Maeda Chiyo (前田千世) or Shunkō-in (春香院, 1580–1641) was a Japanese noble woman from the Sengoku period. She was from the samurai-class

Maeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan through Sugawara no Kiyotom ...

, her father was

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

and her mother was

Maeda Matsu , also known as Omatsu no Kata (お松の方) (1547–1617), was a Japanese noble lady and aristocrat of the 16th century. She was the wife of Maeda Toshiie, who founded the Kaga Domain. Matsu had a reputation for intelligence; she was skilled at ...

. Chiyo was first married to Hosokawa Tadataka, and later to Murai Nagatsugu. She was present during the incident that caused the death of her mother-in-law,

Hosokawa Gracia , usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara; Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to s ...

, in the

Sekigahara Campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked by a ...

, abandoning her residence to take refuge in the Ukita residence of her sister, Gohime, who was part of Western army (Hosokawa's enemy army at the time); this event led to her expulsion from the Hosokawa clan along with

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka and Numata Jakō, and the husband of the famous Christian convert Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he went b ...

's heir apparent, Tadataka.

Life

In 1597, upon the direction of

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: ...

, she married Hosokawa Tadataka, the eldest son and heir of

, the first head of the Kokura domain in Buzen Province. Chiyo parents were close friends with Hideyoshi, so Maeda Toshiie was tasked with acting as one of the regents after Hideyoshi's death. Unfortunately, when Hideyoshi died, Toshiie also died some time later, so Japan, which had been unified under the Toyotomi clan, split into two factions, causing civil war again. The two factions were split between the Western army led by

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

and the Eastern army led by

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, the struggle between these two army became known as the

Battle of Sekigahara

The Western army was made up of Toyotomi clan loyalists, while the Eastern army was made up of Ieyasu's supporters. The Maeda clan was divided between both armies, Chiyo, her husband Tadakata and her brother Maeda Toshinaga were part of the Western army, while Maeda Toshimasa (1578) (Chiyo's brother) and Gohime (Chiyo's sister) who was

Ukita Hideie was the ''daimyō'' of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture), and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gōhime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie. Having fought a ...

's wife were part of the Western. Chiyo's Mother,

, which was known at the time for supporting the stabilization of the Toyotomi and Maeda clan, voluntarily went to Edo (Capital of the Tokugawa clan) as a hostage in order for Ieyasu to spare the Maeda clan from any post-battle penalties. Prior to the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, Ishida Mitsunari planned to capture Chiyo's mother-in-law

as a hostage. When the Hosokawa residence was surrounded by Mitsunari's soldiers, Gracia advised Chiyo to escape. Chiyo fled the residence in Ōsaka in a carriage to the Ukita residence where her older sister, Gōhime, lived. When the Western army approached Gracia's mansion, she asked her servant to kill her and set her residence on fire. Gracia's death caused much chaos, and damaged Ishida Mitsunari's reputation, which ultimately led to his defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara. Chiyo had fled from the Hosokawa mansion to the Enemy clan's residence, this act harmed the image of the Hosokawa family, whereupon she was expelled and returned to the Maeda family. Her husband, Tadataka, defended Chiyo so he was also expelled from the Hosokawa family and attempted to rely upon the Maeda family but the Maeda family did not offer protection to the couple so they separated. Nevertheless, according to historical records, from 1605 to 1609, in Kyōto, Chiyo bore four daughters with Tadataka including Toku, Kichi, Fuku, and Man

Later life

In 1605, she remarried Murai Nagatsugu, a leader of the Eight Families of Kaga and elder of the Murai family of the Kaga domain with a fief of 17,000 ''koku''. After her marriage, she did not bear a child with Nagatsugu but adopted Nagamitsu (later called Nagaie, the fourth son of Oda Nagataka). In 1613, after the death of Nagatsugu, she underwent the rites of tonsure and adopted the name of Shunkōin. She then engaged in the rebuilding of the Kumakabuto Shrine in Noto Province. In 1641, Shunkōin died in Kanazawa at the age of sixty-two. Her grave is on Mount Noda. Maeda Chiyo was the last child of Maeda Matsu and was the most cherished among her children. Many letters remain that were written by Matsu to Chiyo kept at the Tamagawa Municipal Library in Kanazawa and the Museum of the Maeda Tosa-no-kami Family.

References

{{People of the Sengoku period, state=autocollapse 1580 births 1641 deaths 16th-century Japanese nobility 16th-century Japanese women 17th-century Buddhist nuns 17th-century Japanese women 17th-century Japanese people Japanese Buddhist nuns Maeda clan