User:Neier/Sandbox/Date Masamune

Date Masamune
First Lord of Sendai
In office 1600–1636
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	Date Tadamune
Personal details
Born	180px Yonezawa, Japan
Died	180px
Resting place	180px
Spouse	Date Megohime
Parent	180px

In this Japanese name, the surname is Date.

Date Masamune is a featured character in several video games including Koei's Kessen series (where he is a relatively minor officer), and Inindo: Way of the Ninja as the daimyo of the Rikuchu province.

• In Sengoku Musou / Samurai Warriors where he is a playable character, he is depicted as a young and hot-headed ruler. His weapon in the first game is a pair of bokken. In the second game it is changed to a western-style sabre and a pair of pistols. He frequently expressed ambitions to explore the world beyond Japan, and acquire new, foreign technologies.

• In the game Ronin Blade one of the male protagonist's blade is named after Masamune,though the blade's name could have also been a reference to the famous blacksmith Masamune also.

• In the manga series Samurai Deeper Kyo Date Masamune is a member of the Shiseiten and former follower/rival of the main character Kyo. Though he is referred to by his childhood name of Bontenmaru.

• In the anime series Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, the character Date Seiji is a descendent of Date Masamune. Seiji wears his hair covering one eye, and is at one point asked by Hashiba Touma if he does so because he is related to the One-Eyed Dragon.

File:MasamuneDate.jpg

Masamune as he appears in Capcom's Sengoku Basara.

• Capcom's highly successful hack-&-slash game Sengoku Basara and Sengoku Basara 2, includes Date Masamune as one of the main characters. In the English release, the game was renamed Devil Kings with all historical reference removed, and Date Masamune was renamed Azure Dragon. In Basara, a distinguishing trait of Date Masamune is his usage of Japanese-style English, or Engrish. Reminding fans of Dante of Devil May Cry's fame, Masamune is portrayed as a brazen young lord bent on having fun while conquring the country, dressed in blue and black with a tsuba over his right eye as well as the historically accurate golden arc on his battle helmet. He is also known in-game by his nickname, the One-Eyed Dragon (Dokuganryu). He is also depicted in constant rivalry with Sanada Yukimura, although there is no clear historical record to suggest such a rivalry ever existed.

• Masamune also appears in the PC game Shogun: Total War as a general in the Uesugi army but not until later in the game (around 1580).

• Date Masamune, leading the Date Clan, appears in the Samurai Warlords Mod (aka the Shogun Mod) for the PC game Medieval Total War.

• Date Masamune is the subject of the first 1/6 scale 12 inch samurai action figure produced by DID corporation, released in Fall 2006.

• He is also one of the Leaders (a class of Samurai) in Throne of Darkness.

• Date Masamune was also the main subject of the Japanese network NHK's Taiga drama Dokuganryu Masamune (One-eyed Dragon, Masamune) in 1987, starring the then young Ken Watanabe as Date Masumune. To-date, this series is the highest rated NHK Taiga drama.

• In the Thomas Harris novel Hannibal Rising, Hannibal Lecter's aunt, Lady Murasaki, is said to be a descendant of Date Masamune. It is one of Masamune's swords that Lecter uses to commit his first murder by killing a butcher named Paul Momund for insulting Lady Murasaki because she is Japanese.

• In Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, Daimyo Date Masamune is available as a daimyo unit. In the game, he's available with Shogunate wonder, only for Japanese civilization. Daimyos can receive shipments and train troops, while they are a powerful hand cavalry unit. They also provide an attack boost to nearby troops.

Historical basis for Date Masamune's character

File:Date Masamune statue.jpg

A modern equestrian statue of Masamune at Sendai Castle

The real-life Date Masamune (伊達 政宗) (September 5, 1567 – June 27, 1636) was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tohoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye, for which he was often called dokuganryū (独眼竜), or the "one-eyed dragon."

Background

Crest of Date clan.

Date Masamune was the eldest son of Date Terumune, born in Yonezawa Castle (in modern Yamagata Prefecture). At the age of 14 in 1581 Masamune led his first campaign, helping his father fight the Sōma family. In 1584, at the age of 18, Masamune succeeded his father, Terumune, who chose to retire the position of daimyo. The Date family was founded in the early Kamakura period by Isa Tomomune, who originally came from the Isa district of Hitachi Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture). The family took its name from the Date district (now Fukushima Prefecture) of Mutsu Province, which had been awarded to Isa Tomomune by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Kamakura shogun, for his assistance in the Minamoto-Taira War (1180–85) and in Minamoto no Yoritomo’s struggle for power with his brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

The Man Masamune

A letter written by Masamune to Pope Paul V.

