Satake Yoshishige
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Satake Yoshishige (佐竹義重?) (1547-1612) was a head of the Japanese clan of Satake during the Sengoku period (16th century) of Japan.
[edit] Overview
Yoshishige was the son of Satake Yoshiaki. During the year of 1562, Yoshishige assumed leadership over the clan due to the current bad health of his father, Yoshiaki. Yoshishige fought against many local houses such as the Ashina, Oda, Naya, Shirakawa, and many others. Afterwards, Yoshishige began conflict with the Hōjō due to his territory expanding to the Shimosa Province. During the year of 1571, the Satake and Hōjō clan conflicts amongst each other culminated in the battle of Iwai. However, this battle ended in a truce between the two clans.
Afterwards, Yoshishige allied with the Ashina, battling against the Date. During the year of 1583, Yoshishige forced the surrender of Oda Ujiharu. In 1589, Yoshishige handed down leadership of the clan to his son, Yoshinobu, but still held much power. Yoshishige was able to intercede into the issue of Tokugawa Ieyasu punishing Yoshinobu for his indecisive behavior during the Battle of Sekigahara. Due to this fact, the Satake were to transfer from the Ota Castle to the Akita area of Mutsu Province. Yoshishige afterwards lived in the Rokugo Castle.
It is known that Yoshishige was a very tough warlord, being known with the title of "Devil Yoshishige". There are many anecdotes relating to Yoshishige. Some are that he never flept on a futon, due to the want of being ready in waging war. Yoshishige prepared a mat with a thin blanket only. After Yoshishiger moved to Rokugo, his son sent him a futon to sleep on, but it didn't make a difference for the sleep of Yoshishige.
