Yoshitomo So

Japanese: 宗義智 - そう・よしとし

Year of death: 1st January 3rd, 1615 (1st January 31st, 1615)
Year of birth: Eiroku 11 (1568)
Lord of Tsushima Island from the Azuchi-Momoyama to the early Edo period. Son of Masamori. Childhood name Hikozo and Hikoshichi. Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate Ashikaga Yoshiaki gave him one character of his given name, and he was called Akikage, and later changed it to Yoshitomo. At the age of 12, he succeeded his older brother Yoshizumi as the guardian of Tsushima, but because he was still a child, the actual administration of the island was left to the previous lord of the island, Yoshishige, who acted as his guardian. In 1587, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Kyushu, he appeared at the camp in Hakozaki, Chikuzen, together with Yoshishige, and was asked to negotiate with Korea for the dispatch of troops to the continent. The following year, Yoshishige died, and he took over the role. In Tsushima, where trade with Korea was the lifeline, he adopted a policy of avoiding war as much as possible, and he worked out strategies with the diplomatic monk Keitei Genso, the chief retainer Yanagawa Shigenobu, the Hakata merchant Shimai Soshitsu, and Hideyoshi's vassal Konishi Yukinaga. During this time, in 1593, a Korean envoy came to Japan for the first time in about 100 years. He also took Yukinaga's daughter Maria as his legal wife, and as a result of this he was baptized Dario and became a Christian daimyo. In 1592, when the Bunroku War broke out, he was assigned to Yukinaga's first army and worked together with him to seek peace. Although he was known as a brave general, a Jesuit missionary who met him on the battlefield described him as "a modest, learned young man wearing a rosary given to him by his wife." The war ended with Hideyoshi's death in 1598, and he made a complete turnaround and began to restore amity with Korea. However, in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1592, he found himself in a difficult position as he joined the western army of Ishida Mitsunari due to his relationship with Yukinaga. Thanks to the efforts of the Yanagawa clan, he avoided being annihilated, and after divorcing his wife, he devoted himself to Korean diplomacy under the Tokugawa government. However, the peace negotiations were extremely difficult, and the Tokugawa were forced to resort to forging diplomatic documents in order to appease the anger of the Korean side without damaging the reputation of the Tokugawa. Nine years after the start of negotiations, in the 12th year of the same year, a diplomatic mission arrived in Japan, and two years later, the Kiyoku Treaty was signed, and trade was finally resumed. His achievements in building the foundation for early modern exchange between Japan and Korea during a turbulent time were highly praised by the Korean side, and after his death, a document (bronze seal) was presented to Banshoin, which was the family temple of the main family under his posthumous name, and he was allowed to send envoys. <References> Suyama Masaru, ed., "Soji Kafuryaku," and Tashiro Kazuo, "Tsushima and Korea in Early Modern Times" ("Islands of the Genkai Sea")

(Kazuo Tashiro)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：元和1.1.3(1615.1.31)
生年：永禄11(1568)
安土桃山から江戸時代前期にかけての対馬島主。将盛の子。幼名は彦三,彦七。室町幕府将軍足利義昭より諱の1字を与えられ昭景と称し,のち義智に改める。12歳で兄義純の跡を継いで対馬守護となるが,幼少のため実質的島政は,後見役で先の島主,義調に委ねられる。天正15(1587)年,豊臣秀吉の九州侵攻に際し義調と共に筑前箱崎の陣営に出頭,大陸出兵のための朝鮮との折衝役を仰せ付けられた。翌年義調が死去し,役目を引き継ぐ。朝鮮交易を生命線とする対馬にあって,可能な限り戦争回避の方針をとり,外交僧景轍玄蘇,家老柳川調信,博多商人嶋井宗室,秀吉の家臣小西行長らと策を練る。この間の同18年,朝鮮通信使の来日を約100年ぶりに実現。また行長の娘マリアを正妻とし,その影響でのちにダリオの洗礼名を受けてキリシタン大名になった。文禄1(1592)年,文禄の役に突入すると行長の第1軍に配属され,共に講和を求めて奔走する。勇将として知られる半面,戦場で対面したイエズス会宣教師から「妻から贈られたロザリオをかけた慎み深い,学識のある若者」と評される。戦役は慶長3(1598)年,秀吉の死とともに終わり,一転して朝鮮との修好回復を開始するが,同5年の関ケ原の戦では,行長との関係から石田三成方西軍に属して窮地に立つ。柳川氏の働きもあって取り潰しを免れ,妻を離別して徳川政権のもとで朝鮮外交に専念。しかし講和交渉は困難を極め,徳川氏の面目を損なわずに朝鮮側の怒りを和らげるという難題にあって,国書偽造の手段を余儀なくされる。交渉開始から9年目の同12年通信使が来日,その2年後に己酉約条が締結されて漸く貿易再開の運びとなった。激動の時代,近世日朝交流の基礎を造り上げた功績は朝鮮側からも高く評価され,死後,法名で宗家の菩提寺とされた万松院に図書(銅印)が贈られ,使船派遣が許された。<参考文献>陶山存編『宗氏家譜略』,田代和生「近世における対馬と朝鮮」(『玄界灘の島々』)

(田代和生)

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