Kitsuno(Sinh câu cát nãi,Ikoma Kitsuno,1528[a]– 31 May 1566)was a Japanese woman from theSengoku periodto theAzuchi–Momoyama period.[2][3]She was aconcubineofOda Nobunaga,a SengokuDaimyōof theOwari Province.[4]
Her posthumous Buddhist name isKyūan Keishō Daizenjō-ni(Lâu am quế xương đại thiền định ni).
Name
editThe name of this woman, who was Nobunaga's concubine and the daughter of Ikoma Iemune, is unknown, as is the case with many women of this period. She is merely listed asa womanin the family tree and her official name has not been passed down to the Ikoma family.[5][6] She is generally known asKitsuno(Cát nãi),but this name was popularised byBukō Yawa[b]and does not appear in any of the Ikoma family archives or other historical documents.[5][6] In recent years, rumours have circulated on the internet and elsewhere that the Ikoma family called herRui(Loại)orOrui(お loại),but these stories were written inBukō Yawa,[b]and there is no such mention in the ancient documents left by the Ikoma family.[7][8]
Documents in the Ikoma family from the early to the end of the Edo period list her asKeishō(Quế xương)orKeishō-ni(Quế xương ni),which seems to be taken from part of her commandment name, and from the Taisho era to the pre-war period, the Ikoma family called herKyūan(Lâu am)orKyūan-san(Lâu am さん),which is also taken from part of her commandment name.[6][7]
Life
editShe was born as the eldest daughter of Ikoma Iemune, a local clan of Koori, Niwa County, Owari Province (presentKōnan, Aichi Prefecture), who served the Oda clan.[9]
Kitsuno was married once before becoming Nobunaga's concubine. The Maeno family documents,Bukō YawaandBukō Yawa Shūi,[b]state that she first marriedDota Yaheiji,aGōzokuofMino Province,who was killed in action.[9]However, he is only mentioned in the Ikoma family tree as acertain Yaheiji,and for reasons unknown, his family name is not given and his origins are unclear.[c][7] After the loss of her husband, Kitsuno returned to her family's home, Ikoma mansion. It was there that she met Oda Nobunaga.[9]
As Nobunaga's concubine, she bore his heirNobutada,his second sonNobukatsuand his eldest daughterTokuhimefor three consecutive years from 1557.[3][7] According to one theory, Nobutada was adopted as Nobunaga's legitimate son by his legal wife,Nōhime,who had no children with Nobunaga.[9][10] Nobukatsu was adopted by theKitabatake clanto avoid a succession struggle with Nobutada, while Tokuhime marriedMatsudaira Nobuyasu,the legitimate son ofTokugawa Ieyasu,an ally of Nobunaga.[9]
She is said to have not recover from the postpartum, and died in 1566. If she was born in 1528, she would have died at the age of 39, and in 1538, she would have died at the age of 29.[2][3]
After her death, she was given the commandment nameKyūan Keishō Daizenjō-ni(Lâu am quế xương đại thiền định ni),and her family temple,Kyūshō-ji(Lâu xương chùa),received 660kokufrom Nobunaga as an incense fee.[2] Kyūshō-ji was rebuilt in 1566 after Nobunaga ordered it to be her family temple.[d][6][11] Kyūshō-ji was also protected byToyotomi Hideyoshiand memorial services were held by the Kashiwabara clan, which was descended from the Oda clan (Nobukatsu), during theEdo period. Since then, it has been maintained by the Ikoma family, Kitsuno's birthplace, as a family temple for generations, but it became difficult due to the age of the building and costs, and was closed in 2022 after Kōnan City concluded that it would not provide a budget to maintain the temple.[2][11]
Her other family temple,Sofuku-jiinGifu Prefecture,became the family temple of the Oda family after Kitsuno's tablets were enshrined there, and the tombs of Nobunaga and Nobutada were also built by Nobunaga's concubineOnabe no Kata.[12]
Legend of Nobunaga's beloved
editKitsuno was the beloved of Nobunaga inBukō Yawa.[b]According to the book, she and Nobunaga met at the Ikoma family mansion. At the time, the Ikoma family belonged to Oda Nobukiyo, lord of Inuyama Castle, but also did business as a samurai merchant, and various people from different provinces came to their mansion and gathered a lot of information. Nobunaga, who valued the gathering of information above all else, had noticed the wealth and intelligence of the Ikoma family and had visited their mansion many times. It was during one of these visits that Nobunaga met Kitsuno and fell in love at first sight. He frequented the Ikoma residence and eventually decided to take her as his concubine.[9]
InBukō Yawa,[b]Nobunaga built a palace in Komakiyama Castle, which he built as a base for his Mino campaign, to welcome Kitsuno. When Nobunaga learnt that Kitsuno was unwell, he went to the Ikoma residence, placed her in a palanquin and personally escorted her to Komakiyama Castle. Nobunaga visited her frequently, but her illness did not improve and she died at the age of 39 in 1566, a year after moving to Komakiyama Castle. When Kitsuno died, Nobunaga is said to have wept for three days and three nights without being seen. These episodes made Ikoma Kitsuno famous as 'the woman most loved by Nobunaga'.[2]
Bukō Yawa[b]also states that at Ikoma Mansion, where Nobunaga and Kitsuno met, there were various other encounters that had a great impact on later generations. For example, it is said that it was here thatHachisuka Koroku,who was related to the Ikoma family, metHashiba Hideyoshi,who he later served. There is also an anecdote that it was Kitsuno who introduced Hideyoshi to Nobunaga.[2]
However, there is no similar description in the Ikoma family archives that provided information toBukō Yawa[b]authors, nor in other historical documents, and either episodes are considered to be later creations.[3]
Meanwhile, a document from Kyūshō-ji, Kitsuno's family temple, mentions that Nobunaga climbed the turret of Komakiyama Castle and wept as he gazed into the smoke of her cremation.[3]
Notes
edit- ^There is a theory that she was born in 1538.[1][unreliable source?]
