Itō Yoshisuke

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In this Japanese name, the family name is Itō.

Itō Yoshisuke (伊東義祐, Itō Yoshisuke^?) (1512-August 29th, 1585) was a succeeding head to the clan of Ito throughout the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. Having succeeded his elder brother Sukemitsu by the year of 1533, Yoshisuke was forced to contend against internal rebellion among his retainer class around the time of his ascension and many years that followed it. In part to act against such detrimental circumstances, Yoshisuke evidently showed his competency in commandership by consistently clashing against neighboring clans such as the Kitahara and scoring waves of victory. Within 1568, Yoshisuke had developed hostile relations with the Shimazu of Satsuma province; and in a justified showing of such hostility, he had seized Southern Hyuga's Obi castle by that year. However, Yoshisuke would be thrown into humiliation four years later as his 3,000 soldiers were defeated by Shimazu Yoshihiro's meager 300, which subsequently gave this battle a representative title many called the 'Okehazama of Kyūshū': A respective comparison to Imagawa Yoshimoto's decisive defeat by the hands of Oda Nobunaga in 1560.^[1] Following this defeat, it is recorded that Yoshisuke became coherent in his qualities to a Kyoto courtier: He sank into a luxuriant lifestyle without taking too great of consideration to political matters. By the year of 1577, Yoshisuke had suffered a consecutive defeat at Takabaru and Tozaki-Kamiya, forcing him to even abandon his position of headship and flee to the lands of the Otomo. After wandering from one region to another, he eventually retired to Capital Kyoto and died on the 29th of August, 1585.