Date Masamune

Japanese: 伊達政宗 - だて・まさむね

Year of death: May 24, 1636 (June 27, 1636)
Year of birth: Eiroku 10.8.3 (1567.9.5)
A military commander from the Azuchi-Momoyama to early Edo periods. Founder of the Sendai Domain. Childhood names were Bontenmaru and Tojiro. His father was Terumune, lord of Yonezawa Castle, and his mother was Yoshihime (Hoshun'in), daughter of Mogami Yoshimori, lord of Yamagata Castle. He lost his right eye as a child and was also called "One-Eyed Dragon." He was a provisional Chunagon (junior third rank) with the rank of Junior Third Rank. He was bestowed the title of Hashiba, later Matsudaira. In April 1617 (Genna 3), the Nikko Toshogu Shrine was relocated. The lanterns presented by the various feudal lords that are currently lined up under the Yomeimon Gate date from this time. Among them is the Nanban iron lantern presented by Masamune. Masamune was in his home province at the time and was slow to receive the information. However, in late April, as soon as he received news of the presentation of the lanterns by the various feudal lords from his heir Tadamune in Edo, he sent letters to close friends and important members of the shogunate in an attempt to make a comeback regarding the location of the lantern he was presenting. The result was a satisfactory decision to place him at "Roumon-no-uchi." This shows Masamune's wide network of connections and his diplomatic skills, which allowed him to grasp the key points. The "Date Haruka Records" record how people who were often referred to as "close friends" appeared during the Toyotomi administration and plotted various things for Masamune. Since he inherited the family headship at the age of 18, there were incidents such as the unification of southern Tohoku in 1588 and 1589 and his defense of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his late arrival at the Odawara Campaign in 1590, the Kasai Osaki Rebellion and feud with Gamo Ujisato in 1591 and 1592, the Toyotomi Hidetsugu incident in 1595 and suspicions against Masamune, the Waga Rebellion in 1600 and 1601 and the theory that he was the instigator of the Date clan. All of these events occurred during Masamune's hot-blooded years in his 20s and early 30s, and if he had made a mistake in his handling of the situation, the Date clan would have been doomed. During the unification of southern Tohoku, he escaped the crisis of the encirclement of the Satake, Ashina, Osaki, and Mogami clans by defeating them one by one and then pursuing a peace plan, and at the Odawara Campaign, he carefully considered between Date Masamune's argument for fighting (attacking the Toyotomi forces as the ruler of Oshu) and Katakura Kagetsuna's theory of participation (the theory of preserving the Date clan name). His closeness with Tokugawa Ieyasu was also clear around the time of the Kasai-Osaki Rebellion, and one example of this is Ieyasu's advice to Hideyoshi during the Hidetsugu Incident, in which he is said to have even considered exiling Masamune and transferring his fief to another domain, and having Hidemune (later the founder of the Uwajima Domain) succeed him. However, due to suspicions about the Waga Rebellion, he also threw away the so-called "imperial seal of approval of one million koku" in 1602. Masamune's life up until the establishment of the Tokugawa government was the very image of a Sengoku daimyo, and his crisis management skills, which enabled him to overcome numerous crises, can be said to be an expression of his pride and determination as a traditional Oshu Tandai. In 1602, construction of a castle (Sendai Castle) began in Sendai, and in 1605, it was moved from Iwadeyama Castle, making him the founder of the powerful Sendai Domain, both in name and in reality. After the Battle of Sekigahara, in which he sided with the Tokugawa, his fiefdom was reduced to 600,000 koku (later 620,000 koku). Masamune was also educated in poetry, calligraphy, Noh, tea ceremony, and other areas taught by successive generations of the Date clan, making him the best of his time. He also set his sights abroad, and in September 1615, he sent Hasekura Tsunenaga and others to Mexico, Spain, and the Pope in an attempt to establish trade as the "King of Oshu," but was unsuccessful. In a poem entitled "I Wrote This Poem When I Want to Conquer the Southern Barbarians," there is a verse that reads, "I want to conquer the barbarians but have not succeeded. How long will the wings of the Southern Peng brave the long wait for the wind to shake thousands of miles?" This spirit may not be unrelated to the fact that he served as feudal lord for the rest of his life, until his death at the age of 70. Was Masamune satisfied with being the de facto ruler of Oshu and Uzen? In the latter half of his life, he devoted himself to managing his domain and trying to introduce culture. In the poem entitled "Suiyokou-go," Masamune's feelings are expressed in lines such as "As a young man on horseback, the world passes by in peace, with much gray hair remaining, how can heaven not forgive me?" and "Forty years ago, when I was young, I achieved some fame, but now I am old and unaware of the things I do, I just handle the spring breeze and the peach and plum trees."

