Database: Rokkaku Yoshitaka / Shotei
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The Rokkaku were warriors who settled in the south of Omi province, not far from Lake Biwa. These warriors functioned as the region’s military governors. However, in the aftermath of the Onin War at the end of the 15th century this family managed to emancipate themselves and transform into warlords leading a unified fief. From then on, and for nearly a century, the Rokkaku constituted the most powerful lordly clan in the region. Their geographical position, however, forced them to ally with their neighbors or, on the contrary, to fight them. First, the Kyôgyoku, then the Miyoshi, then the Azai before being eliminated by Oda Nobunaga in 1570.
Yoshikata inherited Kannon-ji Castle from his father and settled there in 1552. He repelled the Miyoshi, and in 1559 managed to negotiate peace between them and the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The same year, Yoshikata shaved his head and became a monk under the name Shotei (or Jotei). in 1560 he was attacked by the Azai, whom he first defeated and then was defeated by Azai Nagamasa at the Battle of Norada. Nevertheless, the Rokkaku maintained their position, more or less. In 1568, Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto and asked Shotei to rally, but he refused. Defeated again, Shotei had to abandon Kannon-ji Castle and take refuge in the Kôga district where he had supporters. But he could not withstand the shock of Nobunaga's armies led by Shibata Katsuie and suffered defeat after defeat in 1570. From then on, the powerful Rokkaku clan disappeared. Shotei was placed under house arrest by a vassal of Nobunaga, then escaped in 1574 to take refuge again in Kôga at Shigaraki where he lived reclusively without real political influence.
Yoshikata was the originator of an original lordly law issued in the Rokkaku domain in 1567. He is said to have been baptized in 1581 and later in his old age became an otogi-shû, a "prince's advisor" to Hideyoshi. Shotei is also known for his skill in archery (of the Yoshida school) and for his treatise on horsemanship which followed the principles of the Sasaki school.