Sō Sadakuni

Sō Sadakuni the 2nd son of Morikuni, the late Muromachi period into early Sengoku Period Japanese military leader became the 11th leader of the Sō clan. He was the younger brother of Sō Sadamori (9th head of the Sō clan) and was later adopted by Sō Shigemoto, Sadamori's son (10th head), making him the heir of Shigemoto. In terms of court rank, he was also titled Shōyū (Minister of Justice).

Sedakuni, also known as Hikoshichi, was the head of the Sedakuni clan starting in 1468, succeeding Shigemoto. When he took over the leadership position, there were many internal divisions amongst the clan members. Sadakuni was able to unite most of the different rival groups under his command over time through diplomatic communications and by advocating for the Sō clan's commercial trading with the Joseon Dynasty. Sadakuni also connected with his over lordship with Shōni Noriyori and Shōni Masasuke, supporting both of their military campaigns against the Ōuchi clan and helping them expand on their influence over Northern Kyushu.^[1] However, the gains Sadakuni helped achieve both militarily and commercially were temporary, as they were lost during the counter offensive carried out by the Ōuchi Masahiro when he defeated the Shōni forces and reclaimed Sadakuni's territory in Chikuzen Province. In 1492 Sadakuni relinquished the position of clan head to Mune Kimori, who was named by combining a Hanzi character from Ashikaga Yoshiki's name, and died in 1494, aged 65.^[2][3]