Chōsokabe Motochika

He was the 21st chief of the Chōsokabe clan of Tosa Province (present-day Kōchi Prefecture). He was the son and heir of Chōsokabe Kunichika and his mother was a daughter of the Saitō clan of Mino Province. He is said to have been born in Okō Castle in the Nagaoka district of Tosa. [2] Motochika was a quiet youth and his father was said to have fretted about the boy's gentle nature (he seems to have been nicknamed Himewakako, or 'Little Princess'); Kunichika's worries evaporated when Motochika later proved himself a skilled and brave warrior.

When Motochika came of age, his father had already begun to draw away from the Ichijô, and Motochika would carry on his work.

In the 1562 at Battle of Asakura, Chosakabe Motochika defeated Motoyama Shigetoki and by forming alliances with local families, Motochika was able to build his power base on the Kōchi plain.

in the 1569, while being careful to remain ostensibly loyal to the Ichijô over the next few years, Motochika's power grew to the extent that he was strong enough to march on the rival Aki clan of east Tosa with 7,000 men, then went on to take Aki Castle. In the course of the decade he was awarded a court rank (Kunai no shô) and was sufficiently confident after the reduction of the Aki to finally turn on the Ichijô.

In 1573, While still lord of the Hata district of Tosa, Ichijô Kanesada was unpopular and had already suffered the defection of a number of important retainers. Seizing the opportunity, Motochika wasted no time in marching on the Ichijô's headquarters at Nakamura and Kanesada fled to Bungo, defeated. In 1575, at the Battle of Shimantogawa, he defeated the Ichijo family.[3] Later in 1575, Motochika was victorious at the Battle of Watarigawa, gaining control of Tosa Province.

In 1579, 7,000-man Chosokabe army, commanded by Kumu Yorinobu, met the forces of Doi Kiyonaga at the Battle of Mimaomote. In the ensuing battle, Kumu was killed and his army defeated, though the loss proved little more than an unfortunate delay. The next year, Motochika led some 30,000 men into Iyo, and forced Kôno to flee to Bungo province. With little interference from either the Môri or the Ôtomo, Chosokabe was free to press onwards, and in 1582, he stepped up ongoing raids into Awa and defeated Miyoshi clan, led by Sogō Masayasu at the Battle of Nakatomigawa.

By 1583, Chosokabe troops had subdued both Awa and Sanuki, Over the ensuing decade, he extended his power to all of Shikoku, making Motochika's dream of ruling all of Shikoku a reality. This included with the Battle of Hiketa in 1583.

However, in 1585, Hashiba (later Toyotomi) Hideyoshi invaded Shikoku island[3]^:233,236,241 with a force of 100,000 men, led by Ukita Hideie, Kobayakawa Takakage, Kikkawa Motonaga, Hashiba Hidenaga, and Hashiba Hidetsugu. Motochika surrendered, and forfeited Awa, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces; Hideyoshi permitted him to retain Tosa.

• 
  Chosokabe Morichika hata-jirushi (right)
• 
  Chosokabe Morichika hata-jirushi and uma-jirushi

Under Hideyoshi, in 1587 Motochika and his son Nobuchika participated in the invasion of neighboring Kyūshū in which Nobuchika died at Battle of Hetsugigawa. In 1590, Motochika led a fleet in the Siege of Shimoda and Siege of Odawara, and also fought in the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592.

In 1596 the Spanish ship San Felipe was wrecked in Chōsokabe territory while en route from Manila to Acapulco. Motochika seized the cargo of the ship, and the incident escalated all the way up to Hideyoshi, leading to the crucifixion of 26 Christians in Nagasaki, the first lethal persecution of Christians by the state in Japan.

Motochika died in 1599 at age 60 at his mansion in Fushimi. His successor was Chōsokabe Morichika.

• Father: Chōsokabe Kunichika (1504–1560)
• Mother: Daughter of the Saitō clan
• Younger Brother
  • Kōsokabe Chikayasu (1543–1593)
  • Kira Chikasada (1541–1576)
• Wife: Lady Motochika (died 1583)
  • Concubine: Koshōshō, or Lady Ōgata
• Sons:
  • Chōsokabe Nobuchika (1565–1587) by Lady Motochika
  • Kagawa Chikakazu (1567–1587) by Lady Motochika
  • Tsuno Chikatada (1572–1600) by Lady Motochika
  • Chōsokabe Morichika (1575–1615) by Lady Motochika
  • Chōsokabe Ukondaifu (1583-1615) by Lady Ogata
  • Chōsokabe Yasutoyo (born 1599)
• Daughters:
  • Unknown daughter (wife of Ichijō Tadamasa) by Lady Motochika
  • Akohime (wife of Satake Chikanao) by Lady Motochika
  • Unknown daughter (wife of Kira Chikazane) by Lady Motochika
  • Unknown daughter (wife of Yoshimatsu Jūzaemon) by Lady Motochika

He is a playable character in Pokémon Conquest (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan), with his partner Pokémon being Dewott and Samurott.[4]

Motochika is a playable character from Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends onwards, where he wields a shamisen, he continuously calls himself as "The Bat King", due to Nobunaga historically referring to him as a "the bat who refuses to fly away from its home".[5]

Motochika is also a playable character in the Sony PlayStation game, Sengoku Basara where he wields an anchor and appears as a pirate. He also appears in the anime adaptation of the game Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chosokabe Motochika.

• 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社 1987 (p. 263)