikiyo soon found an ally in Nikaidō Teruyuki, the ruler of Iwase District.
Whilst Teruyuki lead his forces against the Iwaki, Morikiyo could focus upon the Tamura and Hatakeyama. This arrangement soon proved fruitful as Morikiyo repeatedly defeated Hatakeyama forces and drove them north; without reinforcements from the Iwaki, the Tamura were unwilling to risk an assault upon Ashina lands. Meanwhile, Teruyuki defeated the Iwaki at the battle of Miwamachi Nakadera and drove them back towards Iwaki-shi, which he later seized after a brief siege.
Morikiyo pushed north, feeling secure in the knowledge of Teruyuki's successes. After yet another series of skirmishes, he defeated Hatakeyama Yoshiuji at the battle of the Abukuma River. He planned to assault Nihonmatsu Castle but was unable to due to firstly a lack of sufficient troops and secondly the reappearance of the Tamura Clan, who had begun to raid his southern border. Morikiyo was successful in driving off Tamura raiding parties, but in his forced marched had tired his troops and thus he was apprehensive about engaging with the main Tamura army. Luckily, Teruyuki came to his aid and together they defeated the Tamura at the battle of Tenei.
With the Tamura reeling, Morikiyo returned north and managed to successfully besiege Nihonmatsu Castle, seizing it from the Hatakeyama in early 1530. By this time, his ally Teruyuki had subjugated the Soma Clan.