Shoni Fuyusuke (少弐冬資)

Fuyusuke SHONI (date of birth unknown – September 30, 1375) was a busho (Japanese military commander) in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts (Japan). He was the head of the Shoni clan, one of the noble families in Northern Kyushu, at that time. He was the second son of Yorinao SHONI.

When Fuyusuke was the head of the Shoni clan, the Southern Court (Japan) in Kyushu which included the Kikuchi clan and the imperial prince, Kanenaga Shino, was gaining power while the Northern Court (Japan), which was the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), was losing power. For this reason, while Fuyusuke was fighting against the Southern Court's power together with the Otomo clan and the Shimazu clan, he was making a request to the bakufu to send him Kyushu Tandai (a local commissioner for Kyushu). Yoshimitsu ASHIKAGA, the shogun of the period, accepted the request and sent Sadayo (Ryoshun) IMAGAWA as a tandai (a local commissioner). Under Sadayo's command since 1372, the Bakufu's force made a counterattack against the Southern Court's power and gradually started driving them back. In 1374, the force tried to expel the Southern Court in one push but Fuyusuke did not send Sadayo a reinforcement as their relationship was not good at that time.

Because of the bad relationship, Sadayo had a suspicion that Fuyusuke was communicating secretly with the Southern Court, and the following year he had him executed (Mizushima Incident). After Fuyusuke's death, Yorizumi SHONI succeeded him as the head of the SHONI clan and stood up to Sadayo by joining the Southern Court.

[Original Japanese]