Takahisa Shimazu (28 May 1514 – 15 July 1571) was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period who ruled the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province from 1527 to 1566, succeeding Katsuhisa Shimazu and preceding Yoshihisa Shimazu.
Biography[]
Takahisa Shimazu was born in Izaku Castle, Satsuma Province, Kyushu, Japan on 28 May 1514, and he was adopted as Katsuhisa Shimazu's successor in 1526. He proceeded to initiate a series of campaigns to reconquer Satsuma, Osumi, and Hyuga Provinces, but the completion of this vision was not achieved until the next generation of Shimazu daimyo rose to succeed him. His sons Yoshihisa Shimazu, Yoshihiro Shimazu, Toshihisa Shimazu, and Iehisa Shimazu would go on to conquer the entire island. Shimazu actively promoted relationships with foreign people and countries, becoming the first daimyo to import Western firearms to Japan after the shipwreck of Portuguese merchants on Tanegashima in 1543. In 1549, he welcomed Saint Francis Xavier to Japan, and he allowed the Jesuits to spread Christianity in his domain before local Buddhist monks successfully pressured him to retract hi ssupport. Shimazu also established diplomatic relations with the Ryukyu Kingdom. Takahisa defeated the rebellious Ito and Kimotsuki clans at the Siege of Iwatsurugi Castle in 1554, and he crushed the Kimotsuki clan in 1566. That same year, he abdicated in favor of his son Yoshihisa, and he died in 1571 at the age of 57.
Gallery[]
