#azai hisemasa

[samuraifacts]

The Azai Ruled Omi? Right?

  Hey everyone! It has been a while! As I said previously I’ve been double checking my words and doing research before continuing to post on here. Today I’m back and want to start by talking about my favorite clan of the Sengoku Era. The famous Azai (or Asai) clan of Omi! The famous rulers of Omi right?   Well, not quite. In a lot of modern media it is common to say that the Azai ruled over Omi Province. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite true. Today I’d like to talk about the Azai and what land they did and didn’t rule over. I’m also going to be including brief history lessons on the Azai clan’s three rulers.    First let’s talk about Grandpa Azai, Mr. Azai Sukemasa. Before Sukemasa the Azai had no land to call their own and weren’t what one would consider rulers. However, due to an internal power struggle of the clan he was in he would end up gaining forces and build a castle in the Northeastern part of Omi called “Odani”. Unfortunately, he would soon find himself locked in conflict with the rulers of South Eastern Omi, the Rokkaku. The Rokkaku would prove so powerful in fact that the Azai would be forced out of Omi and seek refuge in Echizen to the North. WIth the help of the Asakura clan, Echizen’s rulers, the Azai would then move back South into Omi and pushed back the Rokkaku. Owing a large debt to the Asakura they re-established themselves at Odani, reinforcing their position and becoming the rulers of Northeastern Omi. So at this point they control only Northeastern Omi, and would also claim ownership of Lake Biwa.   Next came the second ruler of the Azai, Hisemasa. During and after the death of his father Hisemasa was locked into a seemingly endless conflict with the Rokkaku. In spite of Asakura assistance the Rokkaku clan was powerful and Hisemasa was considered a fairly weak fighter and general. Under his leadership the Azai would lose several forts and quite a bit of land to the Rokkaku forces. Fearing complete destruction and not wishing to flee to Echizen like his father before him HIsemasa would beg the Rokkaku to let the Azai become their vassal. While the Azai kept their castle, at this point we could say that all Azai lands actually belong to the Rokkaku. So, leaving this section, the Azai own one castle and clearly don’t own all of Omi.    Finally we have the most famous Azai, Azai Nagamasa. It is not exaggeration to say that leadership skipped a generation of the Azai family line. At a young age, bearing the grudge of his father and grandfather before him, Nagamasa would move the Azai’s forces South with the help of the Asakura. While the Azai didn’t take over much land they did regain all of the land they had previously lost to the Rokkaku forces. The Azai retainers asked Hisemasa to retire, and Nagamasa was made the Azai’s new Lord. This was the absolute peak of Azai land ownership. As most people know the Azai later fell to the Oda and lost all territory when their clan was destroyed but that is a conversation for another time.    The point I wanted to make with this post is that while a lot of video games and anime say the Azai ruled all of Omi, because splitting up Omi is difficult admittedly, this is in fact false. The Azai never ruled more than the Northeastern part of the province.