Kuki Yoshitaka

Kuki Yoshitaka (九鬼 嘉隆) (1542 – November 17, 1600) was a naval commander during Japan's Sengoku period, under Oda Nobunaga, and later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was also the ninth headmaster of the Kuki family's school of martial arts, Kukishin-ryū.

In 1575, Kuki seized Shima Province, and served in the navy of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, earning a stipend of 35,000 koku. He was called a pirate daimyo by the military records of the Edo period. Later, he fought for the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara and committed suicide on the island of Tajima after being defeated.

In the 1570s, Kuki allied himself with Oda Nobunaga, and commanded his fleet, supporting land-based attacks on the Ikkō-ikki at Ise Bay.

In 1574, his aid ensured a victory for Nobunaga in his third attempt to attack the Nagashima fortress.^[1]

In 1575, Nobunaga allowed Yoshitaka to seize Shima Province, forcing out other maritime clans, such the Mukai clan.

In 1576, he was defeated at Kizugawaguchi by the Mōri clan fleet, but in 1578, he won in the second Battle of Kizugawaguchi, in which Kuki used iron-armored ships, tekkōsen, to repel the arrows and musket balls of the opposing Mōri clan's ships.

In 1584, Yoshitaka along with Takigawa Kazumasubesieged Kanie castle, in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to consolidate his power over the lands held by the Oda clan in Owari province.

In 1587, he led Toyotomi Hideyoshi's fleet in a campaign in Kyūshū, alongside Konishi Yukinaga, Wakizaka Yasuharu and Katō Yoshiaki.

In 1590, along with Wakizaka Yasuharu and Kato Yoshiaki, he went on to lead the Siege of Shimoda in the Odawara campaign.

He continued in his role as commander of Hideyoshi's fleet, launching an invasion of Korea in 1592 from his flagship Nihon Maru, but he was severely defeated in the Battle of Myeongryang in 1597.

En 1600, durante la campaña de Sekigahara , en la batalla del castillo de Tsu el 1 de octubre, el preludio más importante de la batalla de Sekigahara en la provincia de Ise, sirvió como comandante de la fuerza naval del Ejército Occidental. Bloqueó el mar e impidió la llegada de refuerzos del Ejército Oriental, contribuyendo a la caída del castillo de Tsu. Yoshitaka también recibió refuerzos del señor del castillo de Shingu en la provincia de Kii, quien también era su yerno, Ujiyoshi Horiuchi. Juntos, tomaron el castillo de Toba, que había sido abandonado por su hijo, Kuki Moritaka , quien se había aliado con el Ejército Oriental. ^{[ 2 ]}

Sin embargo, después de que la batalla de Sekigahara terminara con una victoria para el Ejército Oriental, Yoshitaka huyó a la isla de Toshima y, a instancias de su vasallo Toyoda Goroemon, se suicidó el 17 de noviembre. ^{[ 2 ]}

• Murakami Takeyoshi
• Ohama Kagetaka

• Ron, Roy (1999–2004). "Genbukan Tokio Shibu: Kuki Yoshitaka". Ninpo.org Consultado el 28 de diciembre de 2004. Página de Kuki Yoshitaka .