- ^abcdefgBukō YawaandBukō Yawa Shūiare family historical documents that are said to be modern translations of the contents of an ancient document called the Maeno family archives, which were found in a broken storehouse of the Maeno family, an old family inKōnan City,afterIsewan Typhoonin 1959, and published as a book. Some writers and TV stations were attracted to the book because of its interesting story, and a number of novels and dramas were produced, but from the outset there were suspicions that the book was aforgery.However, many historical researchers referred to the book at the time, and Kōnan City and neighbouring municipalities organised study groups on the book as local history and used it for tourism and regional development. The Ikoma family claims that these are novels because Yoshida Tatsumo, who says he translated them into modern languages, interviewed the Ikoma family before publication, saying he was writing a novel. As the Yoshida side has not released the original documents, no clear conclusion has been reached after years of authenticity disputes. However, there is a tacit understanding among historical researchers that the document should not be used.[6]
- ^The Ikoma family speculates that he was somehow inconvenient to the Oda clan and was therefore ambiguous.
- ^The temple was originally founded in 1384 during theMuromachi periodand renamed Kūshō-ji after Kitsuno's commandment name.
References
edit- ^Xuyên thôn một ngạn.Ong cần hạ tiểu lục の hình tượng(in Japanese). Lịch sử nghiên cứu sẽ. p. 28.[unreliable source?]
- ^abcdef"Oda Nobunaga の chuẩn chính thất!? “Sinh câu cát nãi” という nữ tính が chiến quốc thời đại にもたらした đại きな ảnh hưởng 【 sau biên 】 "[Oda Nobunaga's quasi-legal wife! The great influence of a woman called Ikoma Kitsuno on the Sengoku period Part 2.].excite news(in Japanese). Excite Japan. 30 October 2022.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^abcde"Sông lớn ドラマ “Kỳ lân がくる”, xuyên khẩu xuân nại の quy điệp は “Định phiên” を siêu えるか "[Taiga drama Kirin ga Kuru, will Haruna Kawaguchi's Kichō surpass the standard?].Yomiuri Shimbun(in Japanese). Tokyo. 8 January 2020.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^"Tin trường “Yêu nhất の nữ tính” bồ đề chùa lấy り壊しへ 630 năm trở lên の lịch sử に mạc ".Mỗi ngày tin tức(in Japanese).Retrieved2023-05-01.
- ^abMizuno, Seishiro (25 June 2022)."Bổn đương の chính thất は sinh câu gia の nương だと tư います"[I think the real lawful wife is the daughter of the Ikoma family.].Chunichi Shimbun(in Japanese). Aichi.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^abcdeMizuno, Seishiro (31 May 2022)."Tin trường ゆかり の cổ tháp lấy り壊し vấn đề メディアも hoặc わす sách giả nghi hoặc の ある thư tịch とは?"[The issue of the demolition of an ancient temple associated with Nobunaga - What is the alleged fake book that is also misleading the media?].Yahoo! News(in Japanese).Yahoo! Japan.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^abcdIkoma, Hideo."Quân の danh は hy vọng - lâu am とは, nùng cơ とは"[Your Name is Hope - What is Kyūan and what is Nōhime?] (in Japanese). General Incorporated Association Ikoma Yashiki Rekishi Bunko.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^Ikoma, Hideo."Bỉ nữ の danh trước は…"[Her name is...] (in Japanese). General Incorporated Association Ikoma Yashiki Rekishi Bunko.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^abcdef"Oda Nobunaga の chuẩn chính thất!? “Sinh câu cát nãi” という nữ tính が chiến quốc thời đại にもたらした đại きな ảnh hưởng 【 trước biên 】 "[Oda Nobunaga's quasi-legal wife! The great influence of a woman called Ikoma Kitsuno on the Sengoku period Part 1.].excite news(in Japanese). Excite Japan. 28 October 2022.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^"Trai đằng nói tam の nương にして Oda Nobunaga の chính thất ・ nùng cơ の sóng loạn と mê に mãn ちた kiếp sống を truy う【 sau biên 】"[Daughter of Saito Dōsan and lawful wife of Oda Nobunaga - Tracing the tumultuous and mysterious life of Princess Nohime [Part 2].].excite news(in Japanese). Excite Japan. 8 December 2022.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^ab"Oda Nobunaga trắc thất “Cát nãi” の mộ がある “Lâu xương chùa” bảo tồn đoạn niệm ái biết, tài chính gánh nặng できず "[Aichi Prefecture gives up on the preservation of Kyūshō-ji, where the tomb of Oda Nobunaga's side consort Kitsuno is located, because it cannot bear the financial burden.].Sankei Sports(in Japanese). Tokyo. 24 May 2022.Retrieved20 August2023.
- ^"Bản năng chùa の 変 の 4 ngày sau? Oda Nobunaga の trắc thất “お nồi の phương” による ái と bi しみ の mộ つくり vật ngữ "[Four days after the Honnoji Incident? A story of love and sorrow making a grave by Oda Nobunaga's concubine "Onabe no Kata" ].WARAKU web(in Japanese).Shogakukan.9 August 2021.Retrieved26 August2020.