Kan Michinaga

Kan Michinaga (Japanese: 菅達長, Unknown birth year – 26th day of the 12th month of the 19th year of Keichō (25 January 1615)) was a warrior and daimyō from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period. His common name was Heiuemon (Japanese: 平右衛門). He was one of the Awaji Jūnin-shū¹. He led the naval forces of the eastern sea of Awaji Island. Several theories exist regarding his main base, including Shichi, Kamaguchi, Iwaya, and Sumoto.

Life

The Kan clan (菅氏) is said to have derived from the Tōbōjō family, whose main house was the Sugawara clan (菅原氏) that produced Sugawara no Michizane, a nobleman and man of letters of the Heian period. However, the evidence supporting this is weak, and it is believed that they were a local lord (kokushū) of Awaji Province. The year of Michinaga's birth is unknown.

In the Tenshō era, Oda Nobunaga, who was emerging as the ruler of the Kinai region, came into competition with the Mōri clan (毛利氏) of the Chūgoku region. At that time, Awaji Island was located at the point where the two forces clashed, and the local lords of Awaji were troubled over which side to join. As a result, only Michinaga joined the Mōri side. Later, Atake Nobuyasu (安宅信康) joined Oda, while other local lords (such as Funakoshi Kagenao (船越景直)) had not yet made a decision. Under these circumstances, in 1576 (Tenshō 4), the Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元) forces, supporting the 15th and last shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, captured Iwaya Castle (岩屋城) in Awaji, which Nobuyasu had been defending, and Michinaga, who had sided with the Mōri, became the castle lord. Afterward, he also assisted the Mōri clan in the attack on Ishiyama Honganji (石山本願寺). However, in mid-November 1581 (Tenshō 9), as a foothold for the Oda side's attack on Shikoku, invaded Awaji together with Ikeda Motoyasu (池田元助), and Iwaya Castle fell within a single day. Awaji Island was completely subdued, and the local lords were nearly destroyed, but Michinaga escaped and went into hiding.