was an early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

, and the third ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of

Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of ...

in northern Japan from 1658 to 1660, and the 19th hereditary chieftain 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 ...

. Tsunamune's succession and rule was soon opposed by a number of his kinsmen and vassals. This dispute eventually led to the ''

Date Sōdō The Date Sōdō (伊達騒動), or Date Disturbance, was a O-Ie Sōdō, noble family dispute within the Date clan, Date samurai clan, which occurred in 1671. History In 1660, the ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Sendai Domain, and clan head, Dat ...

'' or "Date Disturbance" of 1671, which has been retold in theatre, and has become one of the more well-known tales of unrest and disunity among the ''daimyō'' of the

Biography

Tsunamune was the sixth son of

Date Tadamune was an early Edo period Japanese samurai, and the second ''daimyō'' of the 625,000 ''koku'' Sendai Domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. He was the half-brother of Date Hidemune of Uwajima Domain. Biography Tadamune was born as Tora ...

by a concubine (Kai-hime, the maternal aunt of

Emperor Go-Sai , posthumously honored as , also known as , was the 111th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 116. Go-Sai's reign spanned the years from 1655 th ...

, which thus made him cousin with the Emperor). His

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

was ''Sakonoe-gon-shōshō'' (General of the Left Guards), and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. On the death of his father, he became ''daimyō'' and ''Mutsu-no-kami'' at the age of 18. Due to his inexperience and his love of ''

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

'' and women, rumours soon spread that he was unfit to govern. The center of opposition was his uncle, Date Munekatsu, ''daimyō'' of Ichinoseki Domain (and Date Masamune's 10th son), who suborned many of Tsunamune's retainers. In 1660, this clique of vassals and kinsman made a successful appeal to the ''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder (administrative title), Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a wh ...

'' to have Tsunemune removed from office and placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

under the charges of public drunkenness and debauchery while he was visiting the capital on ''

sankin-kōtai ''Sankin-kōtai'' (, now commonly written as ) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period, created to control the daimyo, the feudal lords of Japan, politically, and to keep them from attempting to overthrow the regi ...

'' and to supervise

corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...

labor on a canal. He was replaced in Sendai by his infant son,

Date Tsunamura was an early Edo period Japanese samurai, and the fourth ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain in northern Japan, and the 20h hereditary chieftain of the Date clan. Tsunamura's succession led to the ''Date Sōdō'' or "Date Disturbance" of 1671, which has ...

, then only age one. The actual government of Sendai Domain was turned over to Date Munekatsu and to another uncle,

Tamura Muneyoshi was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Iwanuma Domain in Mutsu Province of early-Edo period Japan Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 63 of 80">("Tamura," ''Nobiliare du ...

, as guardians. This event was the start of the ''

'', which became a favorite theme of popular fiction, including ''

bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters) ...

'' and

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

. According to one of the most popular legends, the scheming Date Munekatsu took the impressionable young Tsunamune to the licensed quarters of

Yoshiwara was a famous ( red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shim ...

, where he passionately fell in love with a prostitute, Takao. However, Takao was already pledged to marry a ''

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

'' when her time at the brothel had expired and she rejected Tsunamune's offers. Undeterred, he offered to buy her contract in gold equal to her weight. The unscrupulous brothel-keeper added weights to her sleeves, so that he had to pay more than 165 pounds of gold. However, when he came to take her to the Date residence, she tried to throw herself in the river rather than go with him. Furious, Tsunamura pulled her from the river by her hair and stabbed her in the heart. His uncle and the other conspirators seized this opportunity to denounce him to the officials of wanton behavior and force his retirement. This story was the basis of many ''bunraku'' and ''kabuki'' plays, and attracted an extraordinary number of researchers over the years who have tried to determine if there was any truth in the story. It appears that Tsunamura did visit Yoshiwara and was enamoured by the prostitute named Takao, but she died in 1659 of illness and not by his hand.Seigle, Cecilia Segawa, ''Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan'',

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, pages 59–61 While Tsunamune remained under house arrest, the domain suffered greatly under the corrupt rule of Date Munekatsu and Tamura Muneyoshi. After ten years of violence and conflict, Aki Muneshige, a relative from a cadet branch of the Date clan and retainer of Tsunamune managed to register a complaint to the shogunate officials about the mismanagement of the domain. Aki and various domain officials were summoned before the council of ''rōjū'' and the ''

Tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...

