* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Shōni Yorihisa
少弐頼尚
Nanboku-chō Warrior Who Held Kyushu as Dazai Shōni and Fought at Tatarahama and the Chikugo River
Description
Shōni Yorihisa was a warrior of the late Kamakura to Nanboku-chō periods, holding the offices of Dazai Shōni and Governor of Chikugo. He is said to have been a son of Shōni Sadatsune.
Dates of birth and death
Most sources give 1294 (Eiji 2) as his birth year and 1371 (Ōan 4) as his death year. Some give 1372 as the year of death, so the sources differ by one year.
The attack on the Chinzei Tandai
In 1333 (Genkō 3), together with his father Sadatsune, he attacked Hōjō Hidetoki, the Chinzei Tandai.
Role in the Nanboku-chō conflict
He supported Ashikaga Takauji's rising in Kyushu, and in the Battle of Tatarahama in 1336 (Kenmu 3 / Engen 1) in Chikuzen (present-day Higashi Ward, Fukuoka) he defeated forces led by Kikuchi Takenori and others.
In 1359 (Enbun 4 / Shōhei 14) he was defeated by the southern-court forces under Kikuchi Takemitsu at the Battle of the Chikugo River. He then withdrew to Dazaifu, and his power is said to have declined.
Sources
Documents issued in the name of "Dazai Shōni (Yorihisa)" between 1340 and 1347, survive among the Sagara family documents held by Keio University.