was a ''

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 no ...

'' (military feudal lord) of

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

and Wakasa Province during the late

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 ...

of Japan's history. Papinot, Edmond. (2003)
''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28.
/ref>

Biography

His childhood name was Koboshi (小法師). Takatsugu is recognized as the founder of the modern

Kyōgoku clan The were a Japanese ''daimyō'' and samurai clan which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. The clan descend from the Uda Genji through the Sasaki clan.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> The ...

. His forebears had been powerful since the 13th century,Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon,'' p. 75.
/ref> but their fortunes had waned after the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era name, Japanese era during which the war started; the war ende ...

. Iwao, Seiichi. (2002)
''Dictionnaire historique du Japon,'' p. 1704.
/ref> Takatsugu is credited with restoring his family's lost prominence and position. Takatsugu allied himself with

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

; and after Nobunaga's death, Takatsugu became a '' fudai'' (hereditary vassal) daimyo of the Toyotomi. Hideyoshi installed Takatsugu at Ōtsu Castle (60,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'') in Ōmi province. In 1600, he sided with the Tokugawa. On the same day as 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, ...

, failed in his efforts at the Siege of Ōtsu, but

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 ...

's victory at Sekigahara marginalized the consequences of that loss. In that same year, Takatsugu was rewarded with the fief of Obama (92,000 ''koku'') in Wakasa Province. Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the Kyōgoku were identified as '' tozama'' or outsiders, in contrast with the ''fudai'' daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa. Despite this, Takatsugu prospered.

Family

* Father: Kyōgoku Takayoshi * Mother: Kyōgoku Maria * Wife:

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 ...

*Sister: Kyōgoku Tatsuko * Concubine: ** Yamada-dono **Ogura * Sons: ** Kyōgoku Tadataka by Yamada-dono ** Atage Takamasa by Ogura

Genealogy

The ''tozama'' Kyōgoku claimed descent from Emperor Uda (868–897) by his grandson Minamoto no Masanobu (920–993). They represent a branch of the Sasaki clan who were adopted by the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, ...

. His sister, Kyōgoku Tatsuko, also known as Matsu no maru-dono, was 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 concubine. Takatsugu's father was Kyōgoku Takayoshi, and his mother was Azai Nagamasa's sister Maria. Takatsugu married

, the second of three daughters of his uncle. Ohatsu's mother,

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

, was the younger sister of

. Takatsugu became a close relative by marrying Nobunaga's niece. "The silk coloured portrait of wife of Takatsugu Kyogoku,"
Digital Cultural Properties of Wakasa Obama

, Gifu prefecture website. The older sister of Takatsugu's wife,

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor ...

, was the concubine of

and mother of his heir Toyotomi Hideyori. Takatsugu's sister and Yodo-dono's cousin, Kyōgoku Tatsuko, also became Hideyoshi's concubine. In marriage, Takatsugu became a brother-in-law of Hideyoshi. The younger sister of Takatsugu's wife,

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a noblewoman in Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was a daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during the Tokugawa s ...

, was the wife of second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and the mother of third shogun Iemitsu. In marriage, Takatsugu became a brother-in-law of Hidetada. After Takatsugu's death in 1609, Ohatsu became a Buddhist nun, taking the name Jōkō-in (常高院).Ito, Eishiro
Nozen-zan Joko-ji temple
(Iwate Prefectural University). With connections to both the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa, the Ohatsu had long served as a liaison between the rivals. She continued in this role until 1615 when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi in Osaka. Kyōgoku Tadataka (1593–1637) was Takatsugu's son. In 1607, Tadataka married the fourth daughter of Shōgun Hidetada. He died without leaving any heirs, which meant that his holdings reverted to the shogunate. However, the bakufu acted to continue his line by posthumously designating Kyōgoku Takakazu as an heir. Takakazu was Tadataka's nephew, the son of his brother Takamasa. Tadakazu was initially enfeoffed at Tatsuno (50,000 ''koku'') in Harima Province. In 1658, Takakazu was transferred to Marugame in Sanuki Province, where the contrived descendants of Takatsugu remained until the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

in 1871. The head of this Kyōgoku clan branch were ennobled as an hereditary viscount in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha. * Bryant, Arthur J. (1995)
''Sekigahara 1600: the final struggle for power''.
Oxford:

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

. * Iwao, Seiichi, Teizō Iyanaga, Susumu Ishii, Shōichirō Yoshida, ''et al.'' (2002)
''Dictionnaire historique du Japon''.
Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose.
OCLC 51096469
* Papinot, Edmond. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
''Nobiliaire du japon'' (abridged version of 1906 text).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyogoku, Takatsugu Daimyo Kyōgoku clan 1560 births 1609 deaths 17th-century Japanese people Japanese military engineers