Ishida Mitsunari

Japanese: 石田三成 - いしだ・みつなり

Year of death: October 1, 1600 (November 6, 1600)
Year of birth: 1560
A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. His childhood name was Mitsuya, and he was commonly known as Sakichi. He was the son of Masatsugu and the younger brother of Masazumi. He was from Ishida Village, Sakata County, Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture). He is believed to have served as a personal attendant at the age of 15 or 16 when Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi was lord of Nagahama. He served as Jibushoyu (Junior Assistant Minister of Justice), and rose from Junior Fifth Rank to Junior Fourth Rank. After the Honnoji Incident, he participated in the Battle of Yamazaki (1582) and the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), and in 1585 (Tensho 13), when Hideyoshi appointed him as regent, he became one of the 12 Shodaifu (minor official officials) and distinguished himself as a direct subordinate. The following year, he became the magistrate of Sakai. In 1582, he participated in the expedition against the Shimazu clan, and was in charge of logistics, while also working to restore Hakata, and formed friendships with Shimai Soshitsu and Kamiya Sotan. During the conquest of Kanto Oshu after Tensho 18, he failed to attack Musashi Oshi Castle, which was defended by Narita Ujinaga, demonstrating his lack of military skill. In the incident involving Sen no Rikyu's seppuku, there is a record of Rikyu's daughter being subjected to artillery fire, and there is a theory that Mitsunari is the mastermind behind the expulsion of Rikyu. In Tensho 19, he became the lord of Sawayama Castle in Omi, with a fief of 210,000 koku. During the Korean expedition the following year, 1592, he was stationed in Nagoya (Chinzei Town, Saga Prefecture) as the boat magistrate and insisted that Hideyoshi cross the sea, but when this was admonished by the retired Emperor Masahito and called off, he traveled to Korea as a deputy governor and negotiated peace with China with Masuda Nagamori, Otani Yoshitsugu, and others. In the Toyotomi Hidetsugu incident in Bunroku 4 (1595), he sided with the brutal pursuers and was appointed one of the five magistrates. In 1597, an expeditionary force was again sent to Korea (the Keicho War), but after Hideyoshi's death in August of the following year, he was in charge of organizing the withdrawal of the expeditionary force in Hakata. During this time, conflict arose with the military faction led by Kato Kiyomasa and Kuroda Nagamasa, and in 1601, he was attacked by seven military commanders including Kato and Kuroda, but was hidden by Tokugawa Ieyasu and escaped the danger, secluding himself in Sawayama. In 1602, he allied with Naoe Kanetsugu, a senior retainer of the Uesugi clan, and invited Ieyasu to move east. He went to Ogaki Castle, gathered military commanders of the Toyotomi faction in Kansai, and raised the flag of rebellion against Ieyasu, with Mori Terumoto as his leader, and challenged him to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara on September 15th. At first, the Western Army had the upper hand, but due to the betrayal of Kobayakawa Hideaki, they collapsed. Mitsunari tried to escape, but was captured in Furuhashi Village (Kinomoto Town), Ika County, Omi, and executed at Rokujogawara. As can be seen from the land survey scale and the establishment of land survey articles, he was one of the most capable officials in the Hideyoshi clan and a highly cultured person, but he was cruel and liked to criticize, so he lost popularity. <References> Watanabe Sesuke, "Draft Ishida Mitsunari," Imai Rintaro, "Ishida Mitsunari"

(Tatsusaburo Hayashiya)

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

Japanese:

没年：慶長5.10.1(1600.11.6)
生年：永禄3(1560)
安土桃山時代の武将。幼名三也,通称佐吉。正継の子で正澄の弟。近江国(滋賀県)坂田郡石田村の出自。羽柴(豊臣)秀吉の長浜領主時代,15,6歳で近侍したと推定される。官は治部少輔,従五位下から従四位下に昇る。本能寺の変後,山崎合戦(1582),賤ケ岳の戦(1583)に従軍,天正13(1585)年秀吉の関白任官に伴い12人の諸大夫の内に入り直属吏僚として頭角を顕わす。翌年堺奉行。15年の島津征討では従軍し兵站の任に当たるとともに博多の復興に努め,島井宗室,神屋宗湛らと親交を結んだ。天正18年以降の関東奥州征服では成田氏長の守る武蔵忍城攻めに失敗し,軍事の不得手を表した。なお千利休切腹事件では利休の娘を炮責めにした記録があり,三成を利休排斥の黒幕とする説もある。天正19年近江佐和山城主,21万石を領す。翌文禄1(1592)年の朝鮮出兵では舟奉行として名護屋(佐賀県鎮西町)に駐屯,秀吉渡海を主張したが,それが正親町上皇の諭止で中止されると自身代官として朝鮮に渡り,増田長盛,大谷吉継らと明国との和平交渉に当たる。文禄4(1595)年豊臣秀次事件では残忍な追及側に立ち,五奉行の一員に任じた。慶長2(1597)年再び朝鮮に遠征軍が派遣されたが(慶長の役),翌年8月秀吉の死後博多において派遣軍の撤収事務に当たる。この間,加藤清正,黒田長政ら武人派との対立を生じ,慶長4年,加藤,黒田ら7人の武将の襲撃を受けるが,徳川家康にかくまわれて難をのがれ佐和山に逼塞。慶長5年,上杉家老臣直江兼続と結んで家康の東下を誘い,大垣城に出て関西の豊臣方の武将らを集め,毛利輝元を盟主に家康に反旗をひるがえし9月15日に天下分け目の関ケ原の戦を挑んだ。初め優勢であった西軍だが,小早川秀秋の内応で総崩れとなり,三成は逃れようとしたが,近江伊香郡古橋村(木之本町)で捕らえられ,六条河原で処刑された。検地尺や検地条目制定にみられる如く,秀吉家中屈指の能吏であり,文化的に高い教養を持った人物であったが,性酷薄で苛察を好み,人望を失った。<参考文献>渡辺世祐『稿本石田三成』,今井林太郎『石田三成』

(林屋辰三郎)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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