(1579/80 – June 27, 1649) was a Japanese noble lady of the late
Azuchi-Momoyama through early
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
. She was
Ōtani Yoshitsugu's daughter, then she was adopted by
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: ...
, before marrying
Sanada Yukimura (Nobushige). She is described as having been very beautiful. They had two or three sons and four daughters.
Life
Chikurin-in was known in her childhood as Takehime (竹姫). She was also known as Riyohime (利世姫) and Akihime (安岐姫).
In 1594, she married Sanada Yukimura, the second son of
Sanada Masayuki, daimyō of
Ueda.
["刑部と豊臣79p" 宮本義己『大谷刑部と豊臣秀吉』（花ヶ前盛明編『大谷刑部のすべて』新人物往来社、2000年）79頁] It was a political marriage suggested by Hideyoshi to ensure an alliance between the
Toyotomi (and the Ōtani) and the
Sanada.
After Hideyoshi's death (1598), Japan was divided in two. Yukimura, Yoshitsugu and Masayuki (Chikurin-in's father-in-law) joined the western coalition of
Ishida Mitsunari
was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...
, while Yukimura's older brother,
Sanada Nobuyuki
was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of ''daimyō'' Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura.
Early life
He was the first son of Sanada Masayuki and his wife, Kansho-in. His younger brother was Sanada Yu ...
, joined the eastern coalition of
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
.
After the
Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...
, with Ieyasu's victory, Yukimura and Masayuki were exiled to
Mt. Koya in the
Kii Peninsula. Chikurin-in followed her husband. In exile, they had two or three sons and some daughters. It is said that life in
Kudoyama was difficult so, according to the tradition, she is supposed to had devise the Sanadahimo, that applied Tsumugi technology. She has supported the livelihood of her family by selling it.
In 1615, during the
Osaka Campaign, Yukimura and his family escaped from the exile to join in the
Toyotomi's forces. But, in the
Summer Siege, Yukimura and his first son, Yukimasa, were killed.
Chikurin-in and her daughter Akuri were captured by Asano Nagaakira's troops and handed over to the Tokugawa, but both were spared and Chikurin-in became a nun. Her name as a nun was .
Chikurin-in went, in the first place, at the service of the
Asano clan, in the second place, to
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
with one of her daughters. She died there the June 27, 1649.
Family
*Father:
Ōtani Yoshitsugu (1558–1600)
*Adopted father:
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: ...
(1537–1598)
*Siblings:
** Ōtani Yoshiharu (1581–1615)
** Kinoshita Yoritsugu (?–1600)
*Spouse:
Sanada Yukimura (m.1594-1615)
*Children:
** (真田 大助)(1600–1615). Yukimura's and Chikurin-in's eldest son. Born in exile on Mount Kudo. He was born around 1600–1602. He fought with his father in the Osaka Winter Battle to defend the
Sanada Maru fortress. When Osaka castle fell, Yukimasa committed seppuku with
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga.
Early life
Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...
. He was also known as "Sanada Yukimasa" (真田 幸昌).
** Oume (阿梅) (1604–1681). Yukimura and Chikurin-in's daughter, born on Mount Kudo. After the fall of Osaka castle, she married
Katakura Shigenaga, son of
Katakura Kagetsuna. Thanks to Oume, the surviving members of the Sanada clan and all of their retainers were able to find refuge in the Katakura clan. The Katakura crest was even changed to show the 6 coin symbol of the Sanada.
** Akuri (あくり) (dates unknown). Yukimura and Chikurin-in's daughter. Akuri was adopted by Takigawa Kazuatsu, a Tokugawa vassal, after the fall of Osaka castle. Yukimura's sister was married to Kazuatsu. Akuri married Gamou Genzaemon.
** Oshobu (阿菖蒲) (160? – 1635). Oshobu was Yukimura and Chikurin-in's daughter. Born on Mount Kudo. She was adopted by
Katakura Shigenaga and married to Tamura Sadahiro, a retainer of
Date Masamune
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...
.
** Okane (おかね) (dates unknown) Yukimura and Chikurin-in's daughter. Born on Mount Kudo. She married Ishikawa Sadakiyo. It's said that Sadakiyo changed his name to Sourin, moved to Kyoto and became a master of the tea ceremony. Chikurin-in came to live with Okane after losing her husband. Sourin and Okane had a memorial built for Yukimura and Chikurin-in in Kyoto.
**
Sanada Daihachi (真田 大八) (1612–1670). Yukimura and Chikurin-in's second son. He was born on Mount Kudo. He was adopted by
Katakura Shigenaga, and became "Katakura Morinobu" (片倉 守信). However, the Sanada name was restored to his line generations later.
**
Sanada Yukichika (真田 之親) (1615–1670). He was born shortly after his father's death, to Chikurin-in. He is not mentioned in historical records, and appears only in folk tales. He is also known as "Sanada Gonzaemon".
See also
*
Sanada Taiheiki a Japanese drama
*
Sanada Maru a Japanese drama
* (Riyo is also Chikurin-in's name in Sanada Taiheiki)
Notes
References
* Ōtani genealogy
(in Japanese)
* Sanada genealogy ,
(in Japanese)
External links
Sanada Yukimura family love-deeper.livejournal.com.
* http://www.rokumonsen.com/source-of-future/sanada-db/s-family/sf-bunke/h-sanada-nobushige-group/01sanada-nobushige-family/b1-riyo/index.html ('Riyo' in Japanese)
*http://mens-full-life.com/entame/nhk-historical-drama/yukimura-children/ (articles about Yukimura's children)
*http://okada-akira.jp/history/vol22.html (information about the fate of Yukimura's children in particular the Sendai children)
{{People of the Sengoku period, State=Autocollapse
16th-century births
1649 deaths
Toyotomi clan
People of the Azuchi–Momoyama period
People of the Edo period
16th-century Japanese nobility
17th-century Japanese people
16th-century Japanese women
17th-century Japanese women
Samurai
Ōtani clan
Sanada clan
Women of the Sengoku period