Ohatsu
お sơ Ohatsu | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Ohatsu | |
| Born | 1570 |
| Died | September 30, 1633(aged 62–63) |
| Spouse | Kyōgoku Takatsugu |
| Parents |
|
| Family |  Azai clan Toyotomi clan Kyōgoku clan |
Ohatsu(お sơ)orOhatsu-no-kata(お sơ の phương)(1570 – September 30, 1633) was a prominently placed figure in the lateSengoku period.She was daughter ofOichiandNagamasa Azai,and the sister ofYodo-donoandOeyo.Alongside her sisters, she was active in the political intrigues of her day. Ohatsu's close family ties to both theToyotomi clanand theTokugawa clanuniquely positioned her to serve as a conduit between the rivals. She acted as a liaison until 1615 in thesiege of Osaka,when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi.[1]
Life
[edit]Ohatsu was the second daughter ofAzai Nagamasa.Her mother,Oichi,was the youngest sister ofOda Nobunaga.
Her father died during thesiege of Odaniin 1573 after rebelling againstNobunaga,and Ohatsu's brother Manpukumaru was killed. With her sisters and her mother, she joined the Oda clan. In 1582, after the assassination of her uncle inHonnō-ji Incident,her mother marriedShibata Katsuie,a general in the service of the Oda, and in 1583,Toyotomi Hideyoshiattacked theKitanosho castle,the castle that Ohatsu lived with her foster father, Katsuie. Her mother died and Hideyoshi took Ohatsu and her sisters under his care.
When she married her cousinKyōgoku Takatsuguin 1587, he was adaimyōinŌmi Province,holdingŌtsu Castlefor the Toyotomi. At this point, Takatsugu was afudai daimyō(hereditary vassal) of the Toyotomi with a stipend of 60,000 koku annually. After 1600, Takatsugu's allegiances had been transferred to the Tokugawa; and he was rewarded with the fief ofObamainWakasa Provinceand an enhanced income of 92,000kokuannually.[2]
The changing fortunes of her husband affected Ohatsu's life. The registers of luxury goods dealers give an insight into the patronage and tastes of this privileged class. Being sterile, she advised her husband to take a concubine to ensure descendantship to theKyogoku clan,however she adopted her niece,Oeyo's daughter, who would later marryKyogoku Tadataka,son of Takatsugu.[3]
Sekigahara
[edit]Ohatsu's older sister wasYodo-Dono,also called Chacha. She was the concubine and the second wife of Hideyoshi; and the mother ofToyotomi Hideyori.Yodo-dono received great political power after Hideyoshi's death, because she was the heir's mother, she actually ran theToyotomi clanafter the fall of theCouncil of five elders.Hideyoshi's death led Japan to go to war again.
Ohatsu's younger sister,Oeyo,also known as Ogō, was the main wife of ShogunTokugawa Hidetadaand the mother of her successor Iemitsu Tokugawa. The Kyogoku clan allied withTokugawa Ieyasuof Eastern army against Western army inSekigahara Campaign.The Western army was led byIshida Mitsunariand other vassals loyal to Toyotomi. Ohatsu was in the castle when thesiege of Otsuoccurred. Ohatsu and Oeyo were allies of the Eastern Army, their sister, Yodo-dono, was one of the prominent anti-Tokugawa (Eastern army) figures during Sekigahara and later during thesiege of Osaka.
Siege of Osaka
[edit]After the death of Ohatsu's husband in 1609, she withdrew from the world at Nozen-zan Jōkō-ji ( Lăng Tiêu sơn thường cao chùa ), A Buddhist convent in Obama (where she is now buried), taking the name Jōkō-in ( thường cao viện ). However, Ohatsu remained active in the political intrigue of her time. Her family ties with the Toyotomi clan and the Tokugawa clan ensured that she served primarily as an intermediary between the two rivals. In 1614, during thewinter campaign of the siege of Osaka,Ohatsu acted again as a peace negotiator and reunited with her sister, Yodo-dono. Although Yodo-dono hated the Tokugawa clan for personal reasons, she was the forerunner of a peace treaty between Toyotomi and Tokugawa.
However, in 1615, Toyotomi and Tokugawa went to war again. WhenOsaka castlewas on fire, Yodo-dono and Toyotomi Hideyori committedsuicide,thus ending the Toyotomi's legacy. Ohatsu managed to save Nāhime's life (daughter of Hideyori) and adopted her.
Death
[edit]On September 30, 1633, Ohatsu died. Although the Kyōgoku clan moved to Izumo-Matsue a year after Ohatsu's death, her grave remained intact according to her wishes.
References
[edit]- ^Brinkley, Frank.(1915).A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era,p. 68.
- ^Papinot, Edmond.(2003).Nobiliare du Japon,pp. 27–28.ArchivedApril 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine
- ^Hickman, Money L.et al.(2002).Japan's Golden Age: Momoyama,p. 283.[dead link]
Bibliography
[edit]- Brinkley, Frankand Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915).A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era.Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Co.OCLC413099
- Hickman, Money L., John T. Carpenter and Bruce A. Coats. (2002).Japan's Golden Age: Momoyama.New Haven:Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-09407-7;OCLC 34564921
- Papinot, Edmond.(1906)Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon.Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.Nobiliaire du japon(abridged version of 1906 text).
External links
[edit]- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:Nakamura Utaemon III as OhatsuArchived2011-07-19 at theWayback Machine
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1570 births
- 1633 deaths
- 16th-century Japanese women
- 17th-century Japanese women
- People of Muromachi-period Japan
- People of Azuchi–Momoyama-period Japan
- People of Edo-period Japan
- People of Sengoku-period Japan
- 17th-century Japanese people
- Deified Japanese women
- Edo period Buddhist clergy
- Japanese Buddhist nuns
- 17th-century Buddhist nuns
- Azai clan