Letter by Date Masamune
- Person
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作者伊達政宗
- Date
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制作年 AD17
- Title
- ダテマサムネヒツショウソク
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-000948-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
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慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Font Rectangle Wood Monochrome Monochrome photography
A military commander active from the end of Momoyama Period to the early Edo Period, Lord Date Masamune (1567-1636) was born in Yonezawa, Dewa Province (today’s Yamagata Pref.), the first son of Date Terumune (1544-85). His childhood name was Bonten-Maru, which was changed to Masamune when he came of age in 1577. But after he lost sight in one eye, he was nicknamed “Singled-Eyed Dragon”. Masamune succeeded his father as head of the family at age 18. Thereafter, he enlarged the family sphere of influence in and around Yonezawa. In 1589, he defeated his old adversary Ashina Yoshihiro and moved into Aizu Kurokawa Castle, which was later called Aizu Wakamatsu Castle. In the following year, however, Toyotomi Hideyoshi confiscated Aizu, Iwase, and Asaka estates that belonged to Masamune, and the lord was forced to return to Yonezawa Castle. In 1591, he put down the riots that erupted in Kasai and Osaki, in northern Japan, and was given Iwadeyama Castle as a reward. During the Bunroku Campaign of 1592, in which Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent an invading army to the Korean Peninsula, Lord Date Masamune went to serve at the Nagoya war headquarters set up in Hizen (today’s Saga Pref.), from where he crossed the straight to invade Korea. After his return to Japan, he became entangled in a revolt plotted by Toyotomi Hidetsugu and was ordered to house arrest. He was soon pardoned and fought on the Tokugawa side during the Battle of Sekigahara and defeated General Uesugi Kagekatsu, a warlord in Aizu. Later, Masamune built a new castle in Sendai (1603) and consolidated his estates, thus laying the foundation of the great Date House of 620,000-goku (rice bales) in Sendai Province. He died at age 70 at the Date government mansions in Edo.Masamune was a bold, daring and formidable military general, but he also cultivated a taste for Japanese poetry, sado (way of tea), and Noh theatre and was instrumental in introducing to the remote northern regions the splendor of Momoyama culture. Not only that, he also had a progressive mind and a grand vision for the world beyond Japan, sending at one point envoy Hasekura Tsunenaga to Rome to seek an audience with the pope.Date Masamune had many children – 10 boys and four girls. This hiragana letter was written to his second daughter, Omu-u, born in 1608 to the then 42-year-old Masamune and his consort, Lady Shibata. When she was 12, Omu-u had been betrothed to Ishikawa Muneyoshi, one of Masamune’s retainers. In fact, the Ishikawa family was the closest-serving retainers for the Date family, and Muneyoshi’s grandfather, Akimitsu, was actually Masamune’s uncle.After the birth of his first daughter, Iroha, Masamune had a succession of sons, so when Omu-u was born, he was particularly elated and doted on her. In this letter, Masamune shows his fatherly concerns about Omu-u’s safety, the holding of a Buddhist rite, and then offers to send her some fish in season.
［上段］折りふしに まかせさかなともつかそもしうもしの わし申候 しやうし合よりのちハ文もしあるへく候にても不申候としのこさいへちゃうりのうへとハ申なからやうす申こし候いとしき事にて候かしくかもしにちゃをもすゝめ申候まゝ心やすく候へく候［下段］さためてやうやくしやうしんあけ候やとそんし候かしく六月（より）四日おむうまさまいる
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- Letter by Date Masamune
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