Letter by Mouri Hidenari
- Person
-
作者毛利秀就
- Date
-
制作年 AD17
- Title
- モウリヒデナリヒツショウソク
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-001652-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
-
慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Handwriting Font Material property Writing Monochrome
Mouri Hidenari (1595-1651) was the governor of Choshu in Nagato Province (today’s Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), who lived during the early Edo Period. As the first son of the famous General Mouri Terumoto (1553-1625), Hidenari was born at Hiroshima Castle in Aki (today’s Hiroshima) and, in 1599, at the age of five, was granted the Chinese character making up the first part of his name, “hide-” (lit. excellent, exceeding others), from the name of Toyotomi Hideyori (1593-1615). When the Battle of Sekigahara erupted in the following year (1600), Terumoto, one of the Five Elders of the Toyotomi regency, was accused of being the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Forces (followers of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hideyori’s father). When the Toyotomis lost the battle, two-thirds of Terumoto’s estate was confiscated by the victorious Tokugawa government. As an expression of obedience, Terumoto became a Buddhist monk and retired, nominating the 6-year-old Hidenari to head the Mouri family. But it was a nominal position as the father continued to wield power behind the scenes. In July 1608, Hidenari married the daughter of Yuki Hideyasu (1574-1607), who was the second son of Generalissimo Tokugawa Ieyasu (the founder of the Tokugawa military government), and was appointed Lord of Nagato in September of the same year. He was only 14 then. In 1650, Governor of Nagato Hidenari completed the survey and land development in his estates in Suo and Choshu (both in today’s Yamaguchi Prefecture), thus laying down the foundation for local administration.Showing a format of olden days, this letter is written on Japanese paper folded in half, so when unfolded, one half appears right side up and the other, upside down. To write this type of letter, the folded edge of the paper was kept at the bottom. When one side was written, the paper, still folded, was turned over and the letter continued on the other side, again keeping the fold at the bottom. Since the two halves appeared reversed, when it came to framing such a letter, it was often cut along the fold and framed with both halves right side up. In this letter, Hidenari advises the recipient that he is going to return to headquarters on May 13th and signs it “Hidenari, Governor of Nagato,.” When one considers that Hidenari was only 14 when he was nominated to this position in 1608, and considers the somewhat untrained hand, this letter was perhaps written when he was 14 or 15. However, although the hand is not that of a trained calligrapher, it does exhibit confidence and boldness, proof of the writer’s good breeding.
［上段］又々 かしく 文ひけん申 まいらせ候今日三田尻へつき申候そ こ元ヘハ十三日ニ つき可申候 間その心得あるへく候 われら事き ふんよく候間心安かるへく候 ［下段］さう／＼申こされまんそく申候なをかさねて申まいらせ候めてたく又々かしくなかと三月五日ひて就（花押）やしきへまいる御報
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- Letter by Mouri Hidenari
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