was a ''

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 ...

'' (feudal lord) of Satsuma Province during Japan's

Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

. He was born into the Mimasaka Shimazu family (伊作島津家), which was part of the Shimazu clan, but after his father Shimazu Yoshihisa died, his mother married

Shimazu Unkyu Shimazu is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Esther Shimazu (born 1957), American/Hawaiian sculptor * Saeko Shimazu (born 1959), Japanese voice actress * Shimazu clan, ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han * Shimazu Hisamitsu ...

of another branch family, the Soshū (相州家). Tadayoshi thus came to represent two families within the larger Shimazu clan. Shimazu Katsuhisa, who presided over the Shimazu family, did not have a son and he was driven out by Shimazu Sanehisa, who was the head of yet another branch, the Sasshū (薩州家). Sanehisa then laid claim to be the head of the clan without being properly recognized by the rest of the families. Katsuhisa asked Tadayoshi for help to regain his position, and Tadayoshi sent his son Shimazu Takahisa to be adopted by Katsuhisa. In 1526, Katsuhisa handed over the position of the head of the family to Takahisa. In 1539 though, during the Battle of Ichirai, Tadayoshi defeated Katsuhisa (who would regain power later) and Takahisa came to be recognized by all members of the Shimazu clan as the head. He and his son lived together for a number of years at Uchiujijó castle and after Takahisa's succession, Tadayoshi retired to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

which belonged to the Zen sect. During this time Tadayoshi called himself ''Shimazu Nisshinsai'' (or ''Jisshinsai'') (島津日新斎) He held a great amount of power, trading with the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

and Ming-dynasty China. He also arranged for massive purchases of

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbu ...

es to make the clan prosperous for the planned unification of Kyūshū by Takahisa. Tadayoshi wrote '' Iroha uta'' a set of 47 poems poem that conveyed

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

moral principles in an comprehensible manner. The poems consisted of a blend of Confucian values, the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

faith and the qualities for military success. Each of the 47 short poems or ''stanzas'' consisted of two lines, the first of which contains 17 syllables and the second 14. ''Iroha uta'' played an important part in ethical teachings across the Satsuma han until the end of the

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 ...

. He had four grandsons Shimazu Yoshihisa, Shimazu Yoshihiro, Shimazu Toshihisa, and Shimazu Iehisa. Tadayoshi died in 1568 at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimazu, Tadayoshi 1493 births 1568 deaths Daimyo Deified Japanese people