Asai Sukemasa

Japanese: 浅井亮政 - あさい・すけまさ

Year of death: Tenbun 11.1.6 (1542.1.21)
Year of birth: Year of birth unknown. Sengoku daimyo of northern Omi (Shiga Prefecture). Son of Naotane. Married the daughter of head priest Naomasa, Kuraya, and succeeded the head of the family. Commonly known as Shinzaburo. Bizen no Kami. In 1523, when a dispute arose within his lordship, the Kyogoku clan, over the succession of Takakiyo, he and other retainers supported Takakiyo's eldest son, Takanobu, and expelled Takakiyo, who was pushing for his second son, Takayoshi. However, as the leader of the Takanobu faction, Azami Sadanori, began to gain power, he defeated him and made peace with Takakiyo, welcoming Takakiyo and his son to his base, Odani Castle (Kohoku Town). In 1525, he was attacked by the Rokkaku clan of southern Omi, who were wary of the rise of the Azai clan, and fled to Echizen (Fukui Prefecture) for a time, but returned to Japan the following year. Although he was frequently attacked by the Rokkaku clan after that, he managed to survive with the support of the Echizen Asakura clan, and in 1534 he hosted a grand banquet for Takakiyo and his son Takanobu at his residence in Odani Castle (Tenbun 3rd Year Azai Bizennokami Shukudokoro Banquet Record). In this way, Suemasa demonstrated to both inside and outside the country that the Azai clan had grown into a powerful feudal lord, and built the foundation for the so-called "Three Generations of the Azai." He is grave at Tokushoji Temple (Nagahama City).

(Akira Kawamura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天文11.1.6(1542.1.21)
生年：生年不詳
北近江(滋賀県)の戦国大名。直種の子。惣領直政の娘蔵屋と結婚して宗家を継ぐ。通称新三郎。備前守。大永3(1523)年主家京極氏に高清の後嗣を巡って紛争が起きると,他の家臣と共に高清の長子高延を支持して次男高慶を推す高清を追放する。しかし高延派の盟主浅見貞則が力を伸ばしてくるとこれを倒して高清と和し,高清・高延父子を拠城小谷城(湖北町)に迎えた。同5年,浅井氏の台頭を警戒する南近江の六角氏に攻められ一時越前(福井県)に走るが,翌年には帰国を果たした。以後もしばしば六角氏の攻撃を受けたが,越前朝倉氏の支援を仰ぎながらしのぎ,天文3(1534)年には高清・高延父子を小谷城下の居館に招いて大がかりな饗応を挙行している(『天文三年浅井備前守宿所饗応記』)。これにより亮政は,浅井氏が大名権力として成長したことを内外に示し,いわゆる「浅井三代」の基礎を築いた。墓は徳勝寺(長浜市)にある。

(河村昭一)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Tadashi Asai - Asaichu

>>: Chronicles of the Three Generations of the Asai Family