was a remnant of the Amago clan

Amago clan

The , descended from the Emperor Uda by the Sasaki clan .Sasaki Takahisa in the 14th century, having lost his parents at the age of three years, he was brought up by a nun...

, a powerful feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

 clan in the Chūgoku region

Chugoku region

The , also known as the , is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. It has a population of about 7.8 million.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

; backed-up by Yamanaka Yukimori

Yamanaka Yukimori

, also known as Yamanaka Shikanosuke or Shikasuke , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served as a retainer to the Amako clan. Born under a crescent moon, he is known as the samurai of the crescent moon.-Further reading:...

, a vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

 of the clan.

He was born to Amago Masahisa in 1553. In the following year, Katsuhisa's father and grandfather were killed by Amago Haruhisa

Amago Haruhisa

was a powerful warlord in Chūgoku region, Japan. He is the second son of Amago Masahisa. Initially named Akihisa , he changed his name to Haruhisa in 1541 after Ashikaga Yoshiharu offered to let him use a kanji from his name....

, leading Katsuhisa to become a Buddhist monk. After the Amago clan was overthrown by Mōri Motonari

Mori Motonari

was a prominent daimyō in the west Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century.-Early years:Mōri Motonari was born under the name Shojumaru in a small domain of Aki province in 1497. He is said to have been born at Suzuo Castle, his mother's homeland...

 in 1566, Yamanaka Yukimori supported Katsuhisa against the Mori clan

Mori clan

The Mōri clan was a family of daimyō, descended from Ōe no Hiromoto and established themselves in Aki Province. Their name was derived from a shōen in Mōri, Aikō District, Sagami Province. The generation of Hiromoto began to name themselves Mōri.After the Jōkyū War, Mōri was appointed to the jitō...

 in 1568. He lost to Mōri Terumoto

Mori Terumoto

Mōri Terumoto , son of Mōri Takamoto and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, fought against Toyotomi Hideyoshi but was eventually overcome, participated in the Kyūshū campaign on Hideyoshi's side and built Hiroshima Castle, thus essentially founding Hiroshima.Terumoto was a...

 at Nunobeyama in 1570 and fled to the island of Oki

Oki Islands

are a group of islands in the southwestern part of the Sea of Japan and belong to Japan.-Geography:The Oki Islands are situated between 40 to 80 kilometers north of the coast of Honshū.The islands are of volcanic origin and have a total area of 346,1 km2...

.

Katsuhisa later returned from Oki and captured Tajima

Tajima Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today northern Hyōgo Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Tajima bordered on Harima, Inaba, Tamba, and Tango provinces....

 and Inaba province

Inaba Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Inaba bordered on Harima, Hōki, Mimasaka, and Tajima Provinces.-History:The ancient capital, and the castle town, were at Tottori city...

s, defending Kozuki Castle for Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 against the Mōri clan

Mori clan

The Mōri clan was a family of daimyō, descended from Ōe no Hiromoto and established themselves in Aki Province. Their name was derived from a shōen in Mōri, Aikō District, Sagami Province. The generation of Hiromoto began to name themselves Mōri.After the Jōkyū War, Mōri was appointed to the jitō...

. He was attacked by Kobayakawa Takakage

Kobayakawa Takakage

was a samurai retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku period, and the son of Mōri Motonari. Adopted by the head of the Kobayakawa clan, Takakage took his name, and succeeded his adoptive father to become head of the Kobayakawa clan following his death in 1545.As head of the Kobayakawa...

 and Kikkawa Motoharu

Kikkawa Motoharu

was the second son of Mōri Motonari, and featured prominently in all the wars of the Mōri clan.When Motoharu was young he was adopted into the Kikkawa clan by Kikkawa Okitsune. He then became head of the family around 1550. Motoharu fought in many battles alongside his brother, Kobayakawa Takakage,...

, was defeated and committed suicide.