Kotō

The Kotō were a warrior family based at Shimofuri Castle in Nagato Province. In 1334 the Kenmu government appointed Kotō Takezane governor of Nagato; he supported Ashikaga Takauji in 1336 and retained the office under the shogunate.

The Kannō Disturbance divided the family between the rival courts. In 1358 the Southern Court’s Ōuchi attacked Nagato, forcing Yoshitake to abandon Shimofuri and lose Chōfu. With Kikuchi Takemitsu’s help he briefly regained the castle, but the family then disappeared from the record. In 1362 Ōuchi Hiroyo became governor of Nagato.