Yoshihisa Shimazu

Yoshihisa Shimazu is the 16th Shimazu clan head, son of Takahisa, and elder brother to Yoshihiro Shimazu, Iehisa, and Toshihisa. He is famous for almost unifying Kyushu. Legend claims he was following his father's dying admonishment to unify all of Kyushu.

Role in Games
In Samurai Warriors 2, Yoshihisa first appears at Kyūshū fighting against the Toyotomi army. In the Toyotomi scenario, Yoshihisa is one of the enemy commanders to be defeated in order to claim victory. For the Shimazu forces, if Yoshihisa is beaten, it results in a loss for the Shimazu. He does not appear again until later stages. In the Pursuit of Yoshihiro stage, Yoshihisa appears to assist his younger brother. He also appears at Edo Castle when Yoshihiro decides to betray the Toyotomi, and is nearly killed by Kotaro Fuma. In Shingen and Kenshin's gaiden at Kyushu, Yoshihisa and his brother will try to throw the Kanto rulers off the trail with doubles of themselves.

Samurai Warriors 3 has Yoshihisa only appearing at Kyushu. In Kiyomasa's story, as Toyotomi fighters get the advantage, Yoshihisa tries to retreat and liaise with Yoshihiro who is also retreating.

He appears again in Samurai Warriors Chronicles in the Conquest of Kyushu, defending Mt. Homan Castle. One of the optional objectives is to defeat him to claim the castle, hurting the Shimazu's morale.

Quotes

 * "Here I am, Yoshihiro!"
 * "Unfortunately we have no choice. We have to retreat."

Historical Information
Yoshihisa Shimazu was the eldest son of Takahisa Shimazu. He replaced his father as head of the clan in 1566, carrying on his father's dream of a unified Kyushu. He pursued these dreams with the aid of this three brothers and notable retainers such as Tadamune Ijuin and Tadamoto Niiro. His first offensives were against the Satsuma and Ôsumi providences, which he combined to his own.

The next target for Yoshihisa was the lands of the Ito, called Hyūga. He led his forces against the lead of the Ito clan, Yoshisuke Ito in three separate battles; at Kizakihara in 1572, at Takabaru in 1576, and at Kamiya in 1578. All three battles were major victories for Yoshihisa, ending in the capture of Hyūga's capital and Yoshisuke reduced to seeking refuge with the Otomo clan.

Yoshihisa returned to their capital, only to learn the Ōtomo had rallied a massive army and were advancing on Hyūga, putting his younger brother Iehisa in dire straits. Summoning his own relief army, Yoshihisa rushed to their defense, sending Yoshihiro ahead to provide some aid. The Ōtomo had sent Chikataka Tawara ahead with the bulk of their army, coming to a major conflict at Minigawa. At first, Yoshihisa absorbed the Otomo assault himself, but once they were significantly committed to the srpeahead assault, his brothers and retainers attacked from both sides, breaking the enemy charge and winning the day.

Having clipped the wings of the Ōtomo clan, Yoshihisa turned to his next great threat, the Ryūzōji in the Higo region. At first, Yoshihisa faced a stalemate, unable to overcome the Ryūzōji. However, the pleas of the Arima clan's leader Harunobu, the last clan in Higo to resist the Ryūzōji, provoked Yoshihisa to send Iehisa to open anther front against the Ryūzōji. The two fronts finally allowed the Shimazu to attack the Ryūzōji's leader Takanobu. Meeting for the Battle of Okinawate in 1584, Yoshihisa emerged victorious, Takanbu dead on the field of battle.

These major victories would soon seem shallow, however, as Sōrin Ōtomo, still leading the Ōtomo clan, appealed to Hideyoshi Toyotomi for help. Yoshihisa received to letters demanding surrender from Hideyoshi, which he refused to heed. Such actions provoked a landing from Motochika Chōsokabe and Hidehisa Sengoku at the command of Hideyoshi, reinforcing the Ōtomo. Yoshihisa was able to give this vanguard force a massive defeat at the Toshimitsu castle, but in the same year, 1587, when Hideyoshi's army, numbering over 150,000 arrived at Kyushu, the end of Yoshihisa Shimazu's campaign was in sight. Too outnumbered to truly resist, Yoshihisa surrendered to Hideyoshi, shaving his head and becoming a buddist monk named Ryuhaku to avoid execution. This move left the Shimazu leadership open to Yoshihiro, as Yoshihisa had no son to take power after him. Yoshihisa would live on in obscurity until 1611, when he would die of illness.

In a possibly legendary meeting between the now disgraced Yoshihisa and Ieyasu Tokugawa, it was reported that Yoshihisa was asked how he managed to almost capture all of Kyushu, to which the following conversation took place. "'My three younger brothers led by Yoshihiro as well as retainers like Niiro Tadamoto fought so well united under the same goal, I never had a chance to show bravery in a battle. I only had to wait in the Kagoshima Castle for news brought by messengers of their victories.'" After Yoshihisa left, Ieyasu told his retainers that Yoshihisa had let retainers under him work to the best of their ability, which was how a great general should preform.