was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

clan leader of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. Turnbull, Stephen. (2012)
''Samurai Commanders: 1577–1638,'' Vol, 2, p. 52
He had close relationship with

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, one of the leading figures of the period. Terumune was the father of

Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...

, who succeeded him as clan leader in 1584.

Biography

Terumune's childhood name was Hikotaro (彦太郎) later Sojiro (総次郎). He was born a warrior since his family is often in conflict with its neighbors. In 1568, Terumune attacked Nihonmatsu Castle against Nihonmatsu Yoshitsugu, outnumbered and defeated, Yoshitsugu pretended to surrender. Terumune fought against the

Mogami Yoshiaki was a ''daimyō'' of the Yamagata Domain in Dewa Province, in the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and early Edo periods. He was known as the "Fox of Dewa". His younger sister, Yoshihime, later became the wife of Date Terumune and gave birth to Ma ...

twice in different years, 1574 and 1578, in both battles, his wife, who also Yoshiaki sister, Yoshihime, advanced to the middle of the battlefield to create a peace treaty. Later in 1578, Terumune succeeded his father Harumune; and he became the sixteenth head of the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date fam ...

of Mutsu Province. Records show that Nobunaga cultivated a close relationship with Terumune. The daimyo often confided in him affairs of the state through letters. During his campaigns unifying Japan, he sent Terumune a letter boasting how he annihilated tens of thousands in Echizen and Kaga. When

was assassinated in 1582, Terumune gave his clan's support to

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

in the power struggle which followed. An account cited him as party to the negotiation with a local rival called Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu. At this time, his son

appear to be leading the clan. In 1585, Yoshitsugu was invited to a feast after an alliance was forged. A day after, when Masamune took the guest hunting, the latter's men abducted the undefended Terumune. Yoshitsugu stabbed Terumune to his death when he panicked as Masamune and his men caught up with him by the banks of the Abukuma River. A version of this account stated that Terumune was taken to the kidnapper's fort, where he was slain during Terumune's siege.

Family

* Father: Date Harumune * Mother: Kubohime (1521–1594) * Wife: Yoshihime (1548–1623) *Sister:

Onamihime Onamihime (阿南姫, July 4, 1541 – August 30, 1602) was a late-Sengoku period Onna-musha. She was the first daughter of Date Harumune, sister of Date Terumune and aunt of Date Masamune. She was the ruler of Sukagawa castle in Mutsu Province ...

* Children: **

by Yoshihime ** Date Masamichi (1568–1590) by Yoshihime ** Chikohime by Yoshihime ** Senshihime by Yoshihime

Retainers

* Oniniwa Yoshinao *

Date Sanemoto was a Japanese samurai and commander of the Sengoku period. He was the third son of Date Tanemune His son Date Shigezane was also an important vassal of the Date clan. Date Tanemune tried to adopt him to the Uesugi clan The is a Japanes ...

* Endō Motonobu * Shiroishi Munezane

In fiction

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

's 1987

Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

Dokuganryū Masamune is a 1987 Japanese historical television series. It is the 25th NHK ''taiga'' drama. The broadcast received an average viewer rating of 39.7 percent in the Kanto area with the highest viewing rating of 47.8%. The drama was adapted from the novel ...

'', Terumune was played by

Kin'ya Kitaōji is a Japanese actor. Biography Early life He was born in Kyoto, son of ''jidaigeki'' film star Ichikawa Utaemon, and graduated from Waseda University School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in Tokyo. Acting career Kin'ya made his debut with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Terumune Daimyo 1544 births 1585 deaths Date clan Deaths by firearm in Japan