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.

Mogami Yoshiaki 最上 義光
Statue of Mogami Yoshiaki in Yamagata Castle
Head of Mogami clan
In office ? – 1614
Preceded by	Mogami Yoshimori
Succeeded by	Mogami Iechika
Daimyō of Yamagata Domain
In office 1600–1614
Succeeded by	Mogami Iechika
Personal details
Born	Februari 1, 1546 Yamagata Domain
Died	November 29, 1614 Yamagata Castle
Relations	Mogami Yoshimori (father) Yoshihime (sister) Date Terumune (brother in law) Date Masamune (nephew)
Military service
Nickname(s)	"Fox of Dewa"
Allegiance	Mogami clan Toyotomi clan Eastern Army Tokugawa shogunate
Rank	Daimyo
Unit	Mogami clan
Commands	Yamagata Castle
Battles/wars	Battle of Jugorihara Siege of Odawara Kunohe Rebellion Siege of Shiroishi Siege of Hasedō

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 in the Shōnai and Semboku areas to expand Mogami influence and became known as a capable leader. 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) and participated in attacking Kunohe Rebellion. But later Yoshiaki 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, to whom Yoshiaki's daughter was engaged. Hideyoshi refused to spare the life of Yoshiaki's 15-year-old daughter, who had only just arrived in Kyoto to become Hidestugu's concubine and had not yet even met her husband-to-be.

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, Kaminoyama and Hasedō. Later that year, Mogami and Date supported Ieyasu at the famous Sekigahara campaign, 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

• Stephen Turnbull. The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co. (1998)
• Dewa no Taishu Mogami Yoshiaki (in Japanese)

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.