Sakai Tadakiyo , also known as Uta-no-kami, Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. (1999) ''Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed,'' p. 442./ref> was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in Kōzuke Province, and a high-ranking government advisor and official in the Tokugawa s ...

to testify. Testimony between Aki and the retainers of Munekatsu and Muneyoshi did not agree, and the testimony of Munekatsu's retainer Harada Munesuke made a particularly poor impression. Harada then murdered Aki before further testimony could be given, before being killed himself by the guards. The court ruled in favor of Aki. The young Date Tsunamura was allowed to remain ''daimyō''; however, his uncles Date Munekatsu and Tamura Muneyoshi were removed from office. As for Tsunamune, he lived the next 50 years in loose house arrest at the clan residence in the Ōi area of Edo, devoting his time to the arts, studying painting under

Kanō Tan'yū was a Japanese painter of the Kanō school. One of the foremost Kanō painters of the Tokugawa period, many of the best known Kanō works today are by Tan'yū. Biography His original given name was Morinobu; he was the eldest son of K ...

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

waka poetry is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two differe ...

, ''

Maki-e is a Japanese lacquerware, Japanese lacquer decoration technique in which pictures, patterns, and letters are drawn with lacquer on the surface of lacquerware, and then metal powder such as gold or silver is sprinkled and fixed on the surface ...

'' lacquerware and even learning to forge

Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the ...

s. A number of his works are on display at The Miyagi Museum of Art. He died in Edo in 1711, but his grave was at the Date clan mausoleum of

Zuihōden in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan is the mausoleum complex of Date Masamune and his heirs, daimyō of the Sendai Domain. History When Date Masamune, known as and founder of the Sendai Domain, died in 1636, he left instructions for a mauso ...

in Sendai. His mortuary temple was destroyed in 1945 during the

Bombing of Sendai during World War II The on July 10, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against the civilian population and military targets during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of the Pacific War in 1945. Backgroun ...

, and reconstructed in 1981. His body was so well preserved that an autopsy could be performed, revealing that he had a height of 158 cm and blood type A+, and had died of

oral cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Kii-hime (1624–1642) * Concubine: Misawa Hatsuko (1640–1686) ** 1st son:

, ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain ** 2nd son: Date Murayori (1661–1772), adopted by ''hatamoto'' Mizusawa-Date clan, later ''daimyō'' of Nakatsuyama sub-domain ** 3rd son: Date Muneyun (1665–1771) adopted by Date Munetoshi, later ''daimyō'' of Uwajima Domain * Concubine: Seiun'in ** 1st daughter: Natsuko / Kiyoko, married ''hatamoto'' Date Harusane of the Watari-Date clan, remarried to Date Harusada of the Iwaya-Date clan ** 4th son: Date Muranao (1666–1709), adopted by ''hatamoto'' Date Munetomo of the cadet Tome-Date clan ** 3rd daughter: Sanhime married Nakamura Moriyoshi * Concubine: Ohari no Kata ** 2nd daughter: Ruihime, married ''hatamoto'' Date Muramoto of the Watari-Date clan ** 4th daughter: Senhime, died in infancy ** 5th daughter: Chiehime, married Tachibana Sadaakira * Concubine: Yosei'in ** 6th daughter: Kirahime, adopted by Date Tsunamura, married Honda Yasunobu, ''daimyō'' of Zeze Domain ** 7th daughter: Narehime, died in infancy ** 5th son: Date Kikunosuke, died in infancy ** 8th daughter, Musuhime, died in infancy * Concubine: Bo-dono ** 6th son: Date Kichijuro, died in infancy * Concubine: Otome no Kata ** 9th daughter: Yuhime, died in infancy * Concubine: Kayo no Kata ** Onohime, died in infancy

References

* Papinot, Edmond. (1948). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. New York: Overbeck Co.

External links

Sendai Domain on "Edo 300 HTML"
(3 November 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Tsunamune 1640 births 1711 deaths Tozama daimyo Date clan Deaths from cancer in Japan People of the Edo period

Biography

Family

See also

References

External links