Mori Motonari (1497-1571)

Sengoku daimyo in the Chugoku region. Son of Mori Hiromoto.

Motonari had small landholdings between the lands of the Amago family and the lands of the Ouchi family. However, after defeating the army of Amago Haruhisa, he allied himself with the Ouchi family, married his second son, Motoharu, to the Kikkawa family and his third son to the Kobayakawa family. Consequently, he became a powerful warlord in Aki province. In 1555, he defeated the army of Sue Harukata in the battle of Itsukushima. Then, he destroyed the Amago family and was able to control the Chugoku region, Northern Kyushu, and Iyo province.

Mori Motonari is famous for his mastery of military strategy and the use of agents to gather information. Motonari was one of the first warlords to use navel vessels to determine a battle. The naval fleet that allied itself with Motonari was Murakami Suigun.