Kitabatake Terumoto (北畠 照本, 1503 – March 1564), known more commonly as Kitabatake Harumoto (北畠 晴具), also known by his Buddhist Temple name, Dairyu Seigen (大龍聖源, Hepburn: Dai ryūshō-gen, or “Clear Eyed Great Dragon”) was a pre-eminent daimyō and swordsman during Sengoku Period Japan. Founder of the Dairyu Tsuki-tō-ryū school (大竜月刀流, roughly translates as “Dragon Moon Sword Style”), Harumoto was well renowned across Japan as a master swordsman, even training the sons of Ashikaga Yoshiharu and is said to have fought and won no less than twenty-six duels. As head of the Kitabatake, he ruled from Ise Province, mostly staying reserved from the Feudal disputes of other daimyō, earning him his Buddhist name Seigen (“Clear Eye”). However, when Hatakeyama Yoshikuni invaded Yamato Province, then under the nominal rule of his ally Tsutsui Junshō, Harumoto was forced to respond defeating a much larger Hatakeyama army at the battle of Uchimi.
After quickly earning himself a reputation as a great tactician and honourable leader, Harumoto began expanding his sphere of influence across the southern Kansai region, becoming a staunch supporter of the Ashikaga shōguns. He would wage war against the rebellious Iga-Ikki and enforce the authority of the Ashikaga upon most of central Kansai. He would come into conflcit with the Yusa Clan upon their usurpation of the Hatakeyama, facing off against Yusa Naganori in 1551 at the indecisive battle of Kitano-Kiriyama. After Naganori's death in 1554, Harumoto wasted no time in establishing his control over Kawachi and Izumi Provinces.
Despite his influence at court, Harumoto was still a warrior at heart and thus was unable to act against the Horiuchi Clan who managed to usurp the Shogunate through political means in 1562. The Kitabatake Clan was amongst the many to wage war on the Horiuchi, however, when Urakami Munekage took Kyoto and had the Emperor name him as shōgun, Harumoto resisted. Allying himself with the Oda, Saito and Tamaki, he fought Munekage’s generals in Ise and Yamato Provinces. Eventually being defeated at the battle of Toyohashi in 1564, Harumoto retreated east but committed seppuku in Sunpu Castle.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Harumoto was born Kitabatake Terumoto (北畠) in Ise Province in 1503, the son of Kitabatake Kichika. Kichika died in 1518, leaving Harumoto as head of the clan at the age of 15. During the reign of Kichika, Kunō Saneyuki, Harumoto’s brother-in-law, had risen to a position of prominence. Having served seemingly loyally, Saneyuki had convinced Kichika to marry him to his daughter, Takemi and eventually coerced him into isolating his brother at Kitabatake Shrine, where he was likely murdered. Following the death of Kichika, Saneyuki attempted to seize power by seizing Ōkawachi Castle, the seat of the Kitabatake and naming himself regent for the underage daimyō. However, Harumoto gathered some followers loyal to his father and ambushed Kunō near to the Monzen-machi (門前町 or “temple-town”) of Ujiyamada. According to the story, Harumoto disguised himself as a beggar and asked Saneyuki if he could direct him to the daimyō of the province. When Saneyuki pointed to himself, Harumoto tore off the disguise and drew his blade stating, “Now let's see if you're the right person for the title” (“Soredewa, anata ga taitoru ni fusawashī jinbutsudearu ka dō ka o mite mimashou”). Harumoto’s men then attacked Saneyuki’s entourage whilst the young daimyō fought Saneyuki himself. This fight is regarded as Harumoto’s first duel, which he won in three strikes.
After displaying his decisiveness and bravery, many of those previously loyal to Saneyuki pledged their support to Harumoto instead. Harumoto spent the next few years consolidating his control over Ise, mostly via non-military means such as construction projects and festivals, ingratiating himself with the people of his province. He would also offer a betrothal to Ōuchi Fuyu, daughter of Ōuchi Yoshioki, which the Chugoku-based daimyō eagerly accepted.
At the age of nineteen, Harumoto founded the Dairyu Tsuki-tō-ryū sword school. A devout swordsman, Harumoto had trained under both his father, and allegedly Tsukahara Bokuden (塚原 卜伝). Harumoto developed a style which he referred to as "Dragon Moon Sword Style", focusing mostly on a calm, defensive position before delivering a rapid flurry of decisive strikes when the opponent either tired or lessened their guard. Samurai from the neighbouring Yamato Province heard of the young daimyō's reputation and came to either learn from or challenge him. By the age of 30, Harumoto had defeated sixteen other Kengo, earning himself immense respect and prestige across Japan. Harumoto also earned a reputation for being an enlightened and benevolent ruler. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who chose to war with their neighbours, exploiting the ever-weakening authority of the Ashikaga shōguns, Harumoto instead focused on the infrastructure and well-being of his own province. He earned the Buddhist name Seigen ("Clear Eyed") due to his ability to "see beyond the world" (世界を超えて見る). Harumoto was also a famous poet and calligrapher, often writing various scrolls detailing what he saw as the duties of both a swordsman and a daimyō.
