was a samurai who served as a senior retainer of the Ōuchi clan in the Sengoku period in Japan. He was the second son of Sue Okifusa, a senior retainer of the Ōuchi clan. His childhood name was Goro, and he previously had the name Takafusa ().

Biography

Harukata was born to the Sue clan (derived from Sue pottery), which was related to the Ōuchi clan, and served as shugodai of Suō Province. As a boy, he served Ōuchi Yoshitaka, a childhood friend. After genpuku, he was given the name Takafusa after Ōuchi Yoshitaka.

In 1539, after his father Okifusa died of illness, he became the head of the Sue clan. Being an able retainer, he became known as the Samurai General Without Peer in the Western Provinces (Saigoku-musō no Samuraidaishō).

From 1540 to 1542, he worked as the general, replacing Ōuchi Yoshitaka, in the war with the Amago clan.

In 1555 Harukata lost the Battle of Itsukushima to Mōri Motonari, and committed suicide after the battle. After the loss, his son Nagafusa was attacked by the Mōri clan and committed seppuku in Wakayama castle and the Ōuchi clan declined considerably. Two years later, Mōri Motonari annihilated the clan.

thumb|Sue Harukata's grave in the grounds of Tōun-ji, [[Hatsukaichi, Japan]]

References

  • Profile of Hiroshima Prefecture
  • 歴史街道 毛利家物語～武将たちが夢を追った戦国浪漫の道をたどろう～ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (in Japanese)
  • 益田氏・吉見氏ゆかりの城館群 Shimane Prefecture web site (in Japanese)
  • Mori Clan Timeline at Samurai Archives
  • 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社1987(p. 221)
  • 竹内理三（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：角川書店1985(p. 206)