Kikuchi Takefusa

Background and Family

"Kikuchi Jiro Takefusa" was son of the 9th head of the clan, Kikuchi Takayasu (菊池 隆泰); Jiro (次郎) means "second son". His mother whose name is unknown was from the equally famous Otomo clan and a great-granddaughter of Minamoto no Yoritomo through his illegitimate son. Takefusa became head of the clan after his father since his elder brother had died young. His younger brother Aritaka was adopted by their retainers, the Akahoshi clan.

First Mongol Invasion (1274)

During the first Mongol invasion at the Battle of Bun'ei he fought with his younger brother Aritaka and they were both awarded by the Emperor. Takefusa shot a Mongol general in the face with a signed arrow, precipitating the recall of the first Mongol invasion. Bun'ei is really the name of a campaign comprising many battles.

Battle of Akasaka

The Mongols had defeated or annihilated the defenders on the small islands of Tsushima, Iki, Hirato, Taka and Nokono during their island hopping towards the Japanese mainland. Akasaka was the first battle with a real army.

The Mongolian force had landed on Momochi field, Sawara District and divided into two groups one of which encamped at Akasaka. They were attacked by Kikuchi Takefusa losing about 100 soldiers. The greater group retreated to the hill of Sohara, and the smaller group to Tukahara field in Befu. The Mongolian force pitched a camp on Sohara field which had a hill 30m in height and a great vantage point of the streets of Fukuoka city. The field is now Soharakoen "Sohara Park". The stone monument in the center of Soharakoen marks the remains of Mongolian soldiers who were killed during the battle. During this battle, Kikuchi Takefusa gained fame for all the heads of the enemy that he collected.

From the diary of one of his commanders, Takezaki Suenaga:

"Thinking that I was the first to battle of all the warriors from Higo, I set off from the Hakata encampment. On my way to Akasaka, after passing the gate (torii) of the Sumiyoshi Shrine, I met a man on a dapple gray horse at Komatsubara. He wore purple armor with a reverse arrowhead design, and a crimson billowing cape (horo) and, having just defeated the invaders in their encampment, was returning with a hundred horsemen. The pirates had fled. Two had been taken. He looked most brave and had two retainers walking before him on his left and right carrying heads - one pierced on a sword, the other on a naginata. "Who passes here looking so brave?" I asked, and he replied, "I am Kikuchi Jiro Takefusa of Higo Province. Who are you?" I am Takezaki Goro Hyoe Suenaga of the same province. Watch me attack! Saying so I charged."

Second Mongol Invasion (1281)

This was the largest naval invasion in history until D-Day. In the spring of 1281, Kublai Khan sent two separate forces. An impressive force of 900 ships containing 40,000 Yuan troops set out from Masan, Korea, while an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships. The Mongols' plan called for an overwhelming coordinated attack by the combined imperial Yuan fleets. The Chinese fleet of the Yuan was delayed by difficulties in provisioning and manning the large number of ships they had.

The Battle of Koan

The Eastern Route Army arrived at Hakata Bay on June 21, and decided to proceed with the invasion without waiting for the larger Southern force which had still not left China. They were a short distance to the north and east of where their force had landed in 1274, and were in fact beyond the walls and defenses constructed by the Japanese. The samurai responded quickly, assaulting the invaders with waves of defenders, denying them the beachhead.

At night small boats carried small bands of samurai into the Yuan fleet in the bay. Under cover of darkness they boarded enemy ships, killed as many as they could, and withdrew before dawn. This harassing tactic led the Yuan forces to retreat to Tsushima, where they would wait for the Southern Route Army. However, over the course of the next several weeks, 3,000 men were killed in close quarters combat in the hot weather. Yuan forces never gained a beachhead.

The first of the Southern force ships arrived on July 16, and by August 12 the two fleets were ready to attack Japan. On August 15 a major tempest struck the Tsushima Straits, lasting two full days and destroying most of the Yuan fleet. Contemporary Japanese accounts indicate that over 4,000 ships were destroyed in the storm; 80 percent of the Yuan soldiers either drowned or were killed by samurai on the beaches. The loss of ships was so great that "a person could walk across from one point of land to another on a mass of wreckage".

Death and Legacy

After the battle Takefusa must have gone home to Kikuchi Castle. He died on March 26, 1285 from an unknown illness only four years after the second invasion. His remains were interred at Kikuchi Shrine. His son and heir Kikuchi Takamori (菊池 隆盛) had died young even before him so his grandson Kikuchi Tokitaka (菊池 時隆, 1287-1304) became 11th head of the clan. Tokitaka also died young in battle so his brother the famous Kikuchi Taketoki (菊池 武時, 1292-1333) became 12th head.

Hayashi Narinaga who was a samurai general during the Sengoku Period was a descendant of Takefusa. Also, Saigo Takamori who is now known as the "last samurai"; The Saigo clan was a branch family of the Kikuchi. Another famous descendant through adoption is the artist and scholar Kikuchi Yosai.