Hatakeyama Masanaga (畠山政長)
Masanaga HATAKEYAMA (1442-June 9, 1493) was a busho (Japanese military commander) and shugo daimyo (shugo, which were Japanese provincial military governors, that became daimyo, which were Japanese feudal lords) in the late Muromachi period. He was Muromachi bakufu kanrei (a shogunal deputy for the Muromachi bakufu). His real family name was Minamoto. His family line was from the Hatakeyama clan, which was a family of the Ashikaga clan that followed the Kawachi-Genji (Minamoto clan), a family of Seiwa-Genji. The second son of Mochitomi HATAKEYAMA. Hisanobu HATAKEYAMA was his son. His commonly used name was Jiro, and his official court rank was Owari no kami.
Danjo-shohitsu
Saemon no kami
Jushii (Junior Fourth Rank)
Shugo of Kawachi, Kii, Ecchu and Yamashiro provinces
Masanaga's father, Mochitomi HATAKEYAMA was planned to become the heir of his older brother in kanrei position, Mochikuni HATAKEYAMA, who did not have a legitimate child. However, Mochikuni attempted to have his illegitimate child, Yoshinari HATAKEYAMA, who was born between Mochikuni and yujo (a prostitute), take over the family estate. Thus, inetrnal conflict occurred in the Hatakeyama family. After Mochitomi soon died, Masanaga's older brother, Masahisa HATAKEYAMA succeeded his father and fought against Yoshinari. Yasaburo died of illness in 1459 during the conflict. Thus, Masanaga became the successor of Yasaburo supported by people who were on Yasaburo's side such as Naganobu JINBO, and developed a fierce battle with Yoshinari.
Masanaga returned to the bakufu instead of Yoshinari, who lost power in 1460, made a great achievements in pursuing Yoshinari, and became kanrei in 1466. When Mochitoyo (Sozen) YAMANA backed up Yoshinari HATAKEYAMA and Masanaga was dismissed, Masanaga expressed dissatisfaction with the dismissal of the kanrei position, turned to Katsumoto HOSOKAWA, and raised an army at Kamimitama-sha Shrine in Kyoto in 1467. This became a cause of the Onin War, along with battles between the Ashikaga Shogun Family and the Shiba clan (Buei Riot).
However, when Masanaga was appointed as shugo of Yamashiro Province during the war, he forced through an implementation of Shugo-ryogoku system in order to obtain the real power of shugo, which was just a nominal role before because originally Yamashiro Province was governed as direct control territory of the bakufu or Imperial Court, or as shoen (manor) of dominant nobility or temples and shrines. This not only caused strong feelings by Masamoto HOSOKAWA (a son of Katsumoto) who was on the same East squad, but also caused an invasion of Yamashiro Province by Yoshinari's army under the name of 'punitive expedition of Masanaga' and a revolt by kokujin and peasants of Yamashiro Province (the uprising in Yamashiro Province).
In 1493, Masanaga maintained reins of power by keeping the family estate while supporting then-shogun Yoshiki ASHIKAGA (later Yoshitane). However, Masamoto HOSOKAWA, who became kanrei by then, caused Coup of Meio for the purpose of destroying the shogun and regaining real power. Masanaga was surrounded by an army at the Shogaku-ji Castle in Kawachi Province, and killed himself.
His graveyard is in Shogaku-ji Temple, Hirano Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture.