Yamauchi Chiyo (山内千代) or Kenshōin (見性院, 1557 – 1617) was a Japanese noble lady from the

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 ...

to the early 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 characte ...

. Known in history for her dedication and devotion to her family, she was vitally important to the success of the Yamauchi clan, a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

clan under the leadership of her husband,

Yamauchi Kazutoyo , also spelled Yamanouchi (1545/1546? – November 1, 1605). He was retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato, a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan (op ...

. It is said that she was responsible for stabilizing the predominance of the Yamauchi clan, and the formation of the

Tosa domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by ...

. She was the daughter of Endo Morikazu, lord of Gujo-Hachiman castle. Her personal name is thought to have been Chiyo or Matsu, but there is no certainty. Becoming a Buddhist nun, she took the religious name of Kenshôin.

Life

Chiyo was the daughter of Endo Morikazu of Gujo-Hachiman castle, a retainer of

Azai clan The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period. History The Azai was a line of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern Ōmi Province, located within present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture ...

. When their lord,

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering ...

, married

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu Nagamasa had no hope of winning, and chose to commit sepp ...

(sister of Oda Nobunaga), the Azai and the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, severa ...

entered into a political alliance. Because of this alliance, she married Yamauchi Katzutoyo, a minor samurai who served Oda Nobunaga. At that time, marriages between samurai families were only of a political nature. Kyodō risshi no motoi, Yamanouchi Kazutoyo Tsuma

Kyodō risshi no motoi, Yamanouchi Kazutoyo Tsuma

When Chiyo married, her mother gave her a large sum of money - for "a matter of great importance". When Katzutoyo first left for war, he used to go to battle on foot or with an ordinary horse because he was in an inferior position in Oda's army. So Chiyo tried on her own to get a promotion for Katzutoyo, she gathered her fortune and traveled in search of a good horse. In times of war, it was rare to get a horse trained for battle due to intense demand. Chiyo spent her entire fortune on an extraordinary

warhorse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...

called Kagami Kurige. She did this right before a formal inspection of the troops by her overlord, Nobunaga. The investment was extremely worthwhile, because by using the horse Kazutoyo distinguished himself in battle. The horse won the admiration of Nobunaga, the most powerful warlord in Japan at the time. This led to the promotion of Kazutoyo and the growth of the Yamauchi clan's fortune. After these events, she continued to actively act for the growth and stabilization of her clan. She witnessed several important events of her time, The Murder of Oda Nobunaga in the Honnoji Incident, the execution of Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki and the rise of

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 ...

After

died, Japan entered a period of war again. Later, prior to the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), while Chiyo was held a political hostage by Ishida Mitsunari of Western army, she sent secret letters with important information to the

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 fello ...

's Eastern Army. Chiyo was forced to support Mitsunari while Kazutoyo was beside Ieyasu. She was taken hostage to force Kazutoyo to join the Western army, which is why Ieyasu suspected Yamauchi's loyalty. Although Chiyo was supervised by Ishida Mitsunari, she continued to send secret letters with important information, letting the Tokugawa's supporters know Mitsunari's raising of troops right before the Battle of Sekigahara. When sending letters to the Eastern army, she sent a letter to her husband saying, "Don't worry about me, do what you have to do." Furthermore, she never allowed her husband to open the letter, she just asked him to hand it over to Ieyasu and show his loyalty. Thanks to Chiyo's sagacity, Kazutoyo won Ieyasu's credibility. The Yamauchi clan would be richly rewarded after the battle, when Ieyasu awarded Kazutoyo with

Tosa Domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by ...

. It is often said that the foundation of Tosa domain was due to Chiyo's heroic actions. Kazutoyo exalted his wife by saying, "If it weren't for Chiyo, I would have never been able to make my name known in this country." Yamauchi Kazutoyo never took a concubine, though it was a known tradition for samurai, and he never left Chiyo although she was only able to have one child, a girl named Yonehime. Chiyo survived the entire Sengoku period, dying in 1617, two years after the

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

Legacy

Chiyo and Kazutoyo are one of the most celebrated samurai couples in Japan. Their loyalty and their determination to survive the period of war have eternalized the couple in history. Due to her virtuous character, Chiyo was honored in paintings, poems and popular culture. Reproductions of Chiyo's image can be found in a number of places; a bronze statue of her and the horse she gave her husband, which stands near the ascent to Kochi Castle, close a statue of her husband on horseback and full armor; a bronze status of her, holding the reins of the horse, and her husband, located in the park below Gujo Hachiman castle in Gifu Prefecture; and a portrait of her in retirement, wearing the garb of a Bhikkhuni. There a shrine dedicated to Chiyo and Kazutoyo for strong marriage.

In drama

The 45th

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

Taiga drama (2006) is a dramatization of the life of Chiyo and Kazutoyo as the central character. '' Kōmyō-ga-tsuji: Yamauchi Kazutoyo no Tsuma'' stars

Nakama Yukie is a Japanese actress, singer and former idol. History Biography She was born in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan, into a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings. At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer (her debut single " ...

as Chiyo. The story tells how Yamauchi Chiyo, as a wise and beautiful wife, helped her husband Yamauchi Kazutoyo up from an ordinary

to the governor of an entire province, Tosa. The story is by Shiba Ryōtarō

Family

* Father: Endo Morikazu * Husband:

* Daughter: Yonehime (1580-1586) * Adopted: ** Shonan Shoka (1586-1637) ** Yamauchi Tadayoshi (1592-1665)

References

{{Authority control 16th-century Japanese women 17th-century Japanese women Samurai 16th-century Japanese people People of Muromachi-period Japan People of Azuchi–Momoyama-period Japan People of Edo-period Japan 17th-century Japanese people Japanese Buddhist clergy Deified Japanese people 1617 deaths 1557 births