Ancient – Kamakura period The province of Kawachi was once the power of the
Mononobe clan; Kizuri in
Higashiōsaka was, in ancient times, one of their strongholds. Tsuboi in
Habikino became a stronghold of the warrior family that was the
Minamoto clan (i.e., the
Kawachi Genji). The likes of
Hachimantarō Yoshiie who made vassals out of the samurai of the eastern provinces, his father
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, and Yoshiyori's father
Minamoto no Yorinobu's tomb of three generations is even now close to the
Tsūhō-ji remains that was the Kawachi Genji's family temple.
Minamoto no Yoritomo (who founded the
Kamakura shogunate) was a descendant of these Kawachi Genji. Near the end of the
Kamakura period,
Kusunoki Masashige and his household, being a powerful clan of southern Kawachi, rose up in defiance of the shogunate; barricaded in the
Shimo Akasaka,
Kami Akasaka, and
Chihaya castles, he baffled the Kamakura shogunal armies. With the direct imperial rule of
Kenmu, Kusunoki was appointed as both
kokushi and
shugo.
Muromachi period The
Nanboku-chō period arrived as
Ashikaga Takauji opposed
Emperor Go-Daigo, and Kawachi became a hotspot for battles; Kusunoki Masashige's eldest son
Kusunoki Masatsura was killed in action at the
battle of Shijō Nawate. "After the death of
Chikafusa the
Southern Court moved from Anau to Amano in the province of Kawachi, making the Kongoji its headquarters." With the advent of the
Muromachi period, the post of Kawachi
shugo fell to one of the three
kanrei, of the
Hatakeyama clan;
Hatakeyama Mitsuie and
Hatakeyama Mochikuni continued this, making what should have been a dynasty of sorts, but in dispute over Mochikuni's family headship, the adopted
Hatakeyama Masanaga and the begotten
Hatakeyama Yoshinari quarreled, and as Kawachi became the background for that feud, it fell to waste. Masanaga was attacked at by
Hosokawa Masamoto and
Hatakeyama Yoshitoyo, but his son
Hisayoshi was in
Kishū attempting to recoup for another attack; finally, they succeeded in making a comeback as the shugo of Kawachi and Kishū, and Hisayoshi's son
Tanenaga ultimately managed to destroy
Yoshihide of Yoshinari's line, once again consolidating the house of Hatakeyama. However, through all this, Kawachi had been the battleground, and had essentially been reduced to
scorched earth.
Sengoku period By the
Sengoku period, the consolidated Kawachi was the asset of
Hatakeyama Tanenaga, but the real power was imbued in the
shugodai, a title that passed into the hands of
Yusa Naganori: the
shugo came to be reduced to a mere figurehead. Moreover, the
kanrei house of
Hosokawa continued to face internal strife; in addition to the Hosokawa inheritance dispute between
Takakuni,
Sumimoto, and
Sumiyuki, the son of Sumimoto (the victor of that conflict)
Harumoto attacked and overthrew the shugodai in Sakai who played an active role in the Hosokawa clan's internal strife,
Miyoshi Motonaga. The
bakufu, which was an asset for Harumoto, had been preserved, but Miyoshi's son
Nagayoshi proceeded to the capital from
Awa; while he accepting a wife from the shugodai of Kawachi who had the
de facto power (Yusa Naganori) and received other such favors of power, in subordination to Harumoto, but not in subordination to the wishes of Harumoto, he played an active role in such things as attacking
Kizawa Nagamasa in Takaida (in modern
Kashiwara,
Osaka). However, being in opposition later on, Nagayoshi would fight his father's cousin in Harumoto's faction,
Miyoshi Masanaga, in dispute over
Kawachi Jū Nana Kasho at places like
Enami Castle, going on to break down Harumoto's controlled political power; the
shōgun was reduced to a figurehead and along with seizing the real power of the bakufu, he transferred the stronghold from
Akutagawa Mountain Castle in
Settsu to
Iimori Mountain Castle in Kawachi (
Shijōnawate,
Osaka). But even Nagayoshi had to pass away at the age of 42, and afterwards retainers were in conflict (the
Miyoshi triumvirate and
Matsunaga Hisahide), making a battleground of Kawachi and
Yamato. The event that finally closed the period and these conflicts was
Oda Nobunaga's procession to the capital.
Azuchi-Momoyama period Upon his ascension to the capital,
Oda Nobunaga gave the task of governing the northern half of Kawachi to
Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, and that of the southern half to
Hatakeyama Akitaka (his son-in-law). However, they both fell in the conflicts around the
Genki era, and control of Kawachi fell to Oda's chief vassal
Sakuma Nobumori. But even Nobumori would later be shunned and banished by Nobunaga. When Oda died in the
Incident at Honnō-ji,
Hashiba Hideyoshi, who attacked
Akechi Mitsuhide at the
battle of Yamazaki, as a result of the
Kiyosu Conference, came to control the province. Hideyoshi came to rule all Japan, and when
Osaka Castle was built,
Wakae Castle, which had once been an important spot in Kawachi, became derelict. After the death of Hideyoshi, the
Battle of Sekigahara ensued, and
Tokugawa Ieyasu became ruler of all Japan: the
Sei-i Taishōgun; he opened his
bakufu, but as Kawachi was
Toyotomi Hideyori's fiefdom, it was not entered into the
bakuhan taisei. When Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori had their showdown at the
Siege of Osaka, Kawachi also became a battleground. This fight had a winter and a summer campaign, but since the winter campaign was a battle around Osaka Castle, Kawachi was not a war location then. The aspect of the summer campaign was completely turned about, and the outer moat of Osaka Castle was buried, leaving the castle exposed; the Osaka side judged a siege defense to be impossible, and intercepted Tokugawa's side going from Kyoto to Osaka in the field. Therefore, fights occurred at various places in Kawachi, it being between Kyoto and Osaka. The primary battles that developed were the
Battle of Dōmyōji (
Gotō Matabee vs.
Date Masamune,
Matsudaira Tadateru, and
Mizuno Katsunari;
Sanada Yukimura,
Kitagawa Nobukatsu, and
Susukida Kanesuke vs. Date Masamune, Matsudaira Tadateru, and Mizuno Katsunari) and the
battle of Yao and Wakae (
Kimura Shigenari vs.
Ii Naotaka;
Chōsokabe Morichika vs.
Tōdō Takatora).
Edo period In the
Edo period, Kawachi was dotted with
tenryō as well as
hatamotos. As for
daimyōs, there were only two: the
Hōjō of
Sayama Domain and the
Takagi of
Tannan Domain. In addition, the
Inaba of
Yodo Domain had many territories. ==Historical districts==