Yukimori's efforts to restore the Amago can be broadly divided into three periods:
1st Amago Restoration Campaign edit
The destruction of the Amago clan left Yukimori a ronin. His activities from 1566 to 1568 are uncertain, but according to some accounts, he posed as a pilgrim and headed to eastern Japan after recuperating from his injuries at the Arima hot springs. In the east he studied the strategies of the Takeda, Nagao, and Hojo clans and stayed with the Asakura clan of Echizen before heading to Kyoto.
Yukimori met with Tachihara Hisatsuna and other former Amago retainers in 1568 and began waiting for an opportunity to restore the Amago clan by gathering former Amago vassals and convincing Amago Masahisa's son Katsuhisa (who had become a monk at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto) to return to secular life.
He saw his opportunity in May 1569, when Mori Motonari dispatched his forces to northern Kyushu to attack the Otomo. Raising troops, he began his invasion of Izumo.
At this point, the Amago restoration movement was supported by Yamana Suketoyo. Suketoyo had opposed the Amago for many years as commander of the Yamana, but the former Yamana provinces of Bingo, Hoki, and Inaba had been conquered by the Mori and it's believed that he said joining with the Amago remnants as a way of regaining power. However, as the forces of Oda Nobunaga invaded Suketoyo's territory at the request of the Mori, he was not able to support the Amago as planned.
On August 6, Yukimori's forces, loaded aboard several hundred ships from Tango and Tajima, landed on the Shimane peninsula and seized the nearby Chuyama Castle. Yukimori declared the restoration of the Amago clan, and the clan's former retainers gathered from across the province; within five days he had amassed a force of over 3,000 men. Later that month, the Amago forces attacked Shinyama Castle (defended by Taga Mototatsu) and increased in size as they fought battles across the Sanin region.
In early September, Yukimori lay siege to the former Amago stronghold of Gasantoda Castle. The situation favored the Amago: provisions for the Mori forces trapped inside were running low, and some had begun to desert.
The Amago forces active in Iwami were in a perilous situation after coming under attack from the Mori, however, and Yukimori decided to end the siege and go to their aid. Rushing to Iwami, Yukimori defeated the Mori at the Battle of Harate. He then took 16 castles in Izumo and the Amago forces swelled to 6,000.
Furthermore, by making allies of powerful Izumo kokujin such as Yonebara Tsunahiro and Mitoya Hisasuke (who Motonari had called back from Kyushu to defeat the Amago forces), Yukimori had gained complete control of Izumo.
The Amago also took many major castles in Hoki as well, most notably Odaka Castle, Yabase Castle in the center of the province, and Iwakuni Castle on the border with Inaba. Their influence spread across Hoki, where, for example, they gained the support of the kokujin who controlled Hino District, most notably Jinzai Motomichi, lord of Sueyoshi Castle, who they convinced to defect. Elsewhere, they were active in Inaba, Bingo, Bitchu, and Mimasaka, fighting battles in those provinces.
Ouchi Teruhiro then attacked Yamaguchi in Suo on November 19 with the goal of restoring the Ouchi clan and took Tsukiyama Yakata. On November 23 Motonari, concerned that the consecutive rebellions threatened his territorial control, decided to prioritize their suppression and gave the order to pull out of Kyushu. Kikkawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage of the Mori army arrived at Chofu from Kyushu on November 26 and put down the Ouchi forces on the December 2. Teruhiro committed suicide at Tonomi, ending the Ouchi restoration effort after just two weeks. Having suppressed one rebellion, the Mori forces left Chofu on December 23 and returned to their base of operation at Yoshida-Koriyama Castle.
Mori Terumoto, Kikkawa Motoharu, and Kobayakawa Takakage departed Yoshida-Koriyama Castle with a large force on February 10, 1570 to suppress the Amago forces. After entering Izumo, the Mori army took one Amago castle after another as it advanced towards Gassantoda. Meanwhile, the Amago army, having been kept busy by the battles of Harate and Mihonoseki, had been unable to take Gassantoda. For this reason the Amago forces set up camp at Fubeyama to check the Mori advance.
On March 20, the Amago were defeated at the Battle of Fubeyama. Yukimori remained on the field even as his allies fled and returned to Shinyama Castle after preventing the destruction of his army. The victorious Mori forces entered Gassantoda the following day, relieving it from Amago encirclement. This defeat was a major blow to the Amago efforts.
