'Bessho Nagaharu'(別所長治;
1558-
February 2,
1580) was a
Japanese military leader. He was the eldest son of
Bessho Yasuharu.
In
1578 Oda Nobunaga called on his retainers to attack the
Mori clan. Nagaharu almost decided to lead the Oda troops, but after hearing that the low-born general
Hashiba Hideyoshi, whom he did not respect, was allied with the Oda faction he revolted, instead allying himself with
Hatano Hideharu of
Tamba province.
This led to Nagaharu being besieged by Hideyoshi's troops on the orders of Nobunaga. Nagaharu took a stand in
Miki Castle, starting the
Siege of Miki. The siege did not go well for Hideyoshi, and with a revolt by
Araki Murashige and the help of the Mori clan Nagaharu successfully repelled the Oda force. But Hideyoshi returned and this time instead of launching a direct assault, he launched multiple sieges against smaller castles like
Kamiyoshi Castle and
Sigata Castle to cut off the support from Mori. This led to a rapid depletion of food, and in
1580, with no hope of another reinforcement from Mori clan, Nagaharu committed
seppuku in exchange for the lives of the troops in Miki Castle.