Azai clan

In thisJapanese name,thesurnameisAzai.

TheAzai clan(Japanese:Thiển giếng thị,Hepburn:Azai-shi),also rendered asAsai,was aJapanese clanduring theSengoku period.

Azai Thiển giếng
The emblem (mon) of the Azai clan
Home province	Ōmi
Titles	Daimyō
Founder	Azai Sukemasa
Final ruler	Azai Nagamasa
Dissolution	1573
Ruled until	1573, Azai Nagamasa commitsseppuku

History

The Azai clan was a line ofdaimyōs(feudal military lords) seated atOdani Castlein northeasternŌmi Province,located within present dayNagahama,Shiga Prefecture.The Azai originated in the early 1500s and claimed descent from theHokkebranch of theFujiwara,a powerful clan in Japan from theHeian periodto theKamakura period.Initially, the clan werevassalsof theKyōgoku,but gradually emerged as independentdaimyōsin northern Ōmi.However, Azai domains were soon conquered by theRokkakuand the clan was forced into becoming their vassals.Azai Nagamasabecame head of the clan in 1560 and successfully fought against the Rokkaku for independence by 1564. The Azai were long-time allies with theAsakuraclan ofEchizen Provincewho had assisted the clan in securing their independence. In 1570, Nagamasa joined the Asakura in their opposition to lordOda Nobunaga,his brother-in-law and ally, to honour their alliance. The Azai were defeated by Nobunaga at theBattle of Anegawain 1570, and all but eliminated when Nobunagaconquered Odani Castleand Nagamasa committedseppuku(honorable suicide) in 1573.

Order of succession

• Azai Sukemasa– son ofAzai Naotane,established Odani Castle in 1516
• Azai Hisamasa– son of Sukemasa, was defeated by theSasaki clan
• Azai Nagamasa– son of Hisamasa, came into conflict with Oda Nobunaga and opposed him, entering an alliance with the Asakura clan and themonksofMt. Hiei;he was defeated and forced to suicide by Nobunaga in 1573. He was married to Nobunaga's sisterOichi.His daughters includedYodo-dono(second wife ofToyotomi Hideyoshiand mother ofToyotomi Hideyori,heir of Hideyoshi). AlsoOeyo(wife of second shōgunTokugawa Hidetadaand mother of the thirdTokugawa shōgunIemitsu)
• Ubuyashiki Miyoshi- son of???, was killed by his sonUbuyashiki Saito
• Ubuyashiki Saito- son of Miyoshi, became Shogun and passed the post of Daimyo to his general Tzu Kyohei.
• Tzu Kyohei- son of???, Mitsunari's pupil and the old former leader of the Yamazakura Squad.

Prominent vassals

• Kyōgoku Takayoshi
• Akao Kiyotsuna
• Isono Kazumasa
• Kaihō Tsunachika
• Amenomori Kiyosada
• Tōdō Takatora

Further reading

• Turnbull, Stephen.(1998).The Samurai Sourcebook.London: Cassell & Co.
• __________. (2002).War in Japan: 1467–1615.Oxford: Osprey Publishing.