was a senior retainer of the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

throughout the latter

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...

. Hidemoto was the eldest son of Mōri Motokiyo and initially began service under the Toyotomi as a military commander under his cousin Terumoto, the head of the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

Service under Hideyoshi

In 1597, Hidemoto became a highly esteemed figure beneath the Mōri, and, by variable means, was chosen specifically by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

to lead the Army of the Right in the Second Invasion of Korea, where he commanded 30,000 soldiers. Hidemoto was additionally backed by six generals that were assigned to his right wing:

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Biography ...

, who possessed 10,000;

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography His childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577, when Nagamasa was ...

, who wielded 5,000;

Nabeshima Naoshige was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Nabeshima Naoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mothe ...

with 12,000; Ikeda Hideuji tasked with 2,800; Chōsokabe Motochika, who wielded 3,000; and Nakagawa Hidenari, who respectively possessed 2,500. With these preparations thus made, Hidemoto and his supporters led the initial Japanese offensive within the Korean province of

Gyeongsang Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingdo ...

. They marched towards

Jeonju Jeonju () is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many residents who work in Jeonj ...

after assaulting

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

, taking both

Sacheon Sacheon () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Sacheon's chief fame comes from its being the site of two naval battles in the Seven Year War. The city as it now exists results from the merging of Sacheon-gun and Samcheonpo-si in ...

and Changpyong. Following this campaign, Hidemoto obtained a far greater power when he was made the governor of Suō and

Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...

s, which he held up until the decisive

Sekigahara Campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked ...

of 1600. He married daughter of

Toyotomi Hidenaga , formerly known as . He was a half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most powerful and significant warlords of Japan's Sengoku period and regarded as 'Hideyoshi's brain and right-arm'. He was also known by his court title, . He promot ...

later Daizen-in.

Battle of Sekigahara

At the outset of this campaign, Hidemoto was determined to support the forces of

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the ...

, dubbed the "Western Forces". Since his cousin, Terumoto, possessed 128,000 soldiers that he would use to back the Western forces of Mitsunari, Hidemoto intended to assist the Western forces of Mitsunari. He gathered his armaments with great immediacy, equipped himself with 15,000 soldiers and stationed his entire army on Mt. Nangu, with his generals distributed along the eastern borders of the mountain. However, to make the circumstances go from detrimental to entirely beneficial,

Kikkawa Hiroie (December 7, 1561 – October 22, 1626) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. Biography He initially w ...

, a general of Hidemoto, refused to move against the Eastern forces at the start of the battle. As Hiroie was the leading general of the army, Hidemoto was prevented from reaching the frontlines, placing him with little other choice than to resentfully retreat without offering his support to the Mitsunari. Later, as a general resolution to such an event, Hidemoto's original fief was dropped from 200,000 to a modest 50,000 out of sympathetic consideration to Terumoto's service, causing Hidemoto a proper level of humiliation.

Service under Ieyasu

Hidemoto has been believed a surpassing leader unlike his below-average father-in-law, Mōri Terumoto. He used to be one of the most Jacobinical objectors to Ieyasu, but he turned to a supporter of Ieyasu after

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. Hidemoto apparently remained as first commander under Ieyasu throughout the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. He more than likely assisted in the Sieges of Osaka and the later

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the '' daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular p ...

before he eventually died in 1650.The Samurai Sourcebook

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Hidemoto Daimyo People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) Samurai 1579 births 1650 deaths Mōri clan Hidemoto