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hmmm....
first off, I think this could be a very cool topic.
I hope ppl add info/questions as they like with anything relating to Japanese history (from any period).
My entry will mainly focus on the 1500's though.
Ok, early 1500's (until 1530 let's say)...
Hosokawa in Kyoto area
Ouchi and Amako in Western Honshu
Uesugi in eastern Japan
Hojo and Imagawa rising up in south-east
did I miss any?
ok, pre-Oda, mid 1500's
Miyoshi in Kyoto area (kicking out Hosokawa)
Mori rising in Honshu at expense of both Ouchi and Amako
Imagawa and Hojo solidifying. Hojo taking and destroying branches of the Uesugi like their is no tomorrow.
Uesugi dwindling/solidification in northern parts.
Takeda expansion into Shinano.
Oda's time
Miyoshi fading due to Oda.
Mori continued expansion.
Shimazu growth on Kyushu.
Oda all over the middle.
Big four in the east. Hojo, Imagawa, Takeda, and Uesugi.
Post-Oda
Mori, Hideyoshi, Tokugawa, Uesugi...
any others of note?
-Zen Blade
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Zen Blade Asai
Red Devil
Last of the RSG
Clan Tenki Council-Unity
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Here are a few random areas to throw into the mix. While not exactly contenders for national hegemony, they were important in their necks of the woods. The only 'big' name not in Zen's listings, aside from Otomo, would have to be the Chosokabe of Shikoku, who were masters of that island by 1583 (short-lived masters as it turned out).
Eastern Chugoku Region, 1500-1530...
In the 1500-1520 era, the Akamatsu family represented a powerful enough force west of Kyoto, with influence in Harima, Mimasaka, and Bizen. They were active in the wars between the Hosokawa factions. Their power began to wane with the successful rebellion of Urakami Muramune, who by 1520 had seized a good chunk of Bizen. Muramune defeated Akamatsu Masamura and while he was himself killed at Imamiya in 1524, the Urakami gradually became one of the more notable clans in the Chugoku. They shared Bizen with the Matsuda, former Akamatsu vassals whose domain spilled into Bitchu.
The Matsuda and Urakami had been rivals even when both were affiliated with the Akamatsu. A few of their battles had been won for the Urakami by Ukita Yoshiie (d.1534). After Yoshiie's retirement in 1524, the fortunes of the Ukita waned somewhat, thanks, perhaps, to the uninspired and rule of Ukita Okiie. Under Yoshiie's grandson Naoie, the Ukita would overthrow the Urakami and secure all of Bizen.
The Akamatsu, for their part, would limp on into the 1570's. In a related note, the Amako highwater mark was reached in 1539, when Amako Haruhisa (aka Akihisa) marched as far as Harima Province and took Akashi Castle from the Akamatsu. For a brief time, the Amako were on the verge of at least regional 'superpowerdom'. This was arguably lost the following year, when Haruhisa was defeated in his attempts to bring down the Mori.
Kyushu, 1550-1580
The Otomo were the most powerful family on Kyushu, generally speaking, during this period. While Ryuzoji Takanobu was gradually consolidating his grip on Hizen, and the Kagoshima branch of the Shimazu masters of Satsuma and Osumi, Otomo Sorin's domain spread over Bungo, Buzen, Chikuzen, and into Chikugo, Higo, and Hyuga. The Otomo could muster over 60,000 men. When their army was defeated at Mimigawa in 1578 by the Shimazu, the situation on Kyushu changed.
Northern Japan, 1550-1580
The most powerful families of northern Japan were the Ashina, Date, Mogami, Nanbu, and Satake.
The 'golden age' of the Ashina of Aizu came during the rule of Ashina Moriuji (1521-1580). He did much to improve the economic condition of the Ashina domain while expanding its borders. This expansion brought the Ashina into conflict with the Date, Satake (later allies of a kind), and the Uesugi. The Ashina declined markedly after Moriuji's death but they remained a force to be reckoned with until falling to Date Masamune in 1589.
