* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Nanbu Nobunao
南部信直
Sengoku Daimyo Who Inherited the Nanbu Clan — The Mutsu Lord Regarded as Founder of the Morioka Domain
Description
A Warlord Who Succeeded the Nanbu Clan, a Great Family of Ōu
Nanbu Nobunao, born in Tenbun 15 (1546), was the head of the Nanbu clan, which held vast power in the northern part of Mutsu Province. Because Nanbu Harumasa, the head of the main line, had no heir, Nobunao inherited the main house from the Takko family, a collateral branch, and took up the position of sōryō (chief) of the Nanbu clan. Nobunao's skill in overcoming the internal clan conflicts over the succession and commanding his disordered household stands out even among the regional daimyō of the Sengoku period.
Dealings with Toyotomi and Tokugawa and Pragmatic Diplomacy
During Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Ōshū Shioki (Hideyoshi's settlement of the north) in Tenshō 18 (1590), Nanbu Nobunao quickly submitted to Hideyoshi and had his domain confirmed. The following year, Tenshō 19 (1591), Kunohe Masazane and other rebellious elements among the Nanbu retainers rose up (the Kunohe Rebellion), but Nobunao brought in Hideyoshi's great army to suppress it and secured the Nanbu clan's rule. Using Maeda Toshiie, in whom Hideyoshi placed great trust, as an intermediary, he built relations with the Toyotomi regime and made the survival of the Nanbu clan certain. This pragmatic judgment shows outstanding political insight even among the daimyō of the Tōhoku region.
Morioka and the Iron of Nanbu
After the Kunohe Rebellion, Nobunao planned to build a castle at Kozukata (Morioka), and Morioka Castle was completed in the time of his son Toshinao. The area around Morioka (Iwate), the base of the Nanbu clan, was blessed with iron resources and nurtured a metalworking tradition that left its name to later ages as Nanbu ironware (Nanbu tekki).