(Saito Eiyu)

Date Masamune

Year of death: September 14, 12th year of the Oei period (October 7, 1405)
Year of birth: Bunwa 2/Shohei 8 (1353)
A military commander during the Northern and Southern Courts period. Son of Muneto, Daizen-no-taifu, Fifth Rank. Founder of the restoration of the Date clan. His wife was the daughter of Ishiyama-Zenpouji Michikiyo (Rantei-ni), and the younger sister of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's mother, Nori clan. In 1377, he formed an uprising with Yome Sango-no-kami, and twice fought against the Kamakura kubo, the Inamura and Sasakawa Imperial Palaces, over disputes over land ownership and other matters in 1399 and 1399. He took control of the Okitama region of Dewa Province that had been encroached upon by his father Muneto, and extended his control from Uda and Watari to central Miyagi Prefecture. He was also an accomplished waka poet, leaving behind poems such as Yamaka Kiri and Yamaka Yuki, which were included in the Shin Goshuishū. His family temple is Toko-ji Temple in Yubara, Shichikashuku-cho, Katta-gun, Miyagi Prefecture, and his grave is in Takemori and Natsumochi, Takabatake-cho, Yamagata Prefecture.

(Kiyoo Ito)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛永13.5.24(1636.6.27)
生年：永禄10.8.3(1567.9.5)
安土桃山から江戸時代前期の武将。仙台藩藩祖。幼名梵天丸,藤次郎。父は米沢城主輝宗,母は山形城主最上義守の娘義姫(保春院)。幼少のころ右眼を失明,「独眼竜」とも称された。従三位権中納言。賜称号羽柴のち松平。元和3(1617)年4月,日光東照宮の遷宮があった。現在,陽明門下から並んでいる諸大名献上の灯籠はこのときのものである。この中に政宗の献上した南蛮鉄の灯籠がある。政宗は,この時国元にあり情報入手が遅れた。しかし4月下旬,江戸にいる嗣子忠宗から諸大名灯籠献上の報せを受けるや,懇意にしている人々や幕府要人に手紙を送り自分の献上する灯籠の設置場所について巻き返しを図った。結果は「楼門之内」に決定し,満足できるものとなった。このことは政宗の普段からの人脈の広さ,要所を抑えた外交手腕を示している。『伊達治家記録』に,豊臣政権以来しばしば「御懇意ノ御方」と称される人々が登場,政宗のため種々画策している様子が記されている。 18歳で家督を相続して以来,天正16(1588),17年の南東北の統一と豊臣秀吉に対する弁明,18年の小田原参陣への遅参,18,19年の葛西大崎一揆および蒲生氏郷との確執,文禄4(1595)年の豊臣秀次事件と政宗への疑惑,慶長5(1600),6年の和賀一揆と伊達氏扇動説など,いずれも政宗の20歳代から30歳代前半にかけての血気盛んなときのことであり,ひとつ処置を誤れば伊達氏は滅亡の運命にあった。南東北の統一の時は,佐竹・葦名・大崎・最上氏らの包囲網に対し各個撃破と和睦策によって危機を脱し,小田原参陣では,伊達成実の主戦論(奥羽の覇者として豊臣軍を迎撃)と片倉景綱の参陣説(伊達氏の家名存続説)を慎重に判断している。徳川家康との親密さも葛西大崎一揆ごろには明確であり,政宗を遠流に処し,転封のうえ秀宗(後宇和島藩祖)に跡を継がせる処置まで考えたといわれる秀次事件のときの秀吉への家康の助言などはその一例といえよう。しかし,和賀一揆への疑惑から,慶長5年の所謂「百万石の御墨付」を棒に振ってもいる。徳川政権成立までの政宗の半生は,戦国大名の姿そのものであり,幾多の危機を乗り越えた危機管理能力は,伝統的な奥州探題として誇りと意地の発露といえる。慶長5年仙台に築城(仙台城)開始,8年岩出山城より移り,名実ともに外様の雄藩・仙台藩の藩祖となる。領知高は徳川方についた関ケ原の戦のあと60万石(のち62万石)。詩歌・書・能・茶道など伊達氏歴代の教養を,政宗もまた身に付けており,当代一級のものであった。海外にも広く眼を向け,慶長18年9月,支倉常長らを,メキシコ,スペイン,ローマ教皇のもとに派遣,「奥州王」として交易を画策したが,成功しなかった。「欲征南蛮時作此詩」と題する詩の一節に「欲征蛮国未成功図南鵬翼何時奮久待扶揺万里風」と詠んだ気概は70歳で没するまで終生藩主の座にあったことと無縁ではないかもしれない。政宗は,実質上の奥羽の覇者で満足だったのだろうか。後半生は,領国経営に専念し,文化の導入を図った。「酔余口号」と題した「馬上少年過世平白髪多残躯天所赦不楽是如何」また「四十年前少壮時功名聊復自私期老来不識干戈事只把春風桃李巵」に政宗の気持が現れている。

(齋藤鋭雄)

伊達政宗

没年：応永12.9.14(1405.10.7)
生年：文和2/正平8(1353)
南北朝時代の武将。宗遠の子,大膳大夫,五位下。伊達氏中興の祖。夫人は石清水善法寺通清の娘(蘭庭尼)で足利義満の母紀氏の妹。永和3/天授3(1377)年余目参河守と一揆を結び,また応永6(1399)年,9年の2度にわたり鎌倉公方,稲村,篠河両御所と料所をめぐる対立などから戦う。父宗遠が侵食した出羽国置賜地域を掌握するとともに,宇多,亘理から宮城県中部にまで支配の手をのばす。和歌にもすぐれ山家霧,山家雪などの詠歌を残し,『新後拾遺集』にも入選。菩提寺は宮城県刈田郡七ケ宿町湯原の東光寺,墓は山形県高畠町竹森と同町夏茂にある。

(伊藤清郎)

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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