[Fukushima Prefecture] What kind of life was it? Nikaido Moriyoshi, a warlord from the Tohoku region famous for his shocking face graphics.
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There was a warlord named Nikaido Moriyoshi from the Sengoku period during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, based around Sukagawa City, in central Hamadori, Fukushima Prefecture.
...I'm sure there are probably many people who like Japanese history, but don't know about it.
And even if I knew about it, I think most of them are those who
found it through the shocking facial graphics of simulation games I am one of them.
What kind of warlord was he?
Highly impactful face graphics
If a man, who is around 40 years old, is asked to discuss the warlord Nikaido Moriyoshi, most of them will respond in one of three ways (this is just my personal opinion).
- I don't know...
- Ah, that warrior with a face graphic that you will never forget once you see it, right?
- I don't know... What, is that name the person with a very surprised look on his face?
Here's the shocking facial graphics. The warrior in the bottom left.
If you search for other things you will find as many as you like.
I'm sure some people know this facial graphics, but are now probably learning their name for the first time.
The warrior wearing the "love" helmet depicted in the top right is Naoe Kanetsugu, who has a connection to Yonezawa in Yamagata Prefecture.
Now, this shocking facial graphics that can only be said to be "too surprised" first appeared in Nobunaga Noya , It was a game called "Bo and Sotenroku."
To explain again about Nobunaga's Ambition, the player is in charge of one of the daimyos of the Sengoku period, and expands his powers after fighting with surrounding forces, diplomacy, and conspiracy.
However, the 10th installment of "Soutenroku", has the distinctive feature that you can choose not only daimyo but also subordinate warlords.
This is one of the games that I, a teenager at the time of its release, played enthusiastically.
And Nikaido Moriyoshi also appears as a warlord in this game, and for some reason his face has that shocking expression.
Now, in this game there is a useful command called "Fake Messenger" that uses your allies' ninjas to send false information to enemy forces, stopping them or retreating.
And when a false messenger is successful to the army led by Nikaido Moriyoshi, he will give a line like this with that expression
(although it's an aside, his ability ratings in the game are average, so he succeeds in making false messenger. It's not difficult to do it).
「What, my castle is on the verge of falling!
In this way,
I'll return to the castle soon!」
This line itself is a general-purpose line, and any warlord can speak if they retreat with a false messenger, but the lines match the facial graphics so much that the author laughed a lot at the time...
This face graphics have been featured in several Koei Tecmo Games games since then.
Therefore, when you try to search for Nikaido Moriyoshi on Google, all the keywords that come up are:
This shows how he is a person known for his "face graphic of Nobunaga's ambition."
The original Nikaido Moriyoshi was a low-known warrior and he is said to have no portraits left, so it's no surprise that he has become famous for his games (though he may not be interested in it).
What kind of person was Nikaido Moriyoshi?
Nikaido Moriyoshi has become famous for being (for some reason) a warrior in charge of facial expressions in simulation games, but what kind of life did he live?
Nikaido Moriyoshi was born as the child of Nikaido Teruyuki, the sixth head of the Sukagawa Nikaido clan.
According to one theory, Moriyoshi's birth year was considered to be 1544.
As the name suggests, Sukagawa Nikaido was based in Sukagawa Castle, which was located in Iwase County, Mutsu Province, and now Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture.
It is also unclear whether she was Moriyoshi's mother, but Teruki's wife was the daughter of Date Tanemumune (Masamune's great-grandfather).
It is thought that the ties between the Nikaido clan and the Date clan were strong during this period.
Meanwhile, Nikaido was fighting against the Ashina clan, based in Aizu, and the Tamura clan, which controls Tamura County.
In 1559, Nikaido Teruyuki was taken away from Imaizumi Castle (now Imaizumi, Sukagawa City) by the Tamura clan.
After that, Teruyuki often tried to recapture Imaizumi Castle, but he was unable to make it, and passed away in 1564.
became the head of the seventh generation Sukagawa Nikaido family
Moriyoshi's wife was Princess Anan, the daughter of Date Harumune (Masamune's grandfather).
Just like his father Teruyuki, Moriyoshi also welcomed the daughter of the Date clan.
The Nikaido clan continued to be at a disadvantage, and in 1566, the Ashina Mori clan and Morioki father and son attacked Matsuyama Castle and Yokota Castle.
Moriyoshi holds his eldest son as hostage to make peace and ends up following Ashina.
However, for Moriyoshi, an unexpected opportunity arises.
Moriyuki, who was the head of the Ashina family, passed away early in 1574.
Morioki was not a boy, and his father Morio had no other boys than Morioki, so his son Ashina Moritaka, who Nikaido Moriyoshi had given him as hostage, became the successor to Ashina.
This allows Moriyoshi to rely on Ashina's power and attempts to regain his power.
Then, in the Battle of Miyoda in 1580, Moriyoshi defeated Tamura.
This was the peak of the Sukagawa Nikaido clan.
However, Nikaido Moriyoshi passed away in August 1581 .
If he was born in Astronomical 13, he would be 38 years old.
It is undeniable that he did not have any spectacular achievements as a warlord during the Warring States period.
In addition, Yukichika, the son of Moriyoshi, who became the 8th head of the family, passed away early several years later.
Although there are various theories about his death, he was still in his teens anyway.
The destruction of the Sukagawa Nikaido clan and the torch
Even more tragedy strikes Nikaido, who has lost Moriyoshi.
Atsuna Moritaka, Moritaka, the biological son of Moriyoshi and the head of the Atsuna clan, was attacked and assassinated in 1584 by his retainers.
Moritaka's son, Kameomaru, was left to head of the family at just one month old, but passed away at the age of three.
As already mentioned, Yukichika, Moriyoshi's son, also passed away early, and Nikaido was effectively cut off.
Then, as the relationship between the Ashina and Date clans became difficult over the next head of Kameomaru, Masamune, who had become the head of the Date clan, attacked the Ashina clan.
In 1589, the Ashina clan was defeated by Date Masamune in the Battle of Suriagehara, and the battle with the battle of Suriagehara.
Masamune's ambitions, which have driven the Ashina clan, are also directed towards Sukagawa, and Daijoin (Ananhime), the wife of Moriyoshi, who was the lord of Sukagawa Castle, falls into a difficult situation.
Masamune, the nephew of Daijoin, advises him to surrender to Daijoin again, but he refuses.
When the battle began, the towns and castles of Sukagawa were engulfed in flames, and in October 1589, Sukagawa Castle fell and the Sukagawa Nikaido clan was destroyed.
After being stopped by his retainers, Daijoin Temple, which was about to commit suicide, he fled the castle and eventually moved to the Satake clan of Hitachi Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture).
Later, he suffered an illness while following the country's change to Akita, and returned to Sukagawa and died in 1602.
Every November, Sukagawa City holds a fire festival called
Torch Akashi This torch akashi is said to have been derived from the fact that retainers and territorial people of the Nikaido clan, who decided to fight to protect Sukagawa Castle, gathered together with torches.
And it has been continued to mourn those who lost their lives in the Battle of Sukagawa Castle (including the Date forces).
Sukagawa Nikaido was swallowed up by the war-torn world and disappeared.
However, the feelings of the Nikaido clan, the retainers and territorial people, remained in the Sukagawa area, more than 400 years later, and are carefully handed down by the people of today's Sukagawa city.
Please also take a look at this article for information about the current Sukagawa city of Fukushima Prefecture.
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