was a Japanese ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. He was the 10th head of the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

Suruga Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

. Ujichika was the son of

Imagawa Yoshitada was the father of the famed Imagawa Ujichika and the 9th head of the Imagawa clan. Yoshitada spent most of his time invading Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka ...

. He was the husband of Jukei-ni.

Biography

In 1476, Ujichika father, Yoshitada, invaded

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

and defeated the Katsumada and Yokota clans. On the return to Suruga, however, he was waylaid at Shiokaizaka and was attacked and killed by the remnants of the two families. A succession dispute between supporters of Yoshitada's infant son, Ujichika, and Yoshitada cousin Oshika Norimitsu developed. Uesugi Sadamasa and Ashikaga Masatomo became involved. Hōjō Sōun proposed that until Ujichika had his coming of age ceremony, Oshika Norimitsu act as regent in his name. This averted armed conflict within the Imagawa, at least temporarily. However, when Ujichika turned 17, Norimitsu would not turn over control of the Imagawa clan to him, and hostilities resumed. Hōjō Sōun attacked Norimitsu's mansion on Ujichika's behalf and once Norimitsu was defeated, Ujichika assumed his position as head of the clan. He gave asylum to Ashikaga Yoshizumi after the latter fled Kyoto in 1491 and afterwards escorted him back. Ujichika was a capable leader, he spent much time campaigning in Tōtōmi and Mikawa, strengthening the position of the Imagawa on the Tokai Coast. His general, Fukushima Hyōgo, was defeated by

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father and predecessor of the famous Takeda Shingen. Biography Nobutora’s son was Harunobu, la ...

at 'Battle of Iidagawara' in 1521. He died of illness in 1526 and was succeeded by his eldest son

Imagawa Ujiteru was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who ruled the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province. His childhood name was Ryuomaru (竜王丸). His father was Imagawa Ujichika and his mother was Jukei-ni (d. 1568). He was the brother of Imag ...

. Ujichika is remembered for sending three of his six sons to various temples to become monks and for building

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

in Owari in 1525 – both of which were considered somewhat unusual, the latter because the Imagawa had only the most tenuous of holds over Owari Province.

Legislative Acts

Ujichika composed the Imagawa house code, the Imagawa Kana Mokuroku, in 1526. Clauses included such stipulations as the punishment for unlawful entry of another's residence (article 7), the imposition of capital punishment in violent quarrels between retainers (article 8), the accountability of the parents of children (of retainers) involved in fights (article 11), regulations concerning the private sale and leasing of land (articles 13–15), debt repayment (article 17), and forbidding retainers of the Imagawa to arrange marriages with houses outside the Imagawa domain (article 30).

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Lady Kitagawa * Wife: Jukei-ni (d. 1568) * Concubine: Fukushima Masanari’s daughter * Children: **

by Jukei-ni ** Imagawa Hikogoro (d.1536) by Jukei-ni ** Genkō Etan (1517–1536) by Fukushima Masanari’s daughter ** Shōji Senjō (1518–1588) ** Imagawa Yoshimoto by Jukei-ni ** Imagawa Ujitoyo (b. 1522) ** Tokuzo-in married Kira Yoshitaka ** Zuikei-in married Hojo Ujiyasu ** daughter married Ogasawara Haruyoshi ** daughter married Matsudaira Chikayoshi later married Udono Nagamochi ** daughter married Nakamikado Nobutsuna ** daughter married Sena Ujitoshi ** daughter married Sekiguchi Chikanaga (Sena Yoshihiro) ** daughter married Otani Yoshihide

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imagawa, Ujichika Daimyo 1473 births 1526 deaths Imagawa clan Japanese military engineers