Yura Narishige

Yura Narishige was a Sengoku-period warrior of Kozuke Province and lord of Nitta Kanayama Castle. He was the 8th head of the Ono-descended Yokose (Yura) family, first calling himself Yokose Narishige and later changing to the Minamoto-lineage Yura name. Born in Eisho 3 (1506), he died on the 30th day of the 6th month of Tensho 6 (3 August 1578), reportedly aged 73. His usual names and titles were Rokuro, Uta no Suke, Gyobu Taifu and Shinano no Kami.

Family

His father was Yokose Yasushige, and his brothers included Shigeo, Shigeaki and Nagashige. The Yokose belonged to the Yokoyama branch of the Ono and are said to descend from Yura Tomoshige, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Nitta." His principal wife was Myoin-ni (daughter of Akai Shigehide); their children included Yura Kunishige, Nagao Akinaga and Watarase Shigeakira.

Overthrow and the Yura name

He first served the Iwamatsu family as steward. On succeeding his father in the 9th month of Tenbun 14 (1545), he strengthened the Yokose, who in effect controlled the Iwamatsu domain, and drove Iwamatsu Morizumi out of Nitta Kanayama Castle. He took the surname Yura from Yura Village in Nitta District, and is said to have thereby secured standing as a direct vassal of the Ashikaga in both Kyoto and the Kanto. He later became an otomoshu (shogunal attendant) of the Muromachi bakufu.

Surviving between powers

The Yura domain in Kozuke was surrounded by the Takeda of Kai, the Uesugi, the Koga kubo Ashikaga and the Later Hojo. Narishige is said to have survived by changing allegiance from the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi to the Hojo, then to Uesugi Kenshin, and back to the Hojo. In Eiroku 12 (1569) he contributed, with Nagao Masanaga, to the formation of the Etsu-So alliance under Hojo Ujiyasu. In Tensho 1 (1573) he took Tatebayashi Castle and attacked Hishakuyama Castle, the seat of the Kiryu, destroying that clan.

Retirement

In Tensho 2 (1574) he handed Kanayama Castle to his heir Kunishige and retired to Hishakuyama Castle. In retirement he founded Hosen-ji and is said to have governed well, developing the castle town. His grave is at Hosen-ji in Umeda, Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture; his posthumous Buddhist name is Hosenji Chuzan Sotoku Koji.

Anecdotes

On the 26th day of the 5th month of Tenbun 22 (1553) the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru is said to have sent him a matchlock gun and, on the same day, asked him for a horse. When the Kanpaku Konoe Sakitsugu came down to the Kanto in 1560, Narishige entertained him and was praised by Yoshiteru. In 1565, after Yoshiteru was killed, he received an envoy from Yoshiteru's brother Yoshiaki (later Ashikaga Yoshiaki) asking him to come to Kyoto. His wife Myoin-ni is said to have led the defence at the age of 71 when the Hojo attacked Kanayama Castle in 1584.

Later reputation

Some regard the Yura and their domain as a Sengoku daimyo state, while others rate them as kokushu (local lords) in scale.