Changes

Father and son [[Murakami Michiyasu]] and [[Murakami Michifusa]] of Kurujima were among those most prominent and active in the [[Sengoku period]]. Michiyasu's wife was a daughter of [[Kono Michinao|Kôno Michinao]], and in [[1541]], Michinao named Michiyasu his successor, but some prominent Kôno clan retainers were opposed to this and supported [[Kono Michimasa|Kôno Michimasa]] as successor instead. They launched an attack against Michinao and Michiyasu, who fled to Kurujima. The conflict was eventually resolved with Michimasa being named successor; the Murakami thus never became successors to the Kôno clan.

Father and son [[Murakami Michiyasu]] and [[Murakami Michifusa]] of Kurujima were among those most prominent and active in the [[Sengoku period]]. Michiyasu's wife was a daughter of [[Kono Michinao|Kôno Michinao]], and in [[1541]], Michinao named Michiyasu his successor, but some prominent Kôno clan retainers were opposed to this and supported [[Kono Michimasa|Kôno Michimasa]] as successor instead. They launched an attack against Michinao and Michiyasu, who fled to Kurujima. The conflict was eventually resolved with Michimasa being named successor; the Murakami thus never became successors to the Kôno clan.

In [[1555]], the Noshima and Innoshima branches accepted the invitation of the Môri clan to join forces at the [[battle of Miyajima]], and are said to have contributed significantly to the Môri victory. The Murakami maintained a strong relationship with the Môri throughout the remainder of the Sengoku period.

Shortly afterward, Iyo was invaded by a combined [[Ouchi clan|Ôuchi]]-[[Hosokawa clan|Hosokawa]] force. Murakami Michiyasu of Kurujima led the forces of Kôno Michinao against them, and repulsed the Ôuchi navy.

However, while Murakami Michiyasu and the Murakami clan more broadly had maintained a strong relationship with the Kôno clan, Michiyasu's son Michifusa stood opposed to the Kôno. In [[1582]], he fought for [[Oda Nobunaga]] against the Kôno and Môri, and suffered defeat at their hands. Attacked as well by the Noshima and Innoshima Murakami, he turned to [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], serving in the advance guard for Hideyoshi's [[1585]] [[Invasion of Shikoku (1585)|Invasion of Shikoku]]. For his service, he was granted Kazahaya district in Iyo, a holding worth 14,000 ''[[koku]]''. The Murakami of Kurushima also took part in Hideyoshi's [[Korean Invasions]], in which Michifusa and his older brother [[Murakami Michiyuki]] would die in battle.

 

However, while Murakami Michiyasu and the Murakami clan more broadly had maintained a strong relationship with the Kôno clan, Michiyasu's son Michifusa rose up against the Kôno, beginning in [[1579]]. He had become head of the family after his older brother [[Murakami Michiyuki]] gave up the succession to become head of another family, the [[Tokui clan]]. In [[1582]], Michifusa fought for [[Oda Nobunaga]] against the Kôno and Môri, and suffered defeat at their hands. Attacked as well by the Noshima and Innoshima Murakami, he was forced to flee Kurushima, and joined [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], returning to Kurushima two years later after hostilities between Hideyoshi and the Môri (and the allies of the Môri, including the Kôno and the Murakami of Noshima & Innoshima) had ended. It was perhaps around this time that the Murakami of Kurushima came to be known as the Kurushima family (i.e. not as the Murakami), as this was the name that Hideyoshi, seemingly, used to refer to them.

 

Michifusa served in the advance guard for Hideyoshi's [[1585]] [[Invasion of Shikoku (1585)|Invasion of Shikoku]], and was granted Kazahaya district in Iyo, a holding worth 14,000 ''[[koku]]'', for his service. The Kurushima also took part in Hideyoshi's [[Korean Invasions]], in which Michifusa and his older brother [[Murakami Michiyuki]] would die in battle. The Noshima and Innoshima Murakami also joined Hideyoshi, but were never again fully aligned with Kurushima. Hideyoshi took a disliking to Murakami Takeyoshi and his son [[Murakami Motoyoshi]] of Noshima, and, after taking control of Shikoku, denied them territories there, offering them instead [[Chikuzen province]] (Fukuoka) or [[Nagato province]] (Chôshû, i.e. Yamaguchi prefecture). The Innoshima branch came into the service of [[Kobayakawa Takakage]], and so the era of the three families, united, sailing the Inland Sea, came to an end with the era of Hideyoshi's rule.

Michifusa's son [[Murakami Yasuchika]] later entered into the service of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] and, after the [[battle of Sekigahara]], was granted Kusu district in [[Bungo province]]. His line came to be known as the Kurujima<!--久留島-->, and governed that district until the [[Meiji period]].

Michifusa's son [[Murakami Yasuchika]] later entered into the service of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] and, after the [[battle of Sekigahara]], was granted Kusu district in [[Bungo province]]. His line came to be known as the Kurujima<!--久留島-->, and governed that district until the [[Meiji period]].

==References==

==References==