Mogami Yoshiaki

Mogami Yoshiaki (最上 義光, February 1, 1546 – November 29, 1614) was a daimyō of the Yamagata Domain in Dewa Province, in the late Sengoku and early Edo periods.

In this Japanese name, the family name is Mogami.
Mogami Yoshiaki
最上 義光
Statue of Mogami Yoshiaki in Yamagata Castle
Nickname(s)"Fox of Ushu/Dewa"
BornFebruari 1, 1546
Yamagata Domain
DiedNovember 29, 1614
Yamagata Castle
Allegiance Toyotomi clan
Eastern Army
Tokugawa shogunate
RankDaimyo
UnitMogami clan
Commands heldYamagata Castle
Battles/warsSiege of Odawara
Kunohe Rebellion
Siege of Shiroishi
Siege of Hataya
Siege of Hasedō
RelationsMogami Yoshimori (father)
Yoshihime (sister)
Date Terumune (brother in law)
Date Masamune (nephew)

Biography

Mogami Yoshiaki was the first son of Mogami Yoshimori (最上 義守), of the Mogami clan and succeeded his father as daimyō of Yamagata. When Yoshihime, who was his sister, married Date Terumune, the Mogami clan allies with the Date clan. During this time, Yoshihime wrote information about the Date clan to Yoshiaki, her and Yoshiaki's actions made the Date clan distrust the Mogami family. Yoshiaki fought against the Date clan twice in different years, in both battles Yoshihime advanced to the middle of the battlefield to create a peace treaty.[1]

In 1567, Mogami Yoshiaki expanded the Mogami territory enormously. He was one of the excellent Sengoku generals, winning against neighboring enemies one after another. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power, Mogami submitted to his rule, as a result, he was given about 200,000 koku by Toyotomi Hideyoshi after the Siege of Odawara (1590). But later became a supporter of Tokugawa Ieyasu following Hideyoshi's death. He was known to hate the Toyotomi because Hideyoshi ordered the execution of Yoshiaki's teenage daughter when purging his nephew Toyotomi Hidetsugu, whom Yoshiaki's daughter was engaged to.

In 1600, he battled Uesugi Kagekatsu, an enemy of Tokugawa's, alongside Date Masamune (his nephew), another lord of the far north. He aided in Date's siege of Shiroishi, and was then attacked in his own home castle of Hataya and Hasedō, Later that year, Mogami and Date supported Ieyasu at the famous Battle of Sekigahara, after which Mogami's domain was expanded to 520,000 koku in return for his loyal service. This made the Yamagata domain the fifth largest in Japan at the time, excluding the land held by Tokugawa.

He died at Yamagata Castle in 1614. Yamagata maintains the Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum, just outside the rebuilt Great Eastern Gate of Yamagata Castle, which displays his helmet, battle command baton and other implements he actually used.

In 1989, Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum was opened near the Yamagata Castle.

Legacy

Mogami Yoshiaki laid out and built the castle town, which became the foundation of modern-day Yamagata City. He controlled the "Three Difficult Places" on the Mogami River, making navigation safer from the Sea of Japan to the inland, and bringing the culture of Kyōto and Ōsaka to Yamagata. His dam building projects at Kitadaseki, Inabazeki and other places, and other irrigation control measures helped develop rice cultivation in the Shōnai plain.

Sources

References
  1. 泉秀樹 (2003-05-21). 戦国なるほど人物事典: 100人のエピソードで歴史の流れがよくわかる (in Japanese). PHP研究所. ISBN 9784569579450.
Preceded by
none		 First Daimyō of Yamagata
1600–1614		 Succeeded by
Mogami Iechika


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