* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Murakami Takeyoshi
村上武吉
Commander of the Noshima Murakami Navy Who Dominated the Seto Inland Sea — the Sea Warlord Fróis Called “the Greatest Pirate in Japan”
Description
Master of the Seto Inland Sea
Said to have been born in Tenbun 2 (1533) (though some hold Tenbun 5), Murakami Takeyoshi was the head of the Noshima Murakami clan and a naval commander who held control of the seas of the Seto Inland Sea. Luís Fróis called him “the greatest pirate in Japan.” Together with Kurushima and Innoshima, he led the Noshima Murakami clan, known as the “Murakami of the Three Islands,” dominated maritime traffic across the Seto Inland Sea, centered on the waters off Iyo and Aki, and prospered as a gatekeeper of the sea, collecting passage tolls (hobetsu-sen) to guarantee the safety of maritime traffic.
Alliance with the Mōri and the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi
Takeyoshi formed alliances with the two generations of Mōri Motonari and Terumoto and formed the core of the Mōri naval forces. In the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi in Tenshō 4 (1576), the combined Mōri and Murakami fleets overwhelmed the Oda navy and succeeded in securing the supply route to Ishiyama Hongan-ji. Takeyoshi himself did not take the field; his eldest son Motoyoshi fought as the main force and won a great victory. Two years later, however, in the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi, they were defeated by the Oda navy led by Kuki Yoshitaka, which deployed iron-clad ships.
Service under Kobayakawa Takakage and the Toyotomi Era
After the Honnō-ji Incident, when the Mōri clan made peace with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Takeyoshi refused to return Kurushima, which Hideyoshi demanded. He was attacked by Kobayakawa Takakage, surrendered Noshima, and moved to Takehara in Aki, Takakage’s domain. In Tenshō 16 (1588), he was called to account for allegedly defying Hideyoshi’s Edict Banning Piracy, and afterward followed Takakage to Chikuzen. During the Korean campaigns (the Bunroku and Keichō Campaigns), his children who had inherited the headship, including Motoyoshi and Kagechika, fought with the Mōri and Kobayakawa forces. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he sided with the Western Army as part of the Mōri clan; Motoyoshi, who invaded Iyo, was killed in action. After the war, following the reduction of the Mōri domains, he left Takehara, settled on Suō-Ōshima (Yashiro Island), and died in Keichō 9 (1604).
Naval Culture
The Noshima Murakami clan stationed family members at strategic points across the Seto Inland Sea, including Kasaoka in Bitchū, Kojima in Bizen and Kaminoseki in Suō. Together with its main base at Noshima (off present-day Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture), it controlled maritime traffic. Ships that paid the hobetsu-sen were issued kasho-bata (safe-passage flags) and were said to receive the protection of the Murakami naval forces. Takeyoshi was also well educated: he held renga poetry gatherings with his clan at Ōyamazumi Shrine, and the naval warfare manual “Essentials of Murakami Naval Warfare” is also said to have been written by him.