Yamagata: A Japanese university professor announced on January 11 that a new document written by Date Masamune, a 16th-century military commander and the first lord of the Sendai domain, has been discovered at a museum in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Kenji Matsuo, a professor emeritus at Yamagata University who specializes in Japanese medieval history, has determined that the documents housed at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History were written by prominent feudal lords during the Sengoku period of the 15th and 16th centuries. Records from the seals he used in his later years, the contents of letters, and other historical sources.
Mr. Matsuo estimates that this letter was sent to Hatamoto’s wife Yoritoshi Ki in 1635.
Translated into modern Japanese, the document reads, “On the morning of March 16th, Tadatoshi Hosokawa (feudal lord) is scheduled to visit (the residence of Date Masamune in Edo).If there are no prior arrangements, is that okay?” participate? ”
Professor Matsuo said, “The Tsumaki clan was not a daimyo, but a hatamoto with a territory of only 7,500 koku, while the Masamune clan was a daimyo with 620,000 koku. Considering that the Hosokawa clan was also the first lord of the Kumamoto domain, this Historical materials indicate that Masamune had built a relationship with the people of Higo Province, who had 540,000 koku of rice, that went beyond differences in social status based on surnames.
The letter, measuring 35 cm x 43 cm, was donated to the museum by a private individual in 2019. Although some parts of the message were severely damaged and unreadable, Mr. Matsuo and his colleagues, who are experts in medieval Japanese history, worked to uncover the message.
[Shuichi Kanzaki]