What was happening on Kyushu (Shimazu clan) and Shikoku (Chosokabe Clan) during the time of Oda Nobunaga?

by FredericusRed

Good day,

I'm quite fascinated by the Shimazu and Chosokabe clans. However from the sources I've read for the Sengoku Jidai period most of the mentions of these clans seems to be when Hideyoshi invaded and subjugated the daimyo and afterwards.

So I guess I've got a few questions about the Shimazu and Chosokabe:

  1. During the time of Oda Nobunaga, what were the Shimazu and Chosokabe doing on their islands?

  2. Did the Shimazu and Choskabe also have ambitions to unite all of Japan?

  3. How did the mainland daimyo feel about the Shimazu and Chosokabe? Were they viewed as a threat to their campaigns, or possible allies during the time of Oda Nobunaga?

Thank you very much for your answer. If you could also recommend some further reading (in English please), that'd be great. I'd love to learn more.

Thanks again.

ParallelPain
  1. In the 1550s and 60s, Shimazu and Chosokabe were still local powers, trying to unite southern Kyūshū and Tosa province respectively. For reference, Oda Nobunaga united Owari in 1559, Okehazama took place in 1560, and Oda finished his conquest of Mino in 1567 and announced his intention for unification by beginning to use his Tenka Fubu seal.

Both clans achieved their goals around 1575 (when Chosokabe united Tosa. It was also the year Nobunaga crushed Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino.) Chosokabe began expanding out of Tosa against the Miyoshi, which brought him into conflict against Nobunaga (like a tiny footnote at the back of his mind). Shimazu expanded north against the Ōtomo.

Both made significant progress by 1580, but by then Nobunaga's victory seems set. Nobunaga was on the verge of launching an expedition against Shikoku when he was killed (possibly because of it). The resulting chaos in the center gave Chosokabe the time to (almost nearly) unite Shikoku, but then Hideyoshi showed up in 1585 with an overwhelming force and Chosokabe surrendered and was limited to Tosa province. Likewise, the Shimazu came very close to uniting Kyūshū when in 1586, Hideyoshi swept in and confined them back to the sounthern parts of the island.

  1. I don't believe I've ever read anything that says so, public or private. Personal aspirations aside, by the time the two made significant gains outside their power bases, Nobunaga's victory was all but inevitable.

  2. Depends on what you mean by "mainland daimyō". The Chosokabe was certainly a thorn in the side of the Miyoshi, and valuable ally of the Nobunaga in the early 1570s. But in 1582 once Nobunaga finally decided to send an army against them, they were on the verge of surrender before the campaign even kicked off.
    Nobunaga didn't (and had no reason to) pay attention to the Shimazu until he began campaigning against the Mori. He brokered a peace between Shimazu and the Ōtomo and requested them to attack the Mori from the west. But Nobunaga's death put an end to Shimazu's plan to participate.