For the map enjoyers, here is the early Muromachi Southern Oshu map that I said I would post but never got around to. There's quite a few interesting points to note, and I will discuss them in future posts. But for the meantime, enjoy the slightly (very) messy borders in this turbulent time, where the outlines of Sengoku period borders began to show itself.
After our discussion about the conflict in Urabe, I want to direct our attention to the aforementioned Aokata clan and their history, as the closing section of this chapter.
Epilogue: Fate of the Aokata clan
As mentioned above, the Aokata clan held land in Aokata-go on Nakadori island (a part of Urabe area), some lands in Kanzaki-no-sho (Hizen), and Mizuma-no-sho (Chikugo), and their branch family, the Shirauo clan, held land in Shirauo-go. During the Nanboku-cho period, the Aokata clan, alongside the Matsuura group and the Uku clan, fought on the side of the Northern court. As rewards for their loyalty, they were granted some land in Yasutomi-no-sho (安富荘, in Hizen) and one-fifteenth of the Jito position over Imazato village (今里村) in Yasu-no-sho (夜須荘, in Chikuzen).
In Oan 6th year (1373), the lords of the Goto islands - Uku, Arikawa, Tao, and the Aokata clans - formed a coalition pact (Ikki). In Eitoku 2nd year (1384), the Aokata clan also co-signed the coalition pact with the Lower Matsuura families. We can see the reappearance of the Aokata clan in later coalition pacts in Kakei 2nd year (1388) and Oei 21st year (1414). Furthermore, as time went on, the links between the Aokata clan and the Matsuura group became more than just in political alignment. As we see in the names: Aokata Naotaka (青方直高) -> Aokata Shige (青方重) -> Aokata Katashi (青方固), the Aokata had abandoned their tradition of using the word “taka”, and instead began to use the Saga Genji (Matsuura’s ancestor)’s tradition of using only one word in their first names.
In Oei 20th year (1413), the lords of Uku, Arikawa and Aokata took a vow to support Uku Matsukumamaru (宇久松熊丸). Matsukumamaru was a son from the Ano family (branch family of Uku clan?) who was adopted by Uku Satoru (宇久覚), the leader of the Uku clan. Matsukumamaru would later be known as Uku Suguru (宇久勝). Suguru was an important leader of the Uku clan, for he was the one who began the unification of Goto islands. In Oei 29th year (1422), the Aokata clan and the Hirado Matsuura clan fought over Ore island and Shugen island, which ended with Uku Suguru stepping in to mediate. In the end, the Hirado Matsuura acknowledged Shugen island as the Aokata’s territory, while the Aokata acknowledged Ore island as the Hirado Matsuura’s territory.
Under the reign of Aokata Susumu (青方進), the Aokata clan began restoring temples and developing the lands of the Nakano (中野) and Juganda (重願田). Nakano makes up a part of modern-day Azetsu-go (阿瀬津郷) and Tainoura-go (鯛ノ浦郷), while the whereabouts of Juganda is unclear. However, Susumu’s son Oniboshimaru (鬼法師丸) passed away as a child, so Yori (頼) from the Nama clan (奈摩氏, branch family of the Aokata) was taken in to inherit the leadership position. In Meio 2nd year (1493), Yori’s son Takamasa (堯正) took in the exiled lord of Naoya castle (直谷城), Shisa Sumimasa (志佐純昌), and placed him on the Western end of the Urabe area (so it’s closer to Sumimasa’s home). However, after Sumimasa passed away, his senior retainer, a certain Suetake (季竹) attempted to gain actual control over the land. Suetake failed and fled alongside Sumimasa’s kids to the Arima’s fief.
Takamasa would later take Uku Satoru’s third son, Tsuzuku (続), as the new leader of the Aokata clan. By this point, the Aokata had officially become a vassal of the Uku clan. The Aokata clan served as a senior retainer of Fukue domain (福江藩, ruled by the Uku clan) until the Meiji period. Thanks to Aokata clan’s efforts in preserving and compiling family records and documents, we now get to know so much about this seemingly obscure, small family.
