Shimazu Takahisa

2025-05-30T22:02:13Z

2600:4040:44B7:FF00:911:EFD9:6709:104F: /* Biography */

{{Short description|Daimyo and fifteenth head of the Shimazu clan}}
{{family name hatnote|Shimazu|lang=Japanese}}{{Infobox officeholder
| father = [[Shimazu Tadayoshi]]
| native_name = 島津貴久
| termstart = 1527
| termend = 1566
| office = Head of [[Shimazu clan]]
| caption = Shimazu Takahisa
| image = Shimazu Takahisa.jpg
| allegiance = [[File:Maru_juji.svg|15px]] [[Shimazu clan]]
| native_name_lang = jpn 島津貴久
| rank = [[Daimyō]]
| predecessor = [[Shimazu Katsuhisa]]
| children = [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]]<br>[[Shimazu Yoshihiro]]<br>[[Shimazu Toshihisa]]<br>[[Shimazu Iehisa]]
| battles = [[Siege of Kajiki]] (1549)<br>[[Siege of Iwatsurugi Castle|Siege of Iwatsurugi]] (1554)
| nationality = [[Japanese people|Japanese]]
| death_date = July 15, 1571 (aged 57)
| birth_place = [[Izaku Castle]]
| birth_date = May 28, 1514
| successor = [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]]
| unit = [[File:Maru_juji.svg|15px]] [[Shimazu clan]]
| relations = [[Shimazu Katsuhisa]] (adopted father)
}}
{{nihongo|
'''Shimazu Takahisa'''|島津貴久|| May 28, 1514 – July 15, 1571}}, a son of [[Shimazu Tadayoshi]], was a ''[[daimyō]]'' during Japan's [[Sengoku period]]. He was the fifteenth head of the [[Shimazu clan]].

==Biography==
In 1514, he is said to have been born in [[Izaku Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.m-satsuma.info/detail/tableware/pg167.html|title=国史跡伊作城|publisher=南さつま観光|language=Japanese|accessdate=25 July 2019|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805211029/http://www.m-satsuma.info/detail/tableware/pg167.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 1526, Takahisa was adopted as the successor to [[Shimazu Katsuhisa]] and became head of the clan.<ref name=kotobank>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B3%B6%E6%B4%A5%E8%B2%B4%E4%B9%85-75142|title=Shimazu Takahisa|publisher=kotobank|access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> He launched a series of campaigns to reclaim three provinces: [[Satsuma Province|Satsuma]], [[Osumi Province|Osumi]], and [[Hyūga Province|Hyūga]].<ref name=kotobank/> While he made some progress, it would be up to the next generation in the [[Shimazu clan|Shimazu]] family to successfully reclaim them. He nurtured such future leaders like [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] and his brothers [[Shimazu Yoshihiro|Yoshihiro]], [[Shimazu Toshihisa|Toshihisa]] and [[Shimazu Iehisa|Iehisa]] who would, for a short time, see the [[Shimazu clan]] take over the entire island of [[Kyūshū]]; he is also said to have a daughter of unknown name.

Takahisa actively promoted relationships with foreign people and countries. He was the first daimyo to bring Western firearms into Japan, following the shipwreck of a number of Portuguese on [[Tanegashima]] in 1543. In 1549, he welcomed [[Francis Xavier|St. Francis Xavier]] and met Xavier in [[Ichiuji Castle|Ijyuin Castle]].<ref name=kotobank/> He granted the Jesuit protection to proselytize in his domain, but later retracted his support of Christianity under pressure from local Buddhist monks.<ref>Miki, Tamon: "The Influence of Western Culture on Japanese Art"; ''Monumenta Nipponica'' (19, 3/4) 1964 p. 380–401</ref> Takahisa also held a diplomatic relationship with the [[Ryūkyū Kingdom]].

In 1549, he used "Portuguese-derived" firearms to take [[Siege of Kajiki|Kajiki]] castle.<ref name="Turnbull2">{{Cite book |last=Turnbull |first=Stephen |title=The Samurai Sourcebook |publisher=Cassell & Co. |year=1998 |isbn=1-85409-523-4 |page=212}}</ref>

In 1554, Shimazu Takahisa had to take action against his rebellious kokujin vassals, Ito clan and Kimotsuki clan, at [[Siege of Iwatsurugi Castle]].

In 1570, he relinquished the family head position to Shimazu Yoshihisa.<ref name=kotobank/> He died in 1571.<ref name=kotobank/>

==Notable retainers==
* [[Ijuin Tadaaki]]
* [[Tanegashima Tokitaka]]
* [[Niiro Tadamoto]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*Frédéric, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
{{People of the Sengoku period |state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimazu, Takahisa}}
[[Category:1514 births]]
[[Category:1571 deaths]]
[[Category:Daimyo]]
[[Category:Shimazu clan]]
[[Category:People from Hioki, Kagoshima]]

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Shimazu Takahisa