Date (clan)
The Date clan ( Japanese 伊達 氏 , Date-shi ) was a family or princely dynasty that ruled northern Japan (the Tōhoku region) from the late 16th century to the Edo period . The most famous representative of the Date noble family was Date Masamune , who established the power of the family through his father's revenge and through the support of Tokugawa Ieyasu . In the Edo period, the Date belonged to the great Tozama daimyo .
The family coat of arms ( Mon ) of Date Take-ni-suzume ( 竹 に 雀 ) depicts two sparrows in a bamboo bush .
history
The Date clan was in the early Kamakura period (1185-1333) of Isa Tomomune founded, originally from the county Isa the province Hitachi came (now Ibaraki Prefecture ) and in the 16th generation descendant of Fujiwara no Uona (721-783). The family was named after Date County (today: Fukushima Prefecture ) in Mutsu Province , which was given to Isa Tomomune by Minamoto no Yoritomo , the first Kamakura Shogun , in 1189 as thanks for his assistance during the Gempei War (1180 –1185) and during Minamoto no Yoritomo's power struggle against his brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune .
During the Namboku-chō Wars around 1330, the Date supported the southern court of Emperor Go-Daigo through Kitabatake Akiie , who was appointed by the emperor to Chinjufu Shogun , the commander of the defense of the north.
During the Sengoku period , when many warlords tried to unite the country, gaining and losing power in the process, the Date Klan, along with several other Klan families, sought to maintain their independence and supremacy over their fiefdoms (in the case of the Date, the far north of Japan). Although the date did not achieve the fame and power of Oda Nobunaga , Uesugi Kenshin or Toyotomi Hideyoshi , they were able to defend themselves against the invasion of those warlords into the north. Date Masamune (1566–1636) contributed significantly to these efforts by moving the clan families of the north to form an alliance against the most important and most dangerous warlords for the north.
In 1589 Masamune took over the Aizu region (later the Aizu fiefdom ) of the Ashina clan and established himself in Kurokawa Castle in Wakamatsu (today: Aizu-Wakamatsu ). But the following year Toyotomi Hideyoshi triumphed over the Hojo of Odawara and he signed Masamune to be content with the fiefdom of Yonezawa (300,000 koku ). Masamune eventually gained some degree of independence through the support of Tokugawa Ieyasu .
Ieyasu granted the date much of the north and yet he did not fully trust the Date clan. Although the Date sent reinforcements for the Tokugawa to the Battle of Sekigahara , the Date were viewed as a threat. In the Edo period , the Date were counted among the Tozama clans or outsider clans, in contrast to the Fudai or Shimpan clans and in contrast to daimyōs , who were either hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan.
In 1600 Ieyasu ordered the Date to fight Uesugi Kagekatsu and, with the help of Mogami Yoshiteru , Masamune's forces defeated Naoe Kanetsugu . To recognize the success in the battle, Masamune fiefs were given in twelve circles that had previously belonged to the Uesugi clan. Date Masamune settled in Sendai (620,000 Koku ). Around 1658 Masamune changed the name of Uesugi's Castle near Iwatezawa to Sendai Castle . Feudal rulers were sometimes referred to by the name of their castle and the suffix -kō . Sendai-kō was one of the names by which Date Masamune was known.
Later, a dispute over succession broke out, as there were a number of direct descendants of Date Masamune and many relatives and hereditary vassals of Date who lived on properties in the area and who received at least 10,000 koku , which gave them some influence.
In 1660, Date Tsunamune was arrested in Edo for drunkenness and indecent debauchery. Tsunamune was sentenced to dig the moats that surrounded the Shogun's castle in Edo. In the same year he was also ordered to pay for the extension of the north-eastern moats that ran from the double arch bridge (Megane-Baschi) to Ushigome Gate and to supervise the work.
