Miyoshi Chōkei

Miyoshi Chōkei (1522–1564) was a Sengoku daimyo who might be called the "first lord of all Japan"—he dominated Kyōto and the Kinai region before Oda Nobunaga rose to prominence. As sōryō (head) of the Miyoshi clan, based in Awa (present-day Tokushima Prefecture), he expanded his power steadily. In 1549, he deposed the kanrei Hōsokawa Harumoto and seized real authority. In 1553 (Tenbun 22), he drove Ashikaga Yoshiteru from Kyōto, forcing him to flee to Kusuki in Ōmi. With a peace agreement reached in 1558 that allowed Yoshiteru to return to Kyōto, Chōkei achieved effective rule of the realm.

Beyond his prowess as a general, Chōkei possessed deep learning in culture and the arts. He patronized renga (linked-verse poetry), the tea ceremony, and Nō theater, and he protected many cultural figures. His seat, Iiomore Castle in Kawachi Province, was one of the greatest mountain castles of its day and also functioned as a cultural salon. The Miyoshi household's retainers included such outstanding men as Matsunaga Hisahide and Miyoshi Saneyasu, and under Chōkei's leadership a major regime was formed.

In his connection to Japanese swords, Chōkei is said to have acquired and collected many celebrated blades during his conquest of the Kinai region. By taking charge of the celebrated swords transmitted in Kyōto from the Muromachi period, he formed deep ties to the swords of the Ashikaga shogunal house. Chōkei's personal swords were regarded as symbols of samurai authority and prestige; it is said he wore blades befitting a hegemon who ruled the Kinai.

Yet Chōkei's later years were marked by tragedy. The successive deaths of his younger brother Miyoshi Saneyasu, Atagi Fuyuyasu, and others eroded his spirit, and in his final years he is said to have withdrawn from active life. When Chōkei died in 1564 at age 43, the Miyoshi clan rapidly declined, eventually ceding its place as the dominant power to Oda Nobunaga upon his entry into the capital. Of late, Chōkei has been reevaluated as a precursor to Nobunaga.