Akamatsu Masanori

Akamatsu Masanori was a warrior of the Muromachi period and the ninth head of the Akamatsu family. Born in 1455, he died of illness at Chōen-ji in Harima on 6 June 1496 (Meiō 5, 4th month, 25th day), aged 42. In his childhood he was raised by his retainer Urakami Norimune. His adopted son Yoshimura succeeded him.

Restoration of the Akamatsu

For his service in the Chōroku Incident of 1458, the shogunate permitted the Akamatsu house to be restored, and he became shugo of half of Kaga Province.

The Ōnin War

In the Ōnin War he sided with the Eastern Army. He sent Uno Masahide and others to Harima to recover the family's old lands, and had regained Bizen and Mimasaka as well by 1468.

Rule and internal strife

In his domains he was troubled by conflicts within the clan, such as the revolt of Arima Motoie and the encroachments of the Arita clan. In 1483 Yamana Masatoyo invaded and Masanori was defeated at the battle of Mayumi Pass. In his dispute with Urakami Norimune, Norimune took the headship and the post of shugo from him in 1484, but he returned with the help of Bessho Noriharu. In 1488 he forced the Yamana forces to withdraw from Harima.

Later years

Allied with Hosokawa Masamoto, he took part in the 1491 campaign against Rokkaku. In 1493 he took Tōshōin as his second wife. In the intercalary second month of 1496 he was raised to Junior Third Rank, a promotion considered exceptional for a warrior.

Cultural side and assessment

Masanori excelled at sarugaku and was versed in waka and renga poetry. He is said to have studied swordsmithing under Osafune Munemitsu.