Following a brief period of consolidation, Harumoto sought to unify Ise Province, which was in truth somewhat de-centralised. Through a series of quick campaigns in northern Ise, he annexed the region that is composed of the modern districts of Kameyama, Suzuka, Yokkaichi, Komono, Inabe and Kuwana. These campaigns proved Harumoto's tactical genius as often he elected to use smaller, elite groups of samurai to outmanoeuvre his opponents. At the battle of Yokkaichi, the Kitabatake took the forces of Chigusa Harukiyo completely by surprise and thus destroyed them before reinforcements from Seki Tanemori could arrive.
War with Yoshikuni[]
Although Harumoto had managed to spend most of his life divorced from the feudal disputes of his neighbours, the rise of Hatakeyama Yoshikuni would eventually force his hand. A long time ally of Tsutsui Junshō, the ruler of Yamato Province, Harumoto was aware of Junshō's tenuous position. Many of the lower-ranking jizamurai clans held fairly autonomous positions, with Junshō serving only as there formal overlord. Hatakeyama Yoshikuni, head of the Kawachi branch of the powerful Hatakeyama clan, sought to expand his influence in central Kansai, but was blocked on all sides by either his allies or more powerful opponents. Junshō, however, proved a far more viable road of conquest and Yoshikuni supported many of the samurai clans in Yamato, leading to open revolt. In mid-August, 1547, Yoshikuni invaded Yamato Province.
Junshō fled east to the court of Harumoto and begged for his assistance which at first Harumoto was uneager to provide. After being convinced of the threat Yoshikuni presented, Harumoto raised his banners and marched west, however, upon realising the size of Yoshikuni's force he instead retreated into the mountains. During the crossing of the Miya River, near the town of Uchimi, Harumoto ambushed the Hatakeyama forces and drove them from Ise. The defeat was so decisive that Yoshikuni retreated all the way back to Kawachi and instead chose to focus on his renewed rivalry with the Miyoshi Clan. Harumoto reinstalled Junshō as daimyō of Yamato, albeit now clearly as his puppet. The battle had earned Harumoto even greater fame, with even the powerful Asai Clan offering friendship.
Kanrei[]
A long time supporter of the Ashikaga clan, Harumoto would train the sons of Ashikaga Yoshiharu, most notably Yoshiteru and Yoshiaki. As a reward, he was granted the right to use the 晴 ("Haru") kanji from Yoshiharu's name. Throughout the 1530s and 40s, Harumoto had supported the Ashikaga shoguns rather than attempted to use them. However, clans closer to the Shogunate, such as the Miyoshi, Hosokawa and Hatakeyama, had constantly kept Harumoto out of the Ashikaga's gaze. Following the defeat of the incumbent Kanrei, Hosokawa Ujitsuna at the battle of Ikoma in 1549, Harumoto was offered the position by Yoshiharu. Harumoto gladly accepted the title and in response, sent ten of the most skilled students from his sword school as a gift to the Ashikaga. He himself, however, would not attend the court in Kyoto as he was otherwise preoccupied with administration of Yamato. Instead, he would send his son Tomonori to serve in his place as he was preparing for an invasion of Iga Province due to the increasing aggression of the Ikko-Ikki that had made the region their home.
War against the Iga Ikki[]
The Sengoku Period had seen the rise in power of the Ikkō-Ikki ("Ikkō-shū Uprising"), autonomous groups of people who rose up against the power of the daimyō. Most prominantly, the groups in Kaga and Iga Provinces managed to completely overthrow the local governors and established theocratic feudal confederacies. In Iga, nominally the Niki Clan were in control of the province as shugo, but in reality they relied on the authority of the Ashikaga in order to enforce their claim. As the Ashikaga Shogunate dwindled in power and prestige, pressure from the Hosokawa and Rokkaku Clans forced the local jizamurai to form together into a coalition or league (Ikki).
In the eyes of Harumoto, the Iga-Ikki were threatening the authority of the Ashikaga's representative and thus needed to be dealt with. With the permission of Yoshiharu, Harumoto gathered an army of roughly 20,000 from across Ise and Yamato and began planning for a two pronged invasion. 15,000, lead by Hijikata Kiyosuke would advance into Iga from the south through Yamato, whilst he would advance around the mountains from the north, after being granted safe passage by the Kyogoku Clan. Having seen the large numbers massing on their southern border, the jizamurai Ikki began fortifying and garrisoning numerous forts along the Iga-Yamato border. Brief skirmishes between foraging parties occured during early 1550 before Kiyosuke forced his way through southern Iga, seizing several forts and laying waste to regions that were believed to have financially supported the prominent ninja clans of Iga. The Ikki, under command of Matsuo Sadayasu moved south to meet Kiyosuke, hoping that they could reinforce Yoshimura Castle. A brief clash near Shorenji Lake gave the Ikki enough time to garrison the castle, but Kiyosuke wasn't interested in besieging and instead took to ravaging the countryside. Now that Sadayasu's contingent was held in place at Yoshimura, Harumoto's smaller force was free to attack the northern portions of Iga. Iga Ueno Castle fell in July and a follow up victory at Uebayashi left Sadayasu's army as the only force large enough to pose any threat to Harumoto's. Harumoto spent several weeks rooting out jizamurai who had fought against him, and according to legend held out a sheathed sword and a bag of rice to each of them saying "One brings life, one brings death. Choose that which you desire" (つは生命をもたらし、もうつは死をもたらします。 あなたが望むものを選択してください). To all those that chose the sword, they were executed; those that chose the rice were given a stipend and a plot of land in order to serve the Kitabatake.