Kyogoku Masatsune (京極政経)
Masatsune KYOGOKU (date of birth is unknown – died 1502 or 1508) was a Shugo Daimyo (Japanese feudal lord and governor) and head of the Kyogoku clan during the Muromachi period. Also went by the name Masataka KYOGOKU. His true family name was Minamoto. His family lineage stemmed from the Uda-Genji (Minamoto clan) and patriarch Emperor Uda, as well as from the Kyogoku clan, a branch family of the Sasaki clan. He was born the 3rd son of Mochikiyo KYOGOKU, the Governor and feudal lord of North Omi, Izumo, and the 3 Hida Provinces.
When the Onin no Ran (Onin Rebellion) broke out in 1467, his father, Mochikiyo, was assigned as part of the East forces commanded by Katsumoto HOSOKAWA that attacked Kyoto. From the following year, he belonged to the West forces and fought alongside Takayori ROKKAKU, but, while battling with Takayori in 1470 he fell ill and died.
His eldest brother Katsuhide KYOGOKU and second eldest brother Masamitsu KYOGOKU predeceased him, and his grandchild, who is also thought to be Katsuhide's legitimate child, succeeded as head of the family but died in 1471. A dispute ensued between himself and Takakiyo KYOGOKU surrounding the issue of whether Katsuhide's child or his younger brother ought to be head of the family, with the Governorship of Izumo Province, Oki Province, and Hida Province resting on the outcome.
Later, he assumed the duties of Omi Governor and in October 1475 he received orders from the bakufu (shogunate) to fight monk-solders (warrior priests) of Enryaku-ji Temple who had joined forces with Takayori ROKKAKU who were overwhelmingly defeated within the grounds of Kannon-ji Castle. However, he was finally defeated that November when the armies of Shigeyori TOKI and Myochin SAITO were entrusted to the West forces and combined with Takayori's army. With the end of the Onin War in 1477, in the following year he was released from duties as Omi Governor and he again served Takayori ROKKAKU.
In 1482 the Muromachi bakufu (shogunate) requested that he pay taxes for Oki and Izumo Provinces for which he had been exempt on behalf of his father; however, Vice Shugo (Governor) Tsunehisa AMAGO did not follow this instruction and the following year Masatsune received a command for the ruling families of Izumo to banish Tsunehisa and a new vice Governor, Kamonnosuke ENYA, was dispatched to Gassan-Toda Castle. However, in 1486, following a surprise attack by Tsunehisa, Gassan-Toda Castle was recaptured.
In August 1487 Seii Taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians") Yoshihisa ASHIKAGA made up his mind to join with Takayori ROKKAKU's army of conquest but, 2 years later he fell ill and died while on campaign and the conquests were halted. During that time, in August 1488 Masatsune fought and lost against Takakiyo at Matsuo in Omi Province and, together with retainers, Tsuneie TAGA escaped to Umezu in Ise Province.
In the archives of the Sasaki clan it is noted that Kichidomaru inherited the role of clan head in 1508; however, the Seisanfushi (Sesan County records) record his death on October 23, 1502 at 50 years of age. In his final years, reconciliation was reached with Tsunehisa AMAGO, and he resided in Izumo; traces of generations of the Kyogoku clan are gathered in the Sasaki archives and it was here they were passed to Tsunehisa.
During his lifetime he achieved the court rank of Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) Daizen no daibu (Master of the Office of the Palace Table) and served as Shobanshu (an official who accompanies a shogun). His children include Kimune KYOGOKU; and there is Kichidojimaru, who inherited the role of clan head (and is thought to be Masatsune's grandson) but their whereabouts are unknown and Izumo became Tsunehisa's domain and the Daimyo (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period (period of warring states).