Interestingly, many of the Fukue domain’s vassals were Christian - including the Arikawa clan and our protagonist of this section, the Aokata clan. A combination of strong presence of Christianity amongst vassals, the fire in Egawa castle (江川城) and previous unrest of the attempted coup by Ohama Mondo (大浜主水, who was the adopted son of Goto Kakuemon/五島角右衛門, the step-brother of the Goto clan’s leader, Goto Moritoshi/五島盛利) is believed to be the reason why the suppression of Christianity was delayed compared to the other surrounding domains. There is a lot of interesting history between Christianity and the Hizen province, which we will talk about later.
Sources:
五島キリシタン史 伝来と信仰のあゆみ by 堂崎教会/Dozaki Catholic church and Kato Hisao/加藤久雄
Hey everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve done a post (and I know I still haven’t updated my Shinano series and Oshu series), but I guess here’s a new series that may or may not be finished.
So without further ado, let’s get into our protagonist for the chapter here.
A map of the shoens in Hizen province (by Memed Sengoku History)
Section 1: Origins of the Matsuura clan
The Matsuura clan (松浦氏) has two different stories of origins: 1) they are descendants of the Oshu Abe clan (奥州安倍氏), specifically from Abe no Muneto (安倍宗任), younger brother of Abe no Sadato (安倍貞任). 2) They are descendants of the Saga Genji (嵯峨源氏), who descended from the lineage of Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇).
Abe no Muneto theory: This genealogy came from Heike no Monogatari and its related work. As many of you may already know, Abe no Sadato fought against Minamoto no Yoritomo’s great-great-great-grandfather Yoriyoshi (6 generations difference) in the former 9-year war, and was subsequently defeated and executed. As Sadato’s younger brother, Muneto is said to have been exiled to Iyo province in Shikoku, before being exiled to Chikuzen province in Kyushu. Edo period work “Zenzen-Taiheiki” (前々太平記) also follows this narrative, with the addition that Muneto had come to serve Minamoto no Yoshiie (son of Yoriyoshi) but still desired to return to Oshu. Hence, he secretly trained men in the mountains of Tsukushi province (later split into Chikuzen & Chikugo provinces) and requested to be granted land in the Matsuura district of Hizen province. Alongside Watanabe no Tsuna’s descendants - the two families would later be known as the “Matsuura-to” (松浦党, meaning the “Matsuura group”).
Saga Genji theory: This genealogy is dated to be prior to Heike no Monogatari, and is more in line with the Matsuura clan’s own compiled genealogy, the Kaseiden (家世伝). However, as the author (Toyama Mikio/外山幹夫) noted - just because this came earlier does not necessarily mean that it is correct. That being said, the Matsuura clan clearly has a connection with cetain historical figures such as Hizen’s Kokushi (governor) Minamoto no Tomo (源知, unsure if that’s how it should be pronounced) who fought against the Toi invasion (刀伊の入寇), and Minamoto no Sunao (源順) who was the cultivator of Uno-no-mikuriya (宇野御厨, an estate in Matsuura district that we will talk about later). Of course, Abe no Muneto was a prisoner of rebellion, while Saga Genji is a descendant of the Emperor - which one appears more favourable is easy to tell.^(1)
Section 2: The nature of the “groups”
This came from a paper discussing the nature of the Matsuura group as a whole. There have been different theories on how they behaved, with some arguing that they acted as a coalition (ikki/一揆) with the main family as its leader, while others argue that they more or less acted as independent lords who may or may not work with each other. The word “group” (“to”/党) itself is interesting. We can see this term used to refer to various regional groups from the Kamakura period to the Sengoku period. The most famous one is probably the Musashi 7 groups (武蔵七党), which includes the Yokoyama group (横山党), Inomata group (猪俣党), Kodama group (児玉党), Murayama group (村山党), Noyo group (野予党), and the Tan group (丹党) (there are also two others, Tsuzuki (綴党) & Kisai (私市党) groups, adding to a total of 9 groups). During the Sengoku period, we also know “groups” like the Yuasa (湯浅党) and Suda (隅田党) groups in Kii province. However, professor Seno Seiichiro (瀬野精一郎) argued that the use of the term “group/to” was actually a derogatory term that is really only used by outsiders to refer to a group of people who live in an area. For example, the use of “鎮西凶党等” (Chinzei villains) to refer to the Matsuura group in Meigetsu-ki (明月記), written by court noble Fujiwara no Sadaie (藤原定家). Indeed, we can also think about terms like “Akuto” (悪党, “villainous group” - thanks to u/Morricane for pointing that out), and the use of “Nichiren-to/日蓮党” by non-Nichirenists to refer to Nichirenists is likely to also involve derogatory undertones (thanks to Professor Dan Sherer for providing this information).
