Kobayakawa Masakage (小早川政景)
Masakage KOBAYAKAWA (year of birth and death unknown) was a samurai in the Kamakura period. He was the first head of the Kobayakawa clan. He was the fourth son of Shigehira KOBAYAKAWA.
His father Shigehira KOBAYAKAWA made some military achievements under the Kamakura Shogunate in the Jokyu War and newly won a role of Jitoshiki (manager and lord of manor) at Takehara no sho (manor) in Tsu District, Aki Province (today's Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture) in addition to his home domain, Numata no sho, Aki Province, (today's Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture).
On August 26, 1258, Masakage inherited some of Nashiha-go Village, Takehara no sho in Tsu District, Aki Province, from his father Shigehira, moved to Takehara no sho and constructed Kimura-jo Castle. Since then, this domain had been handed down generations to generations by the Takehara-Kobayakawa clan with Takehara no sho as their headquarters.
Masakage also lived in Kyoto, diligently served Rokuhara Tandai (the office of shogunal deputy in Kyoto placed by the Kamakura shogunate) and newly won the title of Jitoshiki (manager and lord of manor) for Mokake-sho Manor in Bizen Province (today's Mushiake, Oku-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture) in 1288.
In 1289, he gave his domain to three of his descendants, or his son Kagemune KOBAYAKAWA, his adopted son Nagamasa, and his granddaughter Himeishime, and transferred the headship of his family to Kagemune, but a family conflict over who takes the headship between his daughter Kakushoni and Kagemune started to leave the family members in turmoil.