Takakage was the 3rd son of Môri Motonari and was adopted into the Kobayakawa family in 1550. He became, along with his brother Kikkawa Motoharu, a pillar of the Môri house and fought bravely in numerous battles. He had a long-time correspondence with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which may have assisted in the peace the Môri and Hideyoshi arrived at in 1582 following the fall of Takamatsu. Takakage played significant roles in the Shikoku and Kyushu Campaigns and was given Chikuzen province in 1587. He led a division of Kyushu troops to Korea in 1592 (numbering some 16,000 in total) and defeated a Chinese force at the Battle of Byôkchekwan near Pyongyang in 1593. On the other hand, he was harried by Korean guerillas in Chollado province somewhat later that year and was forced to retreat. In 1595 he was named one of the original Regents (which numbered six prior to his death) and given the title Chûnagon by Hideyoshi, with whom he had become close friends. Being childless, he adopted Hideyoshi's nephew Hideaki as his heir and died at Mihara in Bingo Province in 1597. Often depicted as being the most intelligent of Motonari's sons, Takakage was one of the great figures of the latter half of the Sengoku age.
References
- Initial text from Samurai-Archives.com FWSeal & CEWest, 2005