* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Akizuki Tanezane
秋月種実
16th Head of the Akizuki Clan
Description
Life
Born in 1548 as the second son of Akizuki Fumitane, a local lord of Chikuzen Province. In 1557, when the Akizuki clan rebelled against the Ōtomo clan at the instigation of Mōri Motonari, Ōtomo Sōrin's forces attacked, and Tanezane's father Fumitane and elder brother Harutane took their own lives. Tanezane escaped the falling Kosho-san Castle with the help of retainers and fled to Suō Province under Mōri protection.
Recovery and Peak Power
Under Mōri patronage, he worked to rebuild his position, recovering his former territory as Ōtomo power declined. He further expanded his domain by allying with the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, eventually ruling territory worth some 360,000 koku spanning Chikuzen, Buzen, and northern Chikugo at the height of Akizuki power.
Confrontation with Toyotomi Hideyoshi
During Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1587 pacification of Kyūshū, Tanezane resisted as an ally of the Shimazu, but secured his life by presenting Hideyoshi with his clan's treasured tea caddy, the Narashiba Katatsuki. His territory was nonetheless confiscated, and he was ordered to relocate to Takanabe in Hyūga Province.
Later Reputation
Despite once losing his base entirely, his strategic ability to rebuild and expand his power by securing the backing of major daimyo such as the Mōri and Shimazu is highly regarded, and he is remembered as the figure who established the Akizuki clan's standing as one of Kyūshū's leading local lords.