was a late-

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

, and the 13th ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of Sendai Domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, the 29th hereditary chieftain of the Date clan. He is known primarily for his role as commander-in-chief of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. During his tenure he was also known by his courtesy title, . His poetic name was

Biography

Early life

Yoshikuni was born at Aoba Castle in Sendai, the second son of the 11th-generation ''daimyō'' Date Nariyoshi. His childhood name was first , and then . In 1837, he was adopted as Date Narikuni’s official successor, taking the name of Date Toshimura. Early the following year, at age 14, he had his coming-of-age ceremony in

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

, and was received in formal audience by the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...

'' Tokugawa Ieyoshi, who bestowed upon him the "yoshi" ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

'' from his name, thus becoming Date Yoshitoshi, and receiving the courtesy titles of ''Chikuzen-no-kami'' and ''jijū'' (chamberlain). Late in 1841, on the death of his foster-father (brother-in-law) he became ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain, received the courtesy titles of ''Mutsu no Kami'' and ''Sakon-e gon-shosho''. He also changed his name to Date Yoshikuni at this time, taking the "kuni" character from his predecessor's name.

Career as ''daimyō''

Despite its high '' kokudaka'' of 620,000 '' koku,'' the domain inherited by Date Yoshikuni was beset with problems. The countryside was ravaged from the effects of enormous Tenpo famine, and for much of his tenure his actual income was much reduced, at times to even the 100,000 ''koku'' level. The domain was also given the responsibility of policing the vast northern island of

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

, including border patrols in

Chishima islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

, especially Etorofu and Kunashiri where incursions by ships from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

were becoming more frequent. Sendai domain administered roughly one-third of the area of present-day

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

. The finances of the domain were further weakened when assigned by the shogunate the task of contributing to security efforts in Kyoto in the 1860s. Sendai Domain was assigned to guard the Shimodachiuri-gomon Gate of the Imperial Palace. With the start of the

in 1868, Sendai initially remained neutral, and its forces based in Kyoto were not involved in the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the s ...

. In the period immediately following the battle, Date Yoshikuni was consulted by

Matsudaira Nobunori Viscount was a Japanese samurai of the Bakumatsu period and the 10th (and final) '' daimyō'' of Aizu Domain. Biography Nobunori was the 19th son of Tokugawa Nariaki of Mito Domain. he was initially named Akinori (昭則), bout received a ...

, lord of Aizu Domain, who wished to use the Date clan's as-yet unmarred reputation in the eyes of the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satchō'' () i ...

in order to achieve leniency for his father, Matsudaira Katamori. However, traditional rivalries between the domains of eastern and western Japan, and the arrogant behavior of emissaries sent by the Satchō Alliance, such as Sara Shuzo forced Yoshikuni's hand, and he eventually became the somewhat reluctant leader of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. He was appointed

by Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, who had declared himself the northern emperor, ''Tōbu''. However, because of Yoshikuni's indecisiveness and the confederation's incohesiveness and obsolescence of its weapons and tactics, Sendai Domain was defeated by the combined armies of the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, led by

Kujō Michitaka , son of regent Kujō Hisatada and adopted son of his brother, Kujō Yukitsune, was a ''kuge'' or Japanese court noble of the late Edo period and politician of the early Meiji era who served as a member of the House of Peers. One of his daught ...

. Yoshikuni retired to the domain’s residence in Tokyo together with his son Date Muneatsu, and voluntarily placed themselves in confinement. The same year, Yoshikuni's fourth son

Date Munemoto Count was a Bakumatsu period Japanese samurai, and the 14th and final ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, and the 30th hereditary chieftain of the Date clan. Biography Munemoto second son of Date Yoshikuni. H ...

succeeded as clan leader and was allowed to become ''daimyō'' of a much reduced Sendai Domain, with revenues of only 280,000 ''koku''. Yoshikuni remained in retirement until his death in 1874 at age 50. His funeral was held at the Buddhist temple of Saifuku-ji in Komagome, Tokyo, but according to

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

rituals, so he did not receive a

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishm ...

. In April 1890, his ashes were removed to the Date clan's cemetery at Dainen-ji in Sendai.

Family

* Father: Date Nariyoshi * Mother: Tsuneko no Kata * Wife: Tsunahime (1828-1852), 24th daughter of Takatsukasa Masahiro, adopted by Konoe Tadahiro * Wife: Yachiyohime Takako (1841–1869), 9th daughter of Tokugawa Nariaki * Concubine: Kawakami Chisa ** 1st daughter: Ayahime, died in childhood ** 2nd daughter: Eihime, died in childhood ** 1st son: Date Teimaru, died in childhood * Concubine: Matsuoka Michiko ** 2nd son:

, Daimyo of Sendai Domain, Count ** 3rd son: Date Matsugoro, died in childhood ** 4th son: Date Kunimune (1870–1923), Count, heir to Date Munemoto ** 5th son: Date Yukichiyo, died in childhood ** 6th son: Date Tokugoro, died in childhood * Concubine: Tendo Tsunako * Concubine: Iwama Kaneko

External links

Basic data on the Sendai domain, including a Date clan lineage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Yoshikuni 1825 births Tozama daimyo 1874 deaths Boshin War Meiji Restoration People of the Boshin War People from Sendai Domain Date clan Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

Biography

Early life

Career as ''daimyō''

Family

See also

External links