A prominent daimyo of Japan during the Sengoku period, who was called the Wisest General in western Japan. Mouri Motonari, the Sengoku era's shrewdest daimyo, began as a minor lord in Aki Province. He first served the powerful Ouchi clan, then replaced them during their civil strife; his other great rival, the Amago clan, later fell to his schemes and assaults. His finest hour was the Battle of Itsukushima. Unable to face the Ouchi head-on, Motonari fortified Miyano-o at a sea chokepoint and spread false reports, drawing the enemy's 20,000 troops to the island. On a storm-lashed night he led his army around enemy pickets, landed on the island's east bank, crossed the ridge, and struck the Ouchi camp while his navy burned their anchored ships. Hemmed in by land and sea, the Ouchi host was destroyed, sealing Mōri dominance in western Japan. Through brilliance and battle Motonari captured ten provinces of San'in and San'yo. His life, likened to a flawless game of Go, earned him ...