Twenty-first Head of the Ōtomo Clan

Ōtomo Sōrin

大友宗麟

1530 – 1587

Head of the Ōtomo clan of Bungo. He succeeded after the 1550 Incident of the Second Floor and expanded into Higo, Buzen, and Chikuzen. In 1559 he obtained the governorships of Buzen, Chikuzen, and Chikugo and the office of Kyushu tandai, strengthening the legitimacy of his rule in northern Kyushu. He protected Jesuit missions, charitable institutions, a hospital, and overseas trade at Funai, and later received baptism as Francisco. After a major defeat by the Shimazu at Mimigawa, his power declined, and he appealed to Toyotomi Hideyoshi when Shimazu forces invaded Bungo. He died in 1587 during the Kyushu campaign.

Sources　大分市「史跡大友氏遺跡整備基本計画（第1期）」／大分県立図書館「豊前国宇佐郡がいつ大友氏の支配下になったか」／大分市歴史資料館「大友宗麟」