Bekki Chikaie
戸次親家
Bekki Clan
Bushō
Bungo Province
Lifespan: Bunmei 10 (1478) to Daiei 6 (1526)
Rank: bushō, head of clan and lord of Yoroi-ga-take Castle
Title: Deputy Governor of Hitachi
Clan: Bekki
Father: Bekki Chikanobu
Wife: Seikō-in (daughter of Yufu Koretsune), Yōkō-in (daughter of Usuki Nagakage – second wife)
Siblings: Daughter (wife of Yufu Korekatsu), Bekki Chikahisa, Bekki Chikanaga, Bekki Chikanori (Governor of Tōtōmi), Bekki Chikakane
Children: Wife of Kiyota Akitsuna, wife of Ichimata Chikayasu, wife of Andō Ietada, Bekki Akitsura (later Tachibana Dōsetsu), wife of Tachibana Akitaka, formal wife of Bekki Chikakata, formal wife of Toshimitsu Akinori, wife of Bekki Chikashige
Adopted Children: Bekki Akikata, Bekki Chikayuki, and a daughter. (Chikaie’s second wife, Yōkō-in, may have brought these children from another family to bolster the ranks of the Bekki.)
Other: Bekki Chikazoku (uncle), Bekki Chikanobu (grandfather), Bekki Chikatsugu (grandfather)
Bekki Chikaie served as a retainer of the Ōtomo clan, the sengoku daimyō of Bungo Province. Chikaie further served as the head of the Bekki clan, a branch of the Ōtomo clan, and as lord of Yoroi-ga-take Castle.
Chikaie was born as the son of Bekki Chikanobu. Although relatives of the Ōtomo, the family fortunes of the Bekki witnessed rapid decline with the loss of their homeland of Bekkishō and ensuing collapse. Chikaie could not, during his time in power, reverse the decline. Moreover, Chikaie himself posed gaunt and weakened by illness. More often than not, he could not carry out his role. In 1526, the Ōtomo sent Sano Chikamoto and Toita Shigeyasu to invade Bizen Province. After these forces occupied the stronghold of Uma-ga-take Castle, Chikaie was weakened by illness so he had his eldest son, Bekki Akitsura (later Tachibana Dōsetsu) deploy. Despite his youthfulness, Akitsura fought the invaders with vigor, achieving meritorious results. Secure in the belief that his son had grown-up, Chikaie died later that same year. Akitsura then inherited the clan.
