- Sue Harukata
Sue Harukata (陶 晴賢; 1521 – 1555) was a retainer of the
Ōuchi clan in theSengoku period inJapan . Harukata would later become adaimyo . He was the second son ofSue Okifusa , senior retainer of the Ōuchi clan. His childhood name was Goro. Before Harukata he had the name of Takafusa. He is also erroneously known as Harutaka.Harukata was born to the
Sue clan , which was related to theŌuchi clan , and served asshugodai ofSuo Province . As a boy, he servedŌuchi Yoshitaka , a childhood friend. After "genpuku ", he was given the name Takafusa after Ōuchi Yoshitaka. In 1539, after his father Okifusa died of illness, he became the head of the Sue clan. Being an able retainer, he became known as the Samurai General Without Peer in the Western Provinces ("Saigoku-musō no Samuraidaishō").From 1540 to 1542, he worked as the general, replacing Ōuchi Yoshitaka, in the war with the
Amago clan . However, when Ōuchi's troops lost heavily in 1542, Yoshitaka's interest in war faded, and he began to incline to cultural activities. Because of this, the civil officialSagara Taketo became close to Yoshitaka, and Harukata's relationship with Yoshitaka declined.In 1551, Harukata succeeded in the coup against Ōuchi Yoshitaka, killing Sagara Taketo and leading Yoshitaka to commit suicide. The next year Harukata secured the control of the Ōuchi clan by making the adopted son of Yoshitaka,
Ōuchi Yoshinaga (who wasŌtomo Haruhide , the half-brother ofŌtomo Sōrin ), the head of the clan. At this time he changed his name from Takafusa to Harutaka, as his master changed from Yoshitaka to Haruhide. Subsequently, he conducted a large military expansion, but this led to discontent among the retainers of the Ōuchi clan. In 1554Yoshimi Masayori ofIwami Province , Yoshitaka's brother-in-law, andMori Motonari ofAki Province rebelled against the Ōuchi clan.In 1555 Harukata lost the
Battle of Itsukushima toMōri Motonari , and committed suicide. After the loss, the Ōuchi clan declined considerably and, two years later, Mōri Motonari annihilated the clan.External links
* [http://www.pref.hiroshima.jp/soumu/kouhou/profile/eintro.htm Profile] of Hiroshima Prefecture
* [http://www.miyoshi-mlit.go.jp/bihokujoho/rekishi/mouri/story/story11.html 歴史街道 毛利家物語～武将たちが夢を追った戦国浪漫の道をたどろう～] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (in Japanese)
* [http://www.pref.shimane.jp/section/bunkazai/jyoukanato/joukan/shimane_masudasi.html 益田氏・吉見氏ゆかりの城館群] Shimane Prefecture web site (in Japanese)
* [http://www.samurai-archives.com/moritime.html Mori Clan Timeline] at Samurai Archives
*新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社１９８７(p. 221)
*竹内理三（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：角川書店１９８５(p. 206)
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