Mori clan

It began when Suemitsu, the fourth son of Oe Hiromoto, the head of the Kamakura Shogunate's administrative office, ruled the Mori Manor in Sagami Province (Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture) and took the surname Mori. In the Middle Ages, the name was pronounced "Mori." Suemitsu was killed in battle with his three sons in 1247 (the first year of the Hoji era) while fighting in the Miura Yasumura Rebellion (the Hoji War). However, the fourth son, Tsunemitsu, who lived in Sabashi-no-sho, Echigo Province (Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture) and owned the same manor and Yoshida-no-sho, Aki Province (Yoshida Town, Akitakata City, Hiroshima Prefecture), did not participate in this rebellion, and his descendants continued to live in Echigo and Aki.

The Echigo Mori clan began with Motochika, the legitimate son of Tsunemitsu, but there are many theories about their lineage and many points remain unclear. During the time of Michiyuki, who inherited the Sahashi Manor, the Muromachi Shogunate granted them the Yasuda section of Ukawa Manor (Kashiwazaki City), and their descendants took the surnames Hojo and Yasuda, but many also refer to them as Mori. During the Sengoku period, both were vassals of the Uesugi clan. Among them, Hojo Takahiro was a senior vassal of Uesugi Kenshin and had his castle in Umayabashi (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture).

The Aki Mori clan began when Tokichika, the fourth son of Tsunemitsu, was granted 1,000 kan of land in Yoshida Manor, and moved to Koriyama in Yoshida Manor and established his castle there at the beginning of the Nanboku-cho period. During the Onin War (1467-1477), Toyomono was granted 1,000 kan and other land in Kamo County, Aki Province (Kamo County, Hiroshima Prefecture) by the Ouchi clan, expanding his territory, and thereafter became subordinate to the Ouchi clan. However, during the Sengoku period under Motonari, he became independent from the Ouchi clan, and destroyed the Ouchi clan in 1557 (Koji 3) and the Amago clan in 1566 (Eiroku 9), becoming a Sengoku daimyo with territory in 10 provinces in the Chugoku region. His grandson Terumoto was subordinate to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and in 1591 (Tensho 19) he was granted eight provinces and 1.12 million koku of rice by Hideyoshi, and moved his base to Hiroshima Castle (Hiroshima City). However, he was defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), and Tokugawa Ieyasu reduced his territory to two provinces, Suo and Nagato, and he moved his castle to Hagi (Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). During the Edo period, he was the lord of the Choshu domain with an official stipend of 369,000 koku. At the end of the Edo period, the domain's lord Takachika moved the domain's headquarters to Yamaguchi and promoted the overthrow of the shogunate, and after the Meiji Restoration, Motonori became the governor of the Yamaguchi domain and later became a duke.

[Makoto Tatehana]

"The Life of Lord Mori Motonari, Volume 1" by Watanabe Yosuke (1944, Rokumeikan)" ▽ "The Life of Lord Mori Terumoto, supervised by Watanabe Yosuke (1982, Matsuno Shoten)" ▽ "A Study of the Echigo Mori Clan" by Seki Hisashi (1965, Joetsu Local History Research Association)" ▽ "The History of Yamaguchi Prefecture" by Misaka Keiji (1971, Yamakawa Publishing)" ▽ "The Aki Mori Clan" by Kawai Masaharu (1984, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鎌倉幕府政所別当(まんどころべっとう)、大江広元(おおえのひろもと)の四男季光(すえみつ)が、相模国(さがみのくに)毛利荘(もりのしょう)（神奈川県厚木市）を領し毛利姓を称したのに始まる。中世の読みは「もり」。季光は、1247年（宝治1）三浦泰村(みうらやすむら)の乱（宝治合戦(ほうじかっせん)）にくみして3人の子息とともに戦死した。しかし、越後国(えちごのくに)佐橋荘(さばしのしょう)（新潟県柏崎(かしわざき)市）に居住し、同荘と安芸国(あきのくに)吉田荘(よしだのしょう)（広島県安芸高田(たかた)市吉田町）を所領とした四男経光(つねみつ)は、この乱に関与せず、その子孫は越後と安芸に分かれて存続した。

　越後毛利氏は、経光の嫡子基親(もとちか)に始まるが、その系譜は諸説あり不明な点も多い。佐橋荘を相伝した道幸の代に室町幕府から鵜川荘(うかわのしょう)安田(やすだ)条（柏崎市）を宛行(あておこな)われ、その子孫は、北条(きたじょう)姓、安田姓などを称したが、毛利姓でよぶ場合も多く、戦国期はともに上杉家臣。なかでも北条高広(たかひろ)は、上杉謙信(けんしん)の重臣として厩橋(うまやばし)（群馬県前橋市）に居城した。

　安芸毛利氏は、経光から吉田荘1000貫を譲与された四男の時親(ときちか)が、南北朝期初頭に吉田荘の郡山(こおりやま)に移住して居城を構えたのに始まる。応仁(おうにん)の乱（1467～77）の間に豊元(とよもと)は、大内氏から安芸国賀茂(かも)郡（広島県賀茂郡）内で1000貫などを宛行われ所領を拡大、以後大内氏に従属したが、戦国期の元就(もとなり)の代に大内氏から自立し、1557年（弘治3）に大内氏を、1566年（永禄9）には尼子(あまご)氏を滅ぼして中国地方10か国を領有する戦国大名となった。孫の輝元(てるもと)は豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)に従属し、1591年（天正19）秀吉から8か国、112万石を安堵(あんど)され、広島城（広島市）に本拠を移したが、関ヶ原の戦い（1600）に敗れ、徳川家康に周防(すおう)、長門(ながと)の2か国に領国を削減されて萩(はぎ)（山口県萩市）に居城した。江戸時代は、公称高36万9000余石で長州藩主。幕末の藩主敬親(たかちか)は、藩府を山口に移し討幕を推進、維新後、元徳(もとのり)は山口藩知事となり、のち公爵となった。

［舘鼻　誠］

『渡辺世祐著『毛利元就卿伝　上巻』（1944・六盟館）』▽『渡辺世祐監『毛利輝元卿伝』（1982・マツノ書店）』▽『関久著『越後毛利氏の研究』（1965・上越郷土研究会）』▽『三坂圭治著『山口県の歴史』（1971・山川出版社）』▽『河合正治著『安芸毛利一族』（1984・新人物往来社）』

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