However, during the generations of Toyomoto MORI (the 48th) and Hiromoto MORI (the 49th), the Mori clan was surrounded by the other powerful clans, such as the Yamana clan, the Hosokawa clan, and the Ouchi clan, which made the Mori clan in difficulty deciding their course of actions.
しかし毛利豊元（48代）・毛利弘元（49代）の時代には山名氏、細川氏、大内氏などの大勢力に挟まれ去就に苦労することになる。