Masamune is known for a few things that made him stand out from other daimyo of the time. In particular, his famous crescent-moon-bearing helmet gained him a fearsome reputation. As a child, smallpox robbed him of sight in his right eye, though it is unclear exactly how he lost the organ entirely. Some sources say he plucked out the eye himself when a senior member of the clan pointed out that an enemy could grab it in a fight. Others say that he had his trusted retainer Katakura Kojūrō gouge out the eye for him. Because of his missing eye, his own mother condemned him as being unfit to take over as clan leader and began favoring his younger brother as heir.

The Date clan had built alliances with neighboring clans with marriages over previous generations. However, there were many disputes over the lands during 15th and 16th century. Shortly after Masamune's succession, a Date retainer named Ōuchi Sadatsuna defected to the Ashina clan of the Aizu region. Masamune declared war on the Ashina for this betrayal, but his army was halted by the Ashina general Iwashiro Morikuni, who forced Masamune to retire the campaign. Masamune took control of Obama Castle after this.

With the rise of Masamune, formerly amicable relationships were cast aside as he began to attack and conquer all of the surrounding lands, even those of his kin in Mutsu and Dewa Provinces. Shocked by his ruthlessness, a neighboring family, the Hatakeyama, desperately appealed to Date Terumune to rein in his son's military campaigns. Invited to dinner by the Hatakeyama, Terumune said that he was unable to control his son. In an unheard of act of desperation, the family kidnapped Terumune and attempted to take him back with them. Masamune, who was out hunting, received word of the kidnapping. When he and his men closed in on the kidnappers as they were about to cross a river, Terumune ordered his son's men to kill their enemy all even sacrifice Terumune. Masamune's men did as they were told and killed everyone, including Terumune. Masamune continued the war and tortured and killed the families of his father's kidnappers.

After defeating the Ashina in 1589, he made Aizu domain his base of operations.

On the other hand, his relationship with his mother, Yoshi, was getting worse and worse. Yoshi insisted Masamune's resignation and succession of her second son, Kojiro. According to some historians, she tried to poison him one night while serving him dinner. Masamune consequently killed his own brother in order to come to power. After this tragedy, his mother fled to her brother's home, the Mogami clan.

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi seized Odawara Castle and compelled the Tohoku daimyos to participate in the campaign. Although Masamune refused Hideyoshi's demand at first, he had no choice since Hideyoshi was the virtual ruler of Japan. Masamune delayed, infuriating Hideyoshi. Expecting to be executed, Masamune, wearing his finest clothes and showing no fear, faced his angry overlord. Not wanting further trouble, Hideyoshi spared his life. After serving Hideyoshi for a time, he was given Iwatesawa castle and the surrounding lands as his home domain. Masamune moved there in 1591, rebuilt the castle, renamed it Iwadeyama, and encouraged the growth of a town at its base. Masamune stayed at Iwadeyama for 13 years and turned the region into a major political and economic center. He and his men served with distinction in the Korean invasions under Hideyoshi and, after Hideyoshi's death, he began to support Tokugawa Ieyasu — apparently at the advice of Katakura Kojuuruo.

Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded Masamune the lordship of the huge and profitable Sendai domain, which made Masamune one of Japan’s most powerful daimyo. Tokugawa had promised Masamune a one million koku domain, but, even after substantial improvements were made, the land only produced 640,000 koku, most of which was used to feed the Edo region. In 1604, Masamune, accompanied by 52,000 vassals and their families, moved to what was then the small fishing village of Sendai. He left his fourth son, Date Muneyasu, to rule Iwadeyama. Masamune would turn Sendai into a large and prosperous city.

Although Masamune was a patron of the arts and sympathized with the foreign cause, he also was an aggressive and ambitious daimyo. When he first took over the Date clan, he suffered a few major defeats from powerful and influential clans such as the Ashina. These defeats were arguably caused by recklessness on Masamune's part.

