or (1543 – August 20, 1618) was a Japanese noble lady and religious leader from the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

to the 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 the second daughter of Azai Hisamasa as well as Azai Nagamasa's elder sister and the mother of

Kyōgoku Takatsugu was a ''daimyō'' (military feudal lord) of Ōmi Province and Wakasa Province during the late Sengoku period of History of Japan, Japan's history.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Edmond. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> Biography His chi ...

and Kyōgoku Takatomo. She was the mostly successful woman

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

with her own assistants as well as Naitō Julia and her women catechists. She faced the rules of samurai governments, staying true to her missionary campaigns even when Christianity was banned in Japan.

Life

Her birth name is unknown, but she was given the name "Maria" after her conversion to Christianity. She was baptized with her husband Kyōgoku Takayoshi in the

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 Rom ...

s church in

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 ...

in 1581, though Takayoshi died soon after being baptized. After becoming a widow, she began preaching her new religion to people around her, and Jesuits named her one of the best female catechists of the Kyoto-Osaka area. Sometime in 1606 or 1607, Maria moved to Wakasa Province under Takatsugu's protection, and in 1609 she moved again to a remote place in

Tango Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba Province, Tanba to the south, Tajima Province, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa Province, Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name ...

to avoid the persecution of Christians. She died peacefully in a small hut belonging to a Buddhist nunnery in 1618. One of her daughters, Kyōgoku Tatsuko, is notable for being one of

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: ...

's favorite concubines.

Family

*Father: Azai Hisamasa (1526–1573) *Brother: Azai Nagamasa (1545–1573) *Husband: Kyōgoku Takayoshi (1504–1581) *Son:

(1563–1609), Kyōgoku Takatomo (1572–1622) *Daughter: Kyōgoku Tatsuko (d. 1634), Kyōgoku Magdalena * Niece:

Ohatsu or (1570 – September 30, 1633) was a prominently placed figure in the late Sengoku period. She was daughter of Oichi and Nagamasa Azai, and the sister of Yodo-dono and Oeyo. Alongside her sisters, she was active in the political intrigues ...

, (1570–1633)

References

16th-century Japanese women 17th-century Japanese women Kyōgoku clan Year of birth unknown Japanese Roman Catholic missionaries 1618 deaths Women of the Sengoku period 16th-century Roman Catholics {{Japan-noble-stub