By July, the Amago forces in Izumo had been reduced to holding just Shinyama and Takase castles. They were in dire straits in August and September as the Mori forces harvested the grain from the areas surrounding the two castles, but the situation suddenly changed on October 10 when Motonari fell seriously ill back in Aki. Mori Terumoto and Kobayakawa Takakage returned home with their forces, leaving behind Kikkawa Motoharu. The reduction of the Mori forces in the San'in region gave Yukimori and the Amago an opportunity for a comeback.
The Amago forces recovered several castles along the Izumo-Hoki border, including several key points for maritime transport such Tokamiyama and Sueyoshi castles in Nakaumi. They took Kiyomizu Fortress for a time and again lay siege to Gassantoda. They also constructed Manganji Castle on the northern bank of Lake Shinji in the hopes of linking up with Yonebara Tsunahiro in Takase Castle. They went on the offensive against Motoharu, attacking his stronghold of Hirata Castle. Also, by successfully making an ally of the Oki kokujin Oki Danjosaemonnojo, the Amago forces increased their control over the seas to their north as they once again expanded their control to all of the Shimane Peninsula.
Receiving news of the Mori forces' numerical inferiority in Izumo, Motonari decided on November 3 to dispatch reinforcements to Izumo and to send the naval forces of Kodama Narihide to regain control over the Sea of Japan. With these reinforcements, the Mori forces gained the upper hand in further fighting and the Amago gradually lost ground; Tokamiyama Castle fell in late November, followed by Manganji Castle in January. The final Amago stronghold, Shinyama Castle, fell on September 8, 1571. Amago Katsuhisa managed to escape to Oki before the castle fell. As this was happening, Yukimori was defeated at Sueyoshi Castle and taken prisoner by Kikkawa Motoharu. Yukimori was imprisoned in Odaka Castle but later managed to escape.
Thus the Amago restoration forces were swept from the San'in region and the first Amago restoration campaign ended in failure.
2nd Amago Restoration Campaign edit
Yukimori crossed to Oki after escaping Odaka Castle. He returned to the mainland in February or March 1572 and hid himself in Tajima. Communicating with the Seto Inland Sea pirate Murakami Takeyoshi and Masa Naoharu (an key vassal of the Mimasaka-Miura), he began once again seeking an opportunity for the restoration of the Amago.
In early 1573, Yukimori began engaging in military activities in Inaba. He attacked Kiriyama Castle and made it his stronghold. It is believed that Yukimori, having secured a foothold in Inaba, planned to expand his efforts to Hoki and Izumo.
At this time, Inaba was under the de facto control of Takeda Takanobu, a pro-Mori kokujin. Takanobu had defeated Yamana Toyokazu (who controlled Inaba at the time) in 1563 and then expanded his control of the province by coordinating with the Mori.
Yukimori and the pro-Amago forces allied with Toyokazu's younger brother Toyokuni, who sought to restore Yamana control. They fought across the province, winning battles and increasing their territory.
They won a decisive victory over the Takeda army at the Battle of Koshikiyama Castle on August 28, 1573 and began a full offensive against Takanobu's stronghold of Tottori Castle. Approxiamately 1,000 men of the Amago army besieged 5,000 Takeda troops in Tottori Castle, and the castle fell in late October. The Takeda vassals in the castle surrendered, giving hostages to the Amago forces.
Yamana Toyokuni entered Tottori Castle and the Amago forces made Kisaichi Castle their headquarters. Afterwards, Yukimori took 15 castles in the span of 10 days, increasing his forces to 3,000 men and succeeding in gaining complete control over eastern Inaba.
In December, however, Toyokuni was convinced through the efforts of Takimi Takatsugu to change sides to the Mori. The Amago had lost control of Tottori Castle to the Mori a little over a month after taking it. After the loss of Tottori Castle, Yukimori engaged in various military activities and maneuvers in Inaba, devoting himself to attempting to take full control of the province.
As he fought Mori forces in Inaba, Yukimori attempted to recover by trying to coordinate with other anti-Mori forces including the Mimasaka-Miura and Bizen-Urakami as well as the Otomo and by secretly communicating with Oda Nobunaga's vassal Shibata Katsuie.
During this time, Yukimori succeeded in driving the forces of Ukita Naoie from the Mimasaka-Miura's stronghold of Takada Castle in December 1574 and received saltpeter, an ingredient in gunpowder, from Otomo Sorin.
