Nagayasu Miyoshi

Nagayasu Miyoshi is the leader of the Miyoshi Trio, or Sanninshu. He, alongside Masayasu Miyoshi and Tomomichi Iwnari led the Miyoshi clan alongside Hisahide Matsunaga after Nagayoshi Miyoshi’s untimely death. The three acted as protectors for Yoshitsugu, Nagayoshi’s still adolescent heir. Nagayasu would struggle against his neighboring clans until the arrival of the Oda forces, whom he opposed venomously to little avail. Earlier Koei games referred to him as Nagayuki Miyoshi.

Role in Games
Nagayasu first appears in Samurai Warriors 2 as a part of the anti-Oda forces at Mt. Usa in Oichi's story mode. He defends the Azai main camp alongside the other members of the Miyoshi Trio until the allied forces rush the Oda camp at the end of the battle. In Samurai Warriors 4, he fights with the Miyoshi Trio against the Oda forces at Rokujō and Noda-Fukushima. At Rokujō, he will retreat once the battle turns against their favor and a mission objective is given to stop him and the other two trio members from reaching an escape point. At Noda-Fukushima, he will convince several of Yoshiaki Ashikaga's advisors to side with their coalition forces against Nobunaga and attack the Shogun.

Kessen III presents Nagayasu as the leader of the Miyoshi Trio and supporter of the Ashikaga Shogunate. He is initially dismissive of Nobunaga, considering him a minor backwater samurai lord who should not be feared. He leads the battle of Shoryuji, and will retreat in shame after being defeated. In the major battle of Noda-Fukushima in chapter 6, Nagayasu will once again lead his armies against Nobunaga. This time he waits in a fortified position with Masayasu Miyoshi and Iwanari Tomomichi lying in ambush. Not out of the fight yet, he joins Kennyo Honganji at Ishiyama in chapter 8 as one of the guards of the direct route to the main keep. After all these defeats, Nagayasu serves under the Shogunate directly from chapters 11-13, playing no major role in these fights.

Voice Actors

 * Hiroshi Kamiya - Kessen III (Japanese)

Historical Information
Miyoshi Nagayasu was the son of Miyoshi Naganori and was either the cousin or nephew of Miyoshi Nagayoshi. He entered into service of Nagayoshi and would serve him loyally through their struggle against the Hosokawa. Nagayasu aided Nagayoshi's betrayal of the Hosokawa at the battle of Eguchi in 1549 and the capture of Kyoto in 1550. Nagayoshi recognized his ability and rewarded him accordingly, making him a Miyoshi elder alongside other decorated officers, Miyoshi Masayasu, Iwnari Tomomichi, and Matunaga Hisahide.

When Nagayoshi died under mysterious circumstances and his only remaining heir, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, was too young to rule the clan, Nagayasu and the other Miyoshi trio took temporary control of the clan to counterbalance Hisahide's sudden rise in power. The trio fought on and off again with Hisahide and other local clans as they vied to gain an advantage over each other. However, Hisahide and Nagayasu did work together once more to overthrow the Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The two former allies attacked and drove Yoshiteru to suicide in 1565. After his defeat, Nagayasu continued his struggles against the Matsunaga, Hatakayama, and Tsutsui. These skirmishes and battles were cut short, however, when Oda Nobunaga's forces arrived at the capital and reinstated Ashikaga authority under Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Although now on the defensive, Nagayasu continued to resist the Oda. He joined the Anti-Oda Coalition and attacked the Ikeda, an Oda ally from Settsu. This attack was a failure, however, as infighting within the Miyoshi ranks began once more with another political assassination. Although weakened internally, Nagayasu managed to muster his forces to attack Nobunaga's men at the capital alongside the Azai and Asakura. Although initially successful, the battle ultimately turned sour for the Miyoshi. Tomomichi died during their retreat and Nagayasu had to take refuge in Nakajima Castle. The Oda forces eventually attacked him there as well, which ended with the fall of Nakajima. Nagayasu's fate is uncertain after this defeat, as historical records stop mentioning him. Some historians believe he died in the fight for the castle, others believe he escaped and lived on in exile, while still others believe he was captured and lived out his life as a hostage.