It is believed that vassals and relatives in the north encouraged Dates to make these initial expenditures on a dissolute lifestyle. These vassals and relatives appealed to the Council of Elders in Edo that Tsunamune should not be considered fit to rule and that instead his son Date Tsunamura , great-grandson of Date Masamune , should become daimyo of the Date fief. Thus, under the tutelage of his uncles, Date Munekatsu and Date Muneyoshi , Tsunamura became a daimyo.
Ten years of violence and conflict followed, culminating in 1671 when Aki Muneshige , a powerful relative of the Date, complained to the shogunate about the mismanagement of the fiefdoms under Tsunamura and his uncles. The entanglements that followed were complex and dramatic and came to be known as the " Date Sōdō " ( date riot or unrest ).
Aki was summoned to Edo to present his complaint to various councils and officials and, like other Date followers, participated in a series of interrogations, inquiries, and meetings. One henchman, Harada Kai Munesuke , was a supporter of Tsunamuras and his uncles, but, it appears, he made a bad impression in Edo. At one point Aki met Harada while he was waiting to meet some of the officers. Aki then started screaming insults. Swords were drawn and Aki was slain by Harada. Harada himself was killed moments later, whether by the officers or the guard is uncertain. The official verdict confirmed that Harada drew the sword first and was thus rightly killed. The Harada family was dissolved, and although Tsunamura was confirmed as a daimyo , his two uncles Date Munekatsu and Date Muneyoshi were punished.
Although the Date Klan for its position of power in northern Japan, i.e. H. in the Tōhoku region , best known, Date Hidemune , the second son of Date Masamune , also owned a fiefdom of over 100,000 Koku on Shikoku , namely that of Uwajima .
Klan genealogy
The tozama Date clan originated in Shimousa Province in the 12th century. The date claim to be descended from the Fujiwara .
The branches of the tozama Date clan include the following:
- The daimyos of the Mutsu province from the 12th century belonged to the leading branch of the Date, the founding branch . In 1601 they moved the headquarters of their clan to Sendai . From the early 17th century until 1868, the Date continuously held the Sendai (620,000 Koku ) region in Mutsu Province . The leader of this primary clan line was ennobled as a "Count" with an inheritable title in the Meiji period .
- This leading branch of the date produced a nominal "branch" or side branch. Date Tadamune (1599–1658), a son of Date Masamune , fathered several sons. Tadamune's second son, Date Muneyoshi (1637-1678), revived the name of Tamura , an old Mutsu noble family that had been abandoned by Masamune. Date Muneyoshi or Tamura Muneyoshi, as he was now called, settled in the Ichinoseki region (30,000 Koku ) in Mutsu Province (now: Iwate Prefecture ), where his descendants resided until 1868. The leader of this clan line was raised again to "Count" with an inheritable title during the Meiji period .
- A younger branch of the Date was created in 1614. This line of clans was founded in the Uwajima domain (100,000 koku ) in Iyo province . Date Munenari (1818-1892) was a prominent member of this date branch. He played an important role in the early days of the Meiji Restoration and he was among the first to persevere in the ousting of the shogunate forces. As leaders of this clan line, Munenari and his heirs were ennobled as a kind of " marquis " in the Meiji period .
- Another younger branch of the Date was created in 1657. That year, a separate clan line was established at Yoshida Castle (30,000 Koku) in Iyo Province . The leader of this clan line was ennobled as a kind of " baron " during the Meiji period .
Klan Temple in Edo (Tōzen-ji)
During the Edo period , Tōzen-ji was considered a family temple for many different clans, including the Sendai Date clan . Other clans who counted the Tōzen-ji temple to their clan temple were the Ikeda clan from the Ōmi province , the Inaba clan from the Usuki region in the Bungo province , the Suwa clan from Shinshu , the Tamura from Ichinoseki and the Mōri clan from Bungo Province.
literature
- Sansom, George (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
- Sengoku Biographical Dictionary FWSeal & CEWest, 2005 (Samurai-Archives.com)
