Masahide Hirate

Japanese: 平手政秀 - ひらて・まさひで

Year of death: Tenbun 22, leap year 1, 13 (February 25, 1553)
Year of birth: Meiō 1 (1492)
A military commander in the Sengoku period. Son of Hirate Tsunehide. Commonly known as Gorozaemon. He was called Kanmontsu and Nakatsukasa no Jo. His original name was Kiyohide. He was a senior vassal of Oda Nobuhide, and when Nobuhide bestowed Nagoya Castle on Nobunaga, he became Nobunaga's tutor as his elder retainer. In 1543 (Tenbun 12), he went to Kyoto by order of Nobuhide and presented 4,000 kanmon as a repair fee for the Imperial Palace grounds. In 1543, Masahide served as his guardian at Nobunaga's first battle. Also in the same year, after Nobuhide's battle with Saito Dosan of Mino, it was Masahide who arranged for Dosan's daughter (Nōhime) to be married to Nobunaga in order to facilitate peace between the two. Even after Nobuhide's death in 1547, Nobunaga continued to behave unaltered, and it is said that he often gave him advice. The common belief is that he committed suicide out of despair after his repeated advice went unheeded, but according to the Shincho-kōki, the relationship between the two became strained after Nobunaga refused to give Masahide a fine horse owned by his son.

(Tetsuo Owada)

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

Japanese:

没年：天文22.閏1.13(1553.2.25)
生年：明応1(1492)
戦国時代の武将。平手経秀の子。通称五郎左衛門。監物,中務丞を称した。名ははじめ清秀。織田信秀の重臣で,信秀が信長に那古野城(名古屋城)を与えたとき,家老として信長の傅役となった。天文12(1543)年,信秀の命によって上洛し,内裏築地修理料として4000貫文を献上している。同16年,信長初陣に当たっては,政秀が後見を務めた。また同年,信秀と美濃斎藤道三との戦いのあと,両者の講和をはかろうと,道三の娘(濃姫)を信長に嫁がせるよう斡旋したのも政秀であった。同20年に信秀が死んでからも素行の改まらない信長に対し,しばしば諫言をしたといわれている。通説では,たびたびの諫言が聞きいれられないのを悲観して自刃したとされるが,『信長公記』によると,政秀の子が持っていた名馬を信長が所望し,それを拒絶して以来,両者の関係が不和になったとしている。

(小和田哲男)

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