Being a major power figure of northern Japan, Masamune was naturally viewed with suspicion, as any potential rival would be viewed. Toyotomi Hideyoshi reduced the size of his land holdings after his tardiness in coming to the Siege of Odawara against Hōjō Ujimasa. Later in his life, Tokugawa Ieyasu increased the size of his lands again, but was constantly suspicious of Masamune and his policies. He was particularly suspicious of foreign missionaries, whom he perceived as a threat to his power. Because of this, he ordered the death of Padre Sotelo after his journey around the world. Although Tokugawa Ieyasu and other allies of the Date were always suspicious of him, Date Masamune for the most part served the Tokugawa and Toyotomi loyally. He took part in Hideyoshi's campaigns in Korea, and in the Osaka campaigns. When Tokugawa Ieyasu was on his deathbed, Masamune visited him and read him a piece of Zen poetry. Masamune was highly respected for his ethics; a still-quoted aphorism is, "Rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness; benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness."

A patron of culture and Christianity

Masamune expanded trade in the otherwise remote, backwater region of Tohoku. Although initially faced with attacks by hostile clans, he managed to overcome them after a few defeats and eventually ruled one of the largest fiefdoms of the later Tokugawa shogunate. He built many palaces and worked on many projects to beautify the region. He is also known to have encouraged foreigners to come to his land. It is unlikely that Masamune himself was secretly a Christian convert. Even though he funded and promoted an envoy to establish relations with the Pope in Rome, he was likely motivated at least in part by a desire for foreign technology, similar to that of other lords, such as Oda Nobunaga. Further, once Tokugawa Ieyasu outlawed Christianity, Masamune reversed his position, and though disliking it, let Ieyasu persecute Christians in his domain. For 270 years, Tohoku remained a place of tourism, trade and prosperity. Matsushima, for instance, a series of tiny islands, was praised for its beauty and serenity by the wandering haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.

He showed sympathy for Christian missionaries and traders in Japan. In addition to allowing them to come and preach in his province, he also released the prisoner and missionary Padre Sotelo from the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Date Masamune allowed Sotelo as well as other missionaries to practice their religion and win converts in Tohoku.

Replica of the galleon Date Maru, or San Juan Bautista, in Ishinomaki, Japan.

Masamune's greatest achievement was funding and backing one of Japan's few journeys of far-flung diplomacy and exploration in this period. He ordered the building of the exploration ship Date Maru or San Juan Bautista, using foreign (European) ship-building techniques. He sent one of his retainers, Hasekura Tsunenaga, Sotelo, and an embassy numbering 180 on a successful voyage to establish relations with the Pope in Rome. This expedition visited such places as the Philippines, Mexico, Spain and Rome, making it the first Japanese voyage to sail around the world. Previously, Japanese lords had never funded this sort of venture, so it was probably the first successful voyage. At least five members of the expedition stayed in Coria (Seville) of Spain to avoid the persecution of Christians in Japan. 600 of their descendants, with the surname Japón (Japan), are now living in Spain.

When Tokugawa government banned Christianity, Masamune had to obey this law. However, some source suggested Masamune's eldest daughter, Iroha was a Christian.

Family

• Father
  • Date Terumune
• Mother
  • Yoshihime, daughter of Mogami Yoshimori the daimyo of Dewa Province
• Wife
  • Megohime, daughter of Tamura Kiyoaki owner of Miharu Castle in Mutsu Province
• Children
  • Date Hidemune (1591–1658), first holder of the Uwajima Domain
  • Date Tadamune (1599–1658)
  • Date Munekatsu (1621–1679)
  • Date Munekiyo (1600–1634)
  • Date Munetsuna (1603–1618)
  • Date Munetaka (1607–1626)
  • Date Munesane (1613–1665)
  • Date Misheru(????–????)
  • Irohahime (1594–1661)

Further reading

• Kobayashi Seiji 小林清治. Date Masamune 伊達政宗. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan 吉川弘文館, 1959.
• Owada Tetsuo 小和田哲男. Date Masamune: shiden 伊達政宗: 史伝. Tokyo: Gakken 学研, 2000.
• Ken-ichi Sato 佐藤憲一. Date Masamune's letters 伊達政宗の手紙. Tokyo: Sinchosensho 新潮選書, 1995.

External links

• The official website of the Date clan
• Zuihoden — The mausoleum of Date Masamune. When he died, twenty of his followers killed themselves to serve him in the next life. They lay in state at Zuihōden
• Aoba-jo (Sendai Castle) website
• An example of Date-influenced architecture