Shimazu Morohisa

The graves of Morohisa (left) and his brother Shimazu Munehisa (right) at Fukushô-ji in Kagoshima

• Born: 1325
• Died: 1376/3/21
• Titles: Kazusa-no-suke
• Japanese: 島津師久 (Shimazu Morohisa)

Shimazu Morohisa was the head of the Sôshû branch of the Shimazu clan, and shugo of Satsuma province, for the one generation in the 14th century during which the clan leadership was split between him and his younger brother Shimazu Ujihisa, lord of Ôsumi province. Both share the distinction of being the 6th head of the Shimazu clan, and the clan, split following their father's death, was reunited after their deaths, with Ujihisa's descendants continuing as the main trunk lineage.

The third son of Shimazu Sadahisa, Morohisa sided with Ashikaga Takauji and the Northern Court in the Nanbokuchô Wars. He became shugo of Satsuma province in 1363 upon Sadahisa's death, while his brother Ujihisa became shugo of Ôsumi. As Morohisa held the title of Kazusa-no-suke, his branch came to be known as the Sôshû branch, while Ujihisa, Mutsu-no-kami, became the head of the Ôshû branch. Morohisa made his base at Ikariyama castle in Satsuma Sendai.

He died on 1376/3/21 at the age of 52, and is buried at the Shimazu clan cemetery at Fukushô-ji in Kagoshima, alongside his older brother Shimazu Munehisa. While Ujihisa's Ôshû branch went on to become the main branch of the Shimazu clan, Morohisa's son Shimazu Korehisa continued the Sôshû line.

References

• "Shimazu Morohisa," Nihon jinmei daijiten, Kodansha 2009.
• "Shimazu Morohisa," Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi, Shôkoshûseikan official website.