The author of the paper (Ishimura Yuna/石村優奈) also pointed to the fact that the Matsuura group is recorded to have taken different sides during the Genpei war - with both Heike no Monogatari (平家物語) and Azuma Kagami (吾妻鏡) offering two seemingly conflicting accounts. In Heike no Monogatari, it was described that the Usuki (臼杵), Totsugi (戸次) and Matsuura groups aligned themselves with Ogata Koreyoshi (緒方惟栄)^(2) and attacked Heike’s Dazaifu (太宰府)^(3) in 1180 (when the Heike were starting to punish the people who opposed them). Similarly, it was also written in Heiki no Monogatari that when the Heike forces arrived at Yashima in 1185, it was reported that tens of thousands of men from Kyushu - comprising the Usuki, Hetsugi and the Matsuura group - were coming to attack them, scaring them crapless. However, in both Heike no Monogatari and Azuma Kagami, a seemingly opposite account was also offered. Both sources tell that at the later battle of Dan no Ura in 1185, the Heike navy split into 3 groups - led by Yamaga no Hideto (山鹿秀遠)^(4), the Matsuura group, and men of the Heike themselves. So in this view, it looks like the Matsuura forces joined Yoritomo’s side since the beginning and at the battle of Yashima, but then switched sides to the Heike during the battle of Dan no ura - roughly a month after Yashima?
Ishimura pointed out that this seemingly bizarre inconsistency can be explained if we stop viewing the Matsuura group as a “coalition group”, but rather along Professor Seno’s argument - that they were simply a group of people inhabiting an area who don’t necessarily work together, and hence may have different interests and loyalties. The following story in the next section (and what I consider to be the “meat” of this post) supports this theory.
Section 3: Urabe and the generational conflicts
To support her argument, Ishimura pointed to an incident involving different members of the Matsuura group - specifically, the Mine clan, the Aokata clan and the Yamashiro clan. The story is a little complicated, so let me break it down for you:
During the late Heian period (before the Genpei war), an area called “Urabe” (浦部) within Uno-no-mikuriya was administered by the local Jito, Kiyohara no Korekane (清原是包). Uno-no-mikuriya is an estate that roughly covers the Northern part of modern-day Nagasaki prefecture, as well as various surrounding islands such as the Goto islands and Hirado island. For the more exact boundaries of this estate, please see my map attached above. The Urabe area covers roughly modern-day Nakadori island (中通島) and Wakamatsu island (若松島) - two large islands of the Goto island chain. Interestingly enough, Urabe was listed as “Urabe area within Ojika island” (小値賀島内浦部), meaning that at the time, “Ojika island” (nowadays just a small island above Nakadori island) may have been used to refer to a much wider area.
