Ōtomo Sōrin
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Ōtomo Sōrin
, also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原 義鎮) or Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友 義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Catholicism. The eldest son of , he inherited the Funai Domain, on Kyūshū, Japan's southernmost main island, from his father. He is perhaps most significant for having appealed to Toyotomi Hideyoshi to intervene in Kyūshū against the Shimazu clan, thus spurring Hideyoshi's Kyūshū Campaign of 1587. Early life In 1545, Sōrin married Lady Nata (Jezebel) who became one of the leading personalities against the spread of Christianity in western Japan. She was the daughter of Nata Akimoto, the head priest of the Nata Hachiman Shrine. Sōrin's domain included the port of Funai, which was frequented by Jesuit priests, bandits, Chinese merchants, and Japanese sea lords. In addition to unifying much of Kyūshū under his control, therefore securing a significant gain in his clan's power and p ...
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Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and List of islands of Japan, thousands of smaller islands, covering . Japan has a population of over 123 million as of 2025, making it the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh-most populous country. The capital of Japan and List of cities in Japan, its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the List of largest cities, largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 Prefectures of Japan, administrative prefectures and List of regions of Japan, eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of Geography of Japan, the countr ...
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Battle Of Mimigawa
The Battle of Mimigawa was fought in Japan between the Ōtomo clan and the Shimazu clan in 1578. The Ōtomo force was led by Sorin's brother-in-law Tawara Chikataka, while the Shimazu clan was led by Shimazu Yoshihisa. Prelude In May 1578, the Shimazu had been advancing north from their Satsuma Province to confront the Ōtomo clan, when Ōtomo Sōrin (retired ''daimyō'') and his heir Yoshimune, moved south to attack Takajo castle. The Christian Ōtomo army destroyed Buddhist and Shinto religious buildings along the way. Later, The Ōtomo crossed the Mimigawa and laid siege to Takajo Castle on 20 October, The Takajo garrison only have 500 men led by Yamada Arinobu. The Ōtomo set up their Portuguese cannon, ''kunikuzuri'' or "destroyer of provinces", across the Kiribaragawa. The castle was soon reinforced by 1000 men under Yoshihisa's younger brother, Shimazu Iehisa. Shimazu Yoshihisa had a dream the night before the battle, which he turned into a poem, and the Shimazu consi ...
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Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2,746,984 residents in , Rome is the list of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, with a population of 4,223,885 residents, is the most populous metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Italy. Rome metropolitan area, Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See) is an independent country inside the city boun ...
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Tenshō Embassy
The Tenshō embassy (Japanese: 天正の使節, named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. The embassy was led by Mancio Itō (伊東 マンショ ''Itō Mansho'', 1570–1612), a Japanese nobleman, who was the first official Japanese emissary to Europe. Embassy The idea of sending a Japanese embassy to Europe was originally conceived by the Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, and sponsored by the three Kirishitan ''daimyōs'' Ōmura Sumitada (1533–1587), Ōtomo Sōrin (1530–1587), and Arima Harunobu (1567–1612). Mancio Itō was chosen to act as a spokesman for the group dispatched by Ōtomo Sōrin, who was daimyō of the Bungo Province on Kyūshū and a close relative of Mancio's father; Shurinosuke Itō. On February 20, 1582, Mancio Itō left Nagasaki in company with three other noblemen: * Miguel Chijiwa (千々石 ミゲル ''Chijiwa Migeru'' ...
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Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the Drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the waterway of the Bosporus, Bosporus Strait. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Europe covers approx. , or 2% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it ...
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Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led the first Christian mission to Japan. Born in the town of Xavier, Spain, Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre, he was a companion of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly the Portuguese Empire in the East, and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in early modern India. He was extensively involved in the missionary activity in Portuguese India. In 1546, Francis Xavier proposed the establishment of the Goan Inquisition in a letter addressed to King John III of Portugal. While some sources claim that he actually asked for a special minister whose sole of ...
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Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The Society of Jesus is the largest religious order in the Catholic Church and has played significant role in education, charity, humanitarian acts and global policies. The Society of Jesus is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 countries. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. They also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian works, and promote Ecumenism, ecumenical dialogue. The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patron saint, patronage of Madonna della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a Superior General of ...
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Kyūshū Campaign
The Kyūshū campaign of 1586–1587 was part of the campaigns of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who sought to dominate Japan at the end of the Sengoku period. Having subjugated much of Honshū and Shikoku, Hideyoshi turned his attention to the southernmost of the main Japanese islands, Kyūshū. Course of events Battles had raged for the previous few years between the daimyō of Kyūshū, and by 1585 the Shimazu family of Satsuma were the primary power on the island. In 1586, Shimazu clan heard of Hideyoshi's plans for invasion, and lifted their siege of Tachibana castle, withdrawing a great portion of their forces back to Higo province, while the rest stayed in Bungo province. There, they seized Funai Castle from the Ōtomo clan and prepared for the invasion. The Ōtomo were supported by armies under Sengoku Hidehisa, Sogō Masayasu, and Chōsokabe Motochika a major Shikoku lord who had been defeated by Hideyoshi the previous year, and had thus joined him. Though Bungo ...
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Shimazu Clan
The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan. History The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto. The Shimazu would become one of the families of Edo period ''daimyō'' to have held their territory continuously since the Kamakura period, and would also become, at their peak, the wealthiest and most powerful Tozama daimyō family with an income in excess of 700,000 ''koku''. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa (d. 1227), was a son of ''Shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu. Tadahisa's wife was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu, a descendant of the Hata clan, whose name Tadahisa took at first. He received the domain ...
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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: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Although he came from a peasant background, his immense power earned him the rank and title of and , the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first person in history to become a ''Kampaku'' who was not born a noble. He then passed the position and title of ''Kampaku'' to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as , the title of retired ''Kampaku'', until his death. It is believed, but not certain, that the reason he refused or could not obtain the title of , the leader of the warrior class, was because he was of peasant origin. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the pr ...
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Funai Domain
270px, Otemon Gate of Funai Castle 270px, Matsudaira Chikayoshi, final ''daimyō'' of Funai was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now southern Ōita Prefecture. It was centered around Funai Castle in what is now the city of Ōita and was ruled by the ''fudai daimyō'' Ogyū-Matsudaira clan for most of its history. History Bungo Province was under the control of the Ōtomo clan from the Kamakura period to the Sengoku period. Under the tenure of the ''Kirishitan'' warlord Ōtomo Sōrin, the Ōtomo clan invaded Hyūga Province but was defeated by the Shimazu clan from 1586, and were confined to Nyujima Castle (the predecessor of Usuki Castle). The Ōtomo were saved by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1586-1587 Kyūshū campaign and were allowed to reclaim Bungo province as their territory. However, Ōtomo Yoshimune (Sōrin's son) behaved in a cowardly manner during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) which so angered Hideyoshi that th ...
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