This site is a web media that delivers all kinds of trivia, from sightseeing and gourmet spots in the six Tohoku prefectures to local, customs, and history.
Shiroishi City, located in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, is famous for being the land ruled by Katakura Kojuro was known as "Katakura Kagetsuna of Wisdom" alongside of Warriors
This time, I visited some historical sites related to Katakura Kojuro Kagetsuna and the Katakura family, and would like to introduce them to you!
Katakura Kagetsuna and four historical sites of the Katakura family
Katakura Kagetsuna, the founder of the Katakura clan of the Sendai domain is famous as a great general who served as a military strategist for Date Masamune. Kagetsuna's nickname, Kojuro, was continued by successive heads of the family even after his death, and all heads of the Katakura clan are known as Katakura Kojuro XX.
At the end of the Edo period, the defeat of the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance in the Boshin War led the Katakura family to emigrate to Hokkaido to pioneer the area, but the history of the Katakura family continued to be woven in Shiroishi, both before and after that
The following article follows the subsequent events of the Date clan's retainers after the Boshin War
Shiroishi Castle, the residence of the Katakura clan, was an exception to the one castle per province law
After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1602, Shiroishi Castle became the residence of the Katakura clan, vassals of the Date clan, as a subsidiary castle of Sendai Castle. The fact that it was allowed to remain in existence as an exception even after the "One Castle per Province" order of 1615, which was issued by the shogunate to prevent rebellions against the shogunate and wars between provinces, gives a sense of the close relationship that Date Masamune built between the Date clan and the shogunate .
During the Boshin War the Shiroishi Conference of Feudal Domains was held here, led to the formation of the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance , making it an important stage for a turning point in history.
Shiroishi Castle
The castle tower, Oteichinomon Gate, and Ninomon Gate were faithfully restored in 1995 and are now symbols of Shiroishi City
Details about the castle and its surroundings are summarized in the article below
Joeizan Ketsusanji Temple, home to a lone cedar tree said to be the gravestone of the first Katakura Kagetsuna
Temple was founded in 1608 by Katakura Kagetsuna as the family temple of the Katakura family.
Statue of Katakura Kojuro Kagetsuna and the main hall of Kessanji Temple
The first head priest, Kagetsuna, and the second head priest, Shigenaga, were buried at this temple, but the third head priest, Kagenaga, had his remains reburied at Mt. Atago (currently the Katakura family mausoleum)
Currently, the heads of the family up to the 10th generation are buried at the Katakura family mausoleum on Mt. Atago, while the heads of the family from the 11th generation onwards and their wives are buried here at Keisanji Temple.
Information board for the Katakura family graveyard
Information board for the Katakura family graveyard. In addition to the Katakura family, Matsumae Yasuhiro, the seventh son of Matsumae Yoshihiro, the first lord of the Matsumae domain in Hokkaido, and his descendants, are also buried here
A lone cedar tree said to be the grave marker of Katakura Kojuro Kagetsuna
If you go further into the temple grounds and follow the signs up the mountain path, you will come across a 400-year-old cedar tree that is said to be the grave marker of the first Kagekatsu
Ketsusanji Temple <Information>
Name: Joeishan Jietshan Temple
Address: 2-7-20 Minamimachi, Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture, 989-0248
The Katakura family mausoleum, built by the third head of the family, Katakura Kagenaga
The Katakura family mausoleum was built by the third head of the family, Katakura Kagenaga, on October 14, 1680, the anniversary of the death of the first head, Katakura Kagenaga, by reburying the graves of Kagenaga and the second head, Shigenaga, from Kessanji Temple.
Katakura Family Mausoleum
It is an impressive structure surrounded by a granite fence, with ten large stone statues lined up on the cobblestone floor and one gravestone, and is said to be a rare and valuable structure that can only be seen here as a mausoleum for subordinate vassals of the Tohoku region
Outside the Tamagaki fence, on the right side of the photo, there are gravestones for six vassals who died alongside the first Kagetsuna
By the way, a vassal is a "vassal of a vassal," with the Tokugawa Shogun at the top and the daimyo as vassals, and the daimyo's vassals as vassals of the vassals from the perspective of the Tokugawa Shogun
Information board for the Katakura family mausoleum
Lady Masako, wife of the seventh lord Murakado, Date Yoshimura, the , and is therefore buried in this mausoleum, just like the castle lord.
Seated statue of Amida Buddha, a grave marker at the Katakura family mausoleum
The grave marker is a seated statue of Amida Buddha, but only the 10th head priest, Munekage, has a square stone monument as his grave marker
Katakura Family Mausoleum <Information>
Name: Katakura Family Mausoleum
Address: Atagoyama, Fukuoka Kuramoto, Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture, 989-0231
The grave of Kita, the wet nurse of Date Masamune and the creator of the black bell flag
If you go a little further along National Route 113 from Mt. Atago, where the Katakura family mausoleum is located, towards Shichikashuku, you will come to the grave ofKatakura Masamune's wet .
She was a woman who excelled in both the arts and martial arts, and is thought to have had a great influence on the development of the personality of not only Kagetsuna, who was about 20 years older than her, but also Date Masamune during his childhood
After Date Masamune grew up, he became attached to Masamune's wife, Princess Mego, and together with Princess Mego, who was held hostage by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they went to Kyoto in 1594. He served as a servant at the Date residence in Fushimi, and had an audience with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who is said to have been impressed by Kita's talent and praised him as a "shonoagon."
Grave of Katakura Kita
The Katakura family's flag, a "black bell on a white background," was devised by Kita for Kagetsuna, and is said to represent the wish that the Katakura family name would resonate throughout the world, as well as the mourning of the souls of those who died in battle.
Kita's Grave <Information>
Name: Grave of Katakura Kita
Address: Fukuoka Kuramoto Taira Yashiki, Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture, 989-0231
Shiroishi City is famous for Shiroishi washi paper, Shiroishi onmen noodles, Yajiro Kokeshi dolls, and more recently Zao Fox Village, but it is also a castle town, as you would expect. There are also many historical sites that attest to its long history. Although it was just for research, I was deeply moved to be able to follow in the footsteps of Katakura Kagetsuna, who I have a personal attachment to
By the way, Shiraishi is also home to several historical sites related to Sanada Yukimura and his descendants, who had a strange connection with the Katakura family
I have summarized this in a separate article, so if you are interested, please take a look
Traveling around the Tohoku region, I enjoy drinking delicious sake and exploring the local history, traditions, and customs. I write articles based on my interests. I'm currently interested in folk performing arts, local toys