Yamana Suketoyo of Tajima succeeded in his peace negotiations with the Mori in July 1575. Suketoyo had fought against the Mori and supported the Amago restoration effort in the past, but he was now threatened by Nobunaga's advance into Tajima and control of the Ikuno silver mine. He prioritized joining forces with the Mori against the Oda.
Having lost the support of the Tajima-Yamana, Yukimori attacked Wakasaoniga Castle in July and moved his headquarters there. Kamei Korenori moved into Yukimori's prior home of Kisaichi Castle. Wakasaoniga Castle was located at a key location on the passages through the mountains from Inaba to Tajima and Harima, and it's believed that Yukimori's goal was to secure a route from Harima to Kyoto and avoid Tajima and the now hostile Yamana.
Kikkawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage led a force of 47,000 men into Inaba in August and began a general offensive against the Amago. Kikkawa and Kobayakawa took one Amago castle after another and began attacking Yukimori in Wakasaoniga on October 2. While the Amago forces were somewhat successful at repulsing the Mori offensive, Kisaichi Castle fell in November, leaving Wakasaoniga as the sole remaining Amago stronghold in Inaba.
Apprehensive of heightened tensions with the Oda in the Sanyo region and the efforts needed to wipe out the desperate remnants of the Amago, however, the main Mori army withdrew from Inaba on November 23 after constructing numerous fortications around Wakasaoniga Castle.
With the destruction of the anti-Mori Mimura clan, the weakening of the Urakami, and the surrender of the Mimasaka-Miura to the Mori, the Amago restoration forces were now completely isolated in Inaba, however. And pressure from the Mori continued even after the withdrawal of their main force. In June 1576 the Amago withdrew from Wakasaoniga Castle and Inaba.
Thus the second Amago restoration campaign ended in failure.
3rd Amago Restoration Campaign and the Death of Yukimori edit
After leaving Inaba, Yukimori visited Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto, where he is said to have been praised by Nobunaga as a "good man" and received a horse. Yukimori now hoped to restore the Amago under the auspices of the Oda.
Yukimori and the other Amago vassals joined the army of Akechi Mitsuhide and participated in the attacks on Yagi Castle in Tajima and Momii Castle in Tanba. After the Akechi army's attempt to take Momii failed, the Amago forces served as Mitsuhide's rear guard, successfully driving off the Hatano and Akai forces that pursued the army and thereby preventing its destruction. They were then rewarded with gifts by Mitsuhide.
Yukimori served Nobunaga's heir Nobutada in 1577, participating in the attack on Kataoka Castle and Matsunaga Hisahide's stronghold of Shigisan Castle.
When Nobunaga ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi's army into Harima in November, Yukimori and the Amago left the Akechi army and joined him. After Hideyoshi took the Mori stronghold of Kozuki Castle in western Harima, Yukimori and his lord Amago Katsuhisa moved into the castle. This castle would serve as the final headquarters for the Amago restoration movement.
Kozuki was a small castle, but it was in a strategically important location as it was on the borders of Bizen, Mimasaka, and Harima. From Kozuki, Yukimori worked as an inbetween between the Oda and the kokujin of Mimasaka such as the Mimasaka-Emi.
An Ukita force of 3,000 men under Makabe Jiroshiro attacked Kozuki on March 9, 1578. With only 800 men, Yukimori decided to attack the Ukita army at night, emerging victorious and having killed Makabe.
Bessho Nagaharu of Miki Castle rose up in rebellion against Nobunaga and allied with the Mori in late March. Seeing this as an opportunity, a force of 30,000 men under Kikkawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage moved into Harima in late April. They lay siege to Kozuki Castle on May 24.
Having received word of the Mori encirclement of Kozuki, Hideyoshi dispatched 10,000 men under Araki Murashige to come to their aid on June 9. Nobunaga ordered Hideyoshi to prioritize his attack on Miki Castle, however, and this force was defeated by the Mori at the Battle of Takakurayama on July 25. Kozuki Castle was thus completely cut off from support and, running out of food, the castle surrendered to the Mori on August 8.
Amago Katsuhisa and his younger brother Sukeshiro committed seppuku as a condition of the surrender and Yukimori and Tachihara Hisatsuna were taken prisoner. A number of those who surrendered were executed by the Mori and the rest released.
Yukimori was killed by a Mori assassin while being transported to see Mori Terumoto at Bizen-Matsuyama Castle.