Anyway, Korekane was charged with colluding with pirates and disturbing the peace. Finally after an incident with a Korean ship, he had his position as Ryoshu (領主, which in this case likely means an administration position under the Ryoke/領家)^(5) stripped, which was then passed down to his niece Mitsuko (三子). Mitsuko was married to a man named Minamoto no Naosu (源直), who operated as an administrator on her behalf and was appointed Bensaishi (弁済使, tax collector for the Shoen lords, very similar to what the later Jito does). Korekane was later reappointed as Ryoshu and attempted to regain ownership over the land, but was caught by Naosu and executed in Hirado. Naosu and Mitsuko would later divorce, and Naosu married a widow of a Song merchant captain. The widow had a son with her, and Naosu took him as his stepson. This kid is later known as Minamoto no Tsuranu (源連), to whom Naosu transferred the land rights of Urabe to. However, Korekane’s nephew, a monk named Jinkaku, came from Todaiji (東大寺) in Yamato and claimed that Korekane had passed the ownership to him before he died. Furthermore, Mitsuko and Naosu's son Kakomu (囲) also entered the battle and claimed to be the rightful owner. The whereabouts of Mitsuko herself are unknown, but Kakomu’s claim was supported by his adoptive father (Mitsuko’s later husband). To make it worse, Korekane’s later wife also joins in and claims that she and Korekane’s son, Matsuboshi (松法師), should be the rightful owners of it. Matsuboshi was quickly killed, so he was out of the picture, but the remaining three parties continued on fighting for ownership over the Urabe area.
Under the Kamakura Bakufu, the Jito position over Urabe was first confirmed with Tsuranu, but then Jinkaku was recognised as the rightful owner of it. Tsuranu's adopted son, Mine Tamotsu (峯持) was later recognised as the Jito, and Jinkaku and his family were recognised as administrators under the Mine clan. This, of course, did not resolve the conflict, as tensions continued to exist between the Mine clan and Jinkaku's descendants, the Aokata clan (青方氏). The fight over Urabe also appeared to have surfaced between members of the Matsuura group itself, as we see the Mine clan fighting for its rule in lawsuits with certain individuals named Minamoto no Hitoshi (源等) and Takashima Mitsuru (鷹島満, likely from the Takashima clan on Takashima island). The Mine clan later spawned off a significantly more famous family - the Hirado Matsuura clan (平戸松浦氏), who would eventually take over the main family. At some point in time, control over Urabe appeared to have shifted from the Mine clan to the Hirado Matsuura clan and the Shisa clan (志佐氏, another Matsuura group member).
To add more fun to the constant conflicts, the Uku clan (宇久氏, a family supposedly from the Uku island/宇久島 who moved to Fukue island/福江島) also began the efforts of uniting all of the Goto island chains. They would succeed and eventually change their name to the Goto clan (五島氏, obviously referencing the Goto islands), but that's a story for the next chapter.
Kakomu was never recognised as Jito over Urabe, but was instead granted the Jito position over Yamashiro-ura (山代浦).^(6) Kakomu's descendants would take up the name of "Yamashiro" and become the Yamashiro clan (山代氏).
So far, this has been pretty soap opera-ish, but I’ll try to simplify the connection of each party below. I’ve also compiled a family map to show exactly who was connected to whom:
Family connections:
As we can see in the family map - from Korekane’s perspective, this is a fight between your nephew-in-law’s adopted son, your nephew, your son, and your great nephew. I think that was the part of the story I found really funny - just how complicated the family relationship was in this seemingly obscure conflict.
Family map of all parties involved in the conflict
Claim connections:
What Ishimura noted was interesting is that Korekane’s claim came from the Imperial court, while Naosu was backed by the Heike, who then reassured his control over Urabe. Following this perspective, it’s not hard to imagine that Naosu likely sided with the Heike during the Genpei war. This may explain why the Kamakura Bakufu shifted the claim from Naosu to Jinkaku. During the earlier years of the Kamakura bakufu, the stability of the newly founded state was low and they could only guarantee the fief of lords across Japan, even those who opposed them during the Genpei war. However, after the Bakufu became more stable, they were able to start excising the pesky hidden enemies and traitors, and install more favourable claimants. As for why Tsuranu’s stepson Tamotsu was then appointed as Jito over Jinkaku - we are really not super sure why this happened.
The timeline is as follows:
Territorial split over Urabe (in Oei 29th year/1422):
Footnotes:
References:
中世長崎の基礎的研究 by Toyama Mikio/外山幹夫
中世前期松浦党にみる「党」の存在形態 by Ishimura Yuna/石村優奈
