Database: Bessho Nagaharu

Bessho Nagaharu was the lord of the Miki Castle, in the province of Harima. His family, related to the Akamatsu, was formerly known as the Miki clan and dominated the eastern part of the province. When Oda Nobunaga had the intention of extending his authority to the southwestern provinces (Chūgoku region) in Honshu, he thought to ask Nagaharu to form his vanguard and Nagaharu agreed. Nagaharu had travelled to Kyoto several times to meet Nobunaga and could be counted among his allies. But, when Hideyoshi was sent to attack the Mōri clan in the Chūgoku provinces in 1578, Nagaharu decided to resist him and shut himself away in the castle of Miki. Most of the barons in the province did the same, so Nagaharu's attitude cannot be considered an individual reversal. Nobunaga ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi to besiege the castle and Nagaharu was able to resist for two years, until provisions ran out. He then asked that his men be spared. In the end, he committed suicide with his wife and younger brother. According to a source at the time, he was 23 years old when he died and was therefore born in 1558. However, according to other sources, he was 26 years old.