Who was this person?
A Sengoku lord of Dewa and Mutsu (Tōhoku) and first lord of the Sendai domain. Taking over young, he won much of southern Tōhoku before submitting to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He sided with the Tokugawa at Sekigahara and built Sendai Castle and its town. He sent his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga to Europe and, having lost his right eye to illness as a child, is called the "One-Eyed Dragon".
| Name | Date Masamune (伊達政宗) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1567 – 1636 |
| Period | Sengoku–Edo |
| Birthplace | Yonezawa, Dewa Province (now Yamagata) |
| Also known as | Bontenmaru (childhood name), the One-Eyed Dragon |
| Main achievements |
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Born the eldest son of Date Terumune at Yonezawa castle in Dewa (Yamagata); his childhood name was Bontenmaru.
Around this time smallpox cost him the sight of his right eye. It made him a shy child, but under the strict teaching of the monk Kosai Sōotsu he grew strong, it is said. He was later called the "One-Eyed Dragon".
At 12 he married Megohime, daughter of Tamura Kiyoaki, lord of Miharu castle.
At 17 he became head of the Date house; his father Terumune retired early to support him.
Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu of Nihonmatsu, who had offered to submit, abducted his father Terumune; in the clash with pursuing Date troops, his father died along with Yoshitsugu. Grief-stricken, Masamune attacked Nihonmatsu fiercely.
He defeated the Ashina of Aizu at Suriagehara and entered Kurokawa castle (later Aizu-Wakamatsu). Controlling most of southern Tōhoku, at 22 he became the greatest lord of the north.
He arrived late for Hideyoshi's Odawara campaign, appearing before Hideyoshi, it is said, in white garments as if ready to die. He was spared but stripped of Aizu and other lands.
Suspected of secretly stirring the Kasai-Ōsaki uprising, he defended himself before Hideyoshi in Kyoto—appearing, one story goes, carrying a golden cross. He was transferred and moved to Iwadeyama castle.
At Sekigahara he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army. From the next year he began building Sendai castle and its town, founding what became the 620,000-koku Sendai domain.
He sent his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga and others to Spain and the Pope in Rome, seeking direct trade with Mexico, but partly because the shogunate banned Christianity, it came to nothing.
He fought on the Tokugawa side in the Osaka campaigns, then served three shoguns—Ieyasu, Hidetada and Iemitsu—developing new rice fields and works on the Kitakami River in his domain. He was also a man of culture, versed in cooking, waka and Noh.
He died of illness at his Edo residence; the third shogun Iemitsu is said to have grieved deeply. He is enshrined at Zuihōden in Sendai.
A. A Sengoku lord of Dewa and Mutsu (Tōhoku) and first lord of the Sendai domain. Taking over young, he won much of southern Tōhoku before submitting to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He sided with the Tokugawa at Sekigahara and built Sendai Castle and its town. He sent his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga to Europe and, having lost his right eye to illness as a child, is called the "One-Eyed Dragon".
A. Period: Sengoku–Edo. Born in 1567, died in 1636.
A. Date Masamune was born in Yonezawa, Dewa Province (now Yamagata).
A. A mission Masamune sent in 1613 under his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga to Spain and Rome. It aimed mainly to open trade with Mexico, but as Japan tightened its ban on Christianity the trade never materialised.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Toyotomi HideyoshiTokugawa IeyasuHasekura TsunenagaMogami YoshiakiSatake YoshishigeGamō UjisatoKatakura Kagetsuna
Hosokawa TadaokiWilliam Adams (Miura Anjin)Ikeda TerumasaŌtani YoshitsuguSanada Yukimura (Nobushige)Tachibana MuneshigeKuroda NagamasaYodo-dono
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.