Wachi

The Wachi were kokujin lords of Bingo Province, holding Nantenzan Castle at Kisa and claiming descent from Fujiwara no Hidesato. Their forebear Hirasawa Sanekata followed Minamoto no Yoritomo and received an estate in Bingo in 1192; his son Sanetaka was already suppressing coastal pirates in 1211.

In the Nanboku-chō wars the Wachi resisted the Muromachi bakufu and served Ashikaga Tadafuyu, before Morozane joined Ashikaga Yoshiakira in 1367. With other Hirasawa descendants they formed the Hirasawa bands, dealing collectively with the Yamana and other Bingo lords. In the Sengoku age they shifted to Amago Tsunehisa and then Mōri Motonari.

The ninth head Masaharu entertained Mōri Takamoto in 1563 shortly before Takamoto's sudden death. Suspected of poisoning, Masaharu was confined on Itsukushima in 1568, entered the shrine's main hall and was killed there early in 1569. His son was spared, and the Wachi continued as Mōri retainers.