Yuasa Muneshige (湯浅宗重)
Muneshige YUASA (year of birth and death unknown) is a busho (Japanese military commander) over the end of the Heian era and the early period of the Kamakura era. He is believed to be a son of FUJIWARA no Munenaga from the Northern House of the Fujiwara clan (there are various theories). The lord of Yuasa-jo Castle, Kii Province (present-day Aoki, Yuasa-cho, Arita-gun, Wakayama Prefecture).
Biography
In 1143, he built Yuasa-jo Castle in his territory, Yuasa-sho Manor, Arita District, Kii Province, and moved to the castle from Hirohoyama-jo Castle, where he lived before.
In 1159, he went to the capital (Kyoto) together with TAIRA no Kiyomori, who visited Kii Province for pilgrimages to Kumano Sanzan, and he became one of the powerful military commanders. After the death of Kiyomori, he held up in Yuasa-jo Castle to support TAIRA no Tadafusa, a son of TAIRA no Shigemori, but he surrendered to MINAMOTO no Yoritomo and was provided with the authorization for land ownership in 1186. Since then, he steadily expanded his territory up to the area along the course of Kino-kawa River, and he was later called Yuasa Party. It is said that the Yuasa clan served under the Mori clan in the Sengoku period (period of warring states) (in Japan) and became a feudal retainer of Hagi.