Kō no Moronao

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Kō no Moronao (高 師直, died 25 March 1351, also Moronō) was a Japanese samurai of the

Moronao was an iconoclast with no intention of following tradition, particularly insofar as the Emperor was concerned. On the subject, he once said:

What is the use of a King? Why should he live in a Palace? And why should we bow to him? If for some reason a King is needed, let us have one made of wood or metal, and let all the live Kings be banished.[2]^: 106

The Taiheiki, an epic dedicated to the events of this period, describes the Kō brothers as avid villains. Moronao in particular is accused of violence, greed and lewdness.^[3] Because of this reputation, in the bunraku and kabuki play Kanadehon Chūshingura, which depicts the vendetta of the 47 rōnin, his name is used to represent Kira Yoshinaka.

That description is very probably accurate. Both Moronao and his brother Moroyasu during their careers were extremely useful to Takauji, but because of their violent characters they also made him many powerful enemies. Most importantly, Moronao was bitterly opposed to Takauji's younger brother Tadayoshi and his policies.^[2]

This enmity would be the main trigger of the

, an extremely divisive and damaging civil war between Takauji and Tadayoshi with very serious repercussions for the whole country.

Although he ultimately won, Takauji was initially defeated in March 1351 by Tadayoshi and a truce was agreed upon with the help of

Takauji, powerless, had to deliver them to Akiyoshi.

References

• Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten (岩波日本史辞典), CD-Rom Version. Iwanami Shoten, 1999–2001.
• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge:
  ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
• (in Japanese) Owada, Tetsuo, Sugawara Masako and Nitō Atsushi. (2003). Nihonshi Shoka Keizu Jimmei Jiten (日本史諸家系図人名辞典/ 監修小和田哲男). Tokyo:
  OCLC 54404066