Yoshitsugu Otani

Japanese: 大谷吉継 - おおたに・よしつぐ

Year of death: September 15, 1600 (October 21, 1600)
Year of birth: 1559
A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He is said to be the son of Otani Moriharu, a vassal of Otomo Sorin, a feudal lord in the Sengoku period of Bungo, but there is also a theory that he was born in Omi. Commonly known as Kinosuke, he was called Osakabe and given the name Yoshitaka. It is unclear when he began serving Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but it is said that he first gained Hideyoshi's trust as a page. In the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he achieved military merit second only to the Seven Spears, and in 1583, he was appointed to the rank of Junior Fifth Rank and Osakabe Shoyu. However, he was not a military hero, but rather an administrative officer, and served as a logistics magistrate with Ishida Mitsunari during the Kyushu campaign, and later served as a land survey magistrate with Mitsunari and others. He was particularly close with Mitsunari, and this foreshadows his later years. In 1584, he became the lord of Tsuruga Castle in Echizen, and became a daimyo with a stipend of 50,000 koku. Later, he also played an active role in the siege of Odawara and the subsequent pacification of Oshu and Uzen, and during the Bunroku War, he served as a shipping magistrate together with Ishida Mitsunari. He also crossed the seas as a magistrate for warfare and negotiated peace with the Ming army. After Hideyoshi's death, Yoshitsugu showed a willingness to cooperate with Tokugawa Ieyasu's project to unify the country, and in July 1600 (Keicho 5), he left Tsuruga to accompany Ieyasu in his attack on Aizu. On the way, he sent a messenger to Ishida Mitsunari at Sawayama Castle, asking Mitsunari's son Shigeie to accompany him, but Mitsunari instead invited Yoshitsugu to Sawayama Castle, where he conveyed his intention to attack Ieyasu for the first time. Yoshitsugu tried to persuade him to reconsider, but upon learning that Mitsunari was determined, Yoshitsugu decided to join him out of their long-standing friendship, and returned his troops to Tsuruga, where he fought and defeated the forces of Maeda Toshinaga, who was on Ieyasu's side. Learning that Ieyasu had raised an army in Koyama, Shimotsuke, and was heading west instead of attacking Aizu, Yoshitsugu traveled from Tsuruga to Sekigahara, where he personally stationed himself at Fujikawadai, on the northern foot of Mt. Matsuo, to prepare for Kobayakawa Hideaki, whom he had long suspected. During the battle on September 15, he managed to fend off an attack by Todo Takatora and Kyogoku Takashige of the Eastern Army, but was attacked by the forces of Kobayakawa Hideaki, who had betrayed the Eastern Army, and after a brave fight, he committed suicide. It is said that he covered his face mask while in camp due to illness, and in the "Sekigahara Battle Screen" he is depicted with his head wrapped in a white hood.

(Tetsuo Owada)

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

Japanese:

没年：慶長5.9.15(1600.10.21)
生年：永禄2(1559)
安土桃山時代の武将。豊後の戦国大名大友宗麟の家臣大谷盛治の子といわれているが,近江の出身とする説もある。通称紀之介。刑部と称し,名は吉隆ともいった。いつから豊臣秀吉に仕えるようになったかは不明で,はじめ小姓として秀吉の信任を受けたといわれている。天正11(1583)年の賤ケ岳の戦では七本槍に次ぐ戦功をたて,同13年従五位下・刑部少輔に叙任されている。しかし武功派タイプではなく吏僚派タイプで,九州攻めには石田三成と共に兵站奉行を務め,のち,やはり三成らと検地奉行などを務めた。三成とは特に仲がよく,これが後年の伏線となっている。同17年,越前敦賀城主となり,5万石の大名となった。その後,小田原攻めとそれに続く奥羽の平定にも力を発揮し,また,文禄の役には石田三成と共に船奉行を務めた。さらに督戦の奉行として渡海し,明軍との和平交渉にも当たっている。秀吉死後,徳川家康の天下統一事業に協力する姿勢を示し,慶長5(1600)年7月には家康の会津攻めに従うため敦賀を発ち,途中使者を佐和山城の石田三成に遣わし,三成の子重家の同道を求めたが,三成はかえって吉継を佐和山城に招き,はじめて家康を討つ意思を伝えている。吉継は思いとどまるよう説得したが,三成の意思の固いことを知り,長年の友誼から行動を共にすることを決意し,そのまま兵を敦賀にもどし,家康方の前田利長軍と戦ってこれを破った。家康が下野小山で三成らの挙兵を知り,会津攻めを中止して西上すると知った吉継は,敦賀から関ケ原に向かい,かねてから疑いを抱いていた小早川秀秋に備えるため松尾山の北麓藤川台に自ら布陣している。9月15日の戦闘のとき,一度は東軍藤堂高虎,京極高知らの攻撃を退けたが,東軍に内応した小早川秀秋軍に攻められ,奮闘の末,自刃して果てた。病のため陣中でも面体を包んだと伝えられ,「関ケ原合戦図屏風」にも頭を白い頭巾でつつんだ姿で描かれている。

(小和田哲男)

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