![So clan mon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/So_clan_mon.svg)
was a
Sō clan
were a Japanese clan claiming descent from Taira no Tomomori. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Toki," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 56 retrieved 2013-5-10. The clan go ...
''
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 n ...
'' (feudal lord) of the
domain of Tsushima on
Tsushima Island
is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 b ...
at the end of Japan's
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, 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 Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, and into 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 characteriz ...
. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo.
[Papinot, Jacques. (2003)]
''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Sō, p. 56
Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''. Under the influence of
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...
, he was baptized and accepted the name "Dario". He took part in
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
's
invasions of Korea in the 1590s, and led a force in the
Siege of Busan
Japanese army sacks the city of Busan.
The siege of Busanjin was a battle fought at Busan on 24 May 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. The attacks on Busan and the neighboring fort of Dadaejin were the first battles of the Japanese inv ...
.
The Sō clan did not participate in the
Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
in 1600;
however, the ''
tozama'' Sō clan were allowed to continue to rule Tsushima.
[Appert, Georges 'et al.'' (1888)]
''Ancien Japon'', p. 77.
/ref>
Early life
Yoshitoshi was the fifth son of Sō Masamori Sō, So or Sou (written: 宗 or 宋) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Takeshi
* (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Shigeru
* (1715 ...
; his wife, who took the baptismal name Maria, was the daughter of Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...
. Yoshitoshi became the head of the family in 1580, after his adoptive father, Sō Yoshishige Sō, So or Sou (written: 宗 or 宋) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Takeshi
* (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Shigeru
* (1715 ...
, was defeated, and Tsushima conquered, in a prelude to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyūshū Campaign
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
.
In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
confirmed the Sō clan possession of Tsushima. Yoshitoshi thus entered Hideyoshi's service; among the first major tasks he undertook on behalf of Hideyoshi was to organizing negotiations with Korea as Hideyoshi's representative. Hideyoshi, in order to fulfill the ambitions of his deceased lord Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan.
Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
, whose authority and domains he had assumed and expanded after Nobunaga's death, had the conquest of Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
China as his ultimate goal. (Practical reasons, such as the greatly-expanded warrior class and the large number of armed forces it commanded immediately after Hideyoshi's unification of Japan, also played a larger role in Hideyoshi's reasoning; these forces actually posed a potential threat to Japan's internal stability and possibly to Hideyoshi's plans for dynastic succession.) Hideyoshi hoped to re-establish diplomatic relations with Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
Korea and hoped to induce Korea to join his plans for a campaign against China; therefore Yoshitoshi was tasked in 1589 to deliver to Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
Korea Hideyoshi's demand that Korea join/participate with Hideyoshi's planned campaign against China or face war with Japan.
Yoshitoshi's house, having special trading privileges with Korea (Tsushima at the time was the single checkpoint for all Japanese ships going to Korea[Turnbull, Stephen. 2002, p. 28.]), had a vested interest in preventing conflict between Korea and Japan, and Yoshitoshi delayed talks (he was assigned to Hideyoshi's second mission to Korea, after the first one in 1587 had failed[Jones, Geo H., Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 240–41]
) for nearly two years.[Turnbull, Stephen. 2002, p. 34.] After Hideyoshi renewed his demands and pushed Yoshitoshi to deliver his message, Yoshitoshi, rather than delivering Hideyoshi's demands, instead reduced the visit to the Korean court to a campaign to better relations between the two countries,[Jones, Geo H., Vol. 23 No. 5, p. 242] and was able to secure a Korean diplomatic mission to Japan, which arrived in 1590. The message the Korean envoys received from Hideyoshi, redrafted as requested on the grounds that it was too discourteous, invited Korea to submit to Japan and join in a war against China.
As Joseon was a tributary state and ally of Ming China, King Seonjo refused safe passage of Japanese troops through Korea to invade China; Hideyoshi then planned a military invasion of Korea as the first step to achieving his ultimate goal of conquering China. Yoshitoshi played a crucial role in the beginning of Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea; due to his domain of Tsushima's strategic location between Korea and Japan, as well as his knowledge of and experience with Korea, Yoshitoshi was tasked to lead the first major land assault of the war (the Siege of Busan
Japanese army sacks the city of Busan.
The siege of Busanjin was a battle fought at Busan on 24 May 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. The attacks on Busan and the neighboring fort of Dadaejin were the first battles of the Japanese inv ...
, April 13, 1592), supported by his father-in-law, the daimyo Konishi Yukinaga. Yoshitoshi continued his command through several engagements afterwards. Ultimately the campaigns in Korea ended in failure by 1598, but Yoshitoshi was able to return to his domains in Tsushima, where he would later receive word of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
After Sekigahara
Shortly after news of the Toyotomi
The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese people, Japanese before the Edo period.
Unity and conflict
The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was a ...
defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
was received by the Joseon Court, a process of re-establishing diplomatic relations was initiated by Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
in 1600. As an initial gesture and as an earnest of future progress, some Joseon prisoners were released at Tsushima Island
is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 b ...
. In response, a small group of messengers under the leadership of Yujeong
Samyeongdang (1544–1610), also known by his dharma name Yujeong, was a Korean Buddhist monk during the Joseon era. He is sometimes identified by his pen name, Song-un. He was born to a family of the Im clan in Miryang, Gyeongsang Province. ...
were sent to Kyoto to investigate further. With the assistance of Sō Yoshitomo, an audience with Ieyasu was arranged at Fushimi Castle
, also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle ...
in Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
.
In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
established a new shogunate
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
; and Sō Yoshitoshi was officially granted Fuchū Domain (100,000 koku) in Tsushima Province
was an Old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan on Tsushima Island which occupied the area corresponding to modern-day Tsushima, Nagasaki, Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki. It was sometimes called .
Political history
The origin of T ...
.
In 1604, Yujeong confirmed the Joseon interest in developing further contacts; and the Tokugawa shōgun reciprocated by releasing 1,390 prisoners-of-war.[Kang Jae-eun]
p. 274.
/ref>
Yoshitomo's descendants held this domain until the abolition of the han system
( ja, 藩, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) s ...
. The Sō would remain the shogunate's intermediaries with the Joseon government throughout 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 characteriz ...
(1603–1868); and the clan would profit politically and economically.
As representatives and spokesmen for the Tokugawa, the Sō helped ensure a continuing series of major Joseon missions to Edo ('' Joseon missions to the Tokugawa shogunate''). These benefited the Japanese as legitimizing propaganda for the ''bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
'' (Tokugawa shogunate) and as a key element in an emerging manifestation of Japan's ideal vision of the structure of an international order, with Edo as its center.[Walker, Brett L. "Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay"]
''Early Modern Japan'' (Fall 2002), p. 48.
/ref>
In 1884, the head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Count".
See also
* '' Tsūkō ichiran'', mid-19th century text
Notes
References
* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha.
* Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). ''The Land of Scholars : Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism''. Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books.
OCLC 60931394
* Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)
* Turnbull Turnbull may refer to:
People
*See Turnbull (surname)
*Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia
Places
*Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs, Scotland
*Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, located near Spokane, Washington, USA
*Turnbull ...
, Stephen (1998)
''The Samurai Sourcebook''.
London: Arms & Armour Press. ;
OCLC 60220867
Cassell, London, 2000.
OCLC 59400034
* Walker, Brett L
"Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay"
''Early Modern Japan'' (Fall 2002), pp. 44–62, 124–128.
{{DEFAULTSORT:So, Yoshitoshi
Daimyo
People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
1568 births
1615 deaths