Kikkawa Hiroie

Kikkawa Hiroie (吉川 広家) (December 7, 1561 – October 22, 1625) was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period.

Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. He initially was named Tsunenobu (経信) and made his debut on the battlefield on 1570 against Amago Katsuhisa with his father. On 1583, he was sent to then the de facto ruler Hashiba Hideyoshi as a hostage.

From 1586 to 1587, his father and his elder brother Kikkawa Motonaga both died and he became the head of Kikkawa clan. Around this time, he changed his name to Hiroie. Unlike his father and his elder brother who was known for the battlefield bravery, Hiroie preferred strategy and diplomacy to win on a battlefield and was highly praised by Hideyoshi for holding Mori clan together after the death of Kobayakawa Takakage. During the Seven-Year Korean War, he is noted for the defeat of a much larger Ming army at the battle of Ulsan castle.

In the Battle of Sekigahara on 1600, Hiroie judged that the Tokugawa side would win. However, as one of the five leading elders of the Toyotomi government, Mōri Terumoto and several of the Mori clan's retainers was supportive of the pro-Toyotomi forces led by Ishida Mitsunari. In order to ensure the survival of the clan, Hiroie made a secret pact with the Tokugawa side through Kuroda Nagamasa, promising to Mori neutrality during the battle in exchange for guarantees of the existing Mori domains.

Iwakuni Castle

Iwakuni Castle (岩国城, Itamijō) is a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.

History

This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle. Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mōri clan. However, this castle was dismantled as per the Ikkoku-ichijo (一国一城, literally, "One Castle Per Province") order established by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615. The famous Kintai Bridge was originally a bridge to the main gate of the castle. After the destruction of the castle, Kikkawa used a part of the old castle as his residential office. The Kikkawa clan held this castle and Iwakuni Han, which was assessed at 30,000 (later 60,000) koku.

A replica of the castle tower stands high on a hill above the Nishiki River and the Kintai Bridge in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Iwakuni Castle was selected to be one of the 100 Great Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.

Access

See also