Utsunomiya Kunitsuna

Japanese: 宇都宮国綱 - うつのみや・くにつな

Year of death: November 22, 1608 (January 9, 1608)
Year of birth: Eiroku 11 (1568)
A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Son of Hirotsuna and Nanroin, daughter of Satake Yoshiaki of Hitachi Province. Childhood name Ise Tomomaru. Junior Fourth Rank, Lower. Served as Shimotsuke no Kami, Carpenter's Head, and Chamberlain. In 1578 (Tensho 6), he inherited the family headship from his father. He formed alliances with the Nasu clan in the northeastern part of Shimotsuke, the Yuki clan in Shimousa, and the Satake clan in Hitachi, and opposed the advance of the Odawara Hojo clan into northern Kanto. However, due to the offensive of the Hojo clan, he was forced to move his base from the flat Utsunomiya Castle to the sturdy mountain castle of Takiyama Castle in August 1581. In the siege of Odawara in 1582, he participated in the campaign under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and was granted the right to keep his territory. However, he came into conflict with Nagamasa when he refused Hideyoshi's offer to adopt the son of Asano Nagamasa, a subordinate of Nagamasa, and in 1597 (Keicho 2), he was ordered by Hideyoshi to remove his title from the ranks. Kunitsuna was considerate of his retainers, saying that he would be happy to "go to either side and take the lord." He hoped to restore his power through his military achievements in the Korean expedition, but this was not possible with Hideyoshi's death, and he died at Ishihama in Musashi. There is also a theory that he died on December 22 (February 8, 1608).

(Yoshio Arakawa)

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

Japanese:

没年：慶長12.11.22(1608.1.9)
生年：永禄11(1568)
安土桃山時代の武将。広綱と常陸国佐竹義昭の娘南呂院の子。幼名伊勢寿丸。従四位下。下野守,木工頭,侍従を歴任。天正6(1578)年に父より家督を継承。下野北東部の那須氏,下総の結城氏,常陸の佐竹氏らと盟約を結び,小田原北条氏の北関東進出に対抗した。しかし北条氏の攻勢のなかで,天正13年8月本拠を平城の宇都宮城から堅固な山城の多気山城に移さざるを得なかった。天正18年の小田原攻めでは豊臣秀吉の下に参陣し,本領を安堵された。ところが,秀吉の部将浅野長政の子を養子にとの申し出を拒否して長政と対立し,慶長2(1597)年には秀吉の命で改易に処せられた。国綱は,「何方へも罷り越し,主(主君)取り」してもよいといって家臣を思いやった。その後も朝鮮出兵での戦功により再興を期すが,秀吉の死によってかなわず,武蔵の石浜で没したという。なお没した日を12月22日(1608年2月8日)とする説もある。

(荒川善夫)

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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