Samurai of the Sea, Kuki Yoshitaka
Naval Commander and Warrior Kuki Yoshitaka committed Seppuku on This Day
Naval commander and warrior Kuki Yoshitaka committed Seppuku on this day, November 17, 1600.
Born in Shima, on the coast of southern Mie Prefecture in 1542, Yoshitaka’s family had been master of two castles. He was nine when his father died, and his family fell on hard times, losing their territories and living the lives of fugitives, and often accused of being pirates. When Oda Nobunaga invaded the neighbouring Ise Province and attacked Kitabatake Tomonori and the Kitabatake clan in 1569, Kuki pledged his allegiance to Nobunaga, and played a major role in providing naval support for the annexation of Mie. Kuki again put his naval skills to use in the naval blockade of the Nagashima Ikko-Ikki uprising, assisting in Nobunaga’s eventual victory over the militant adherents of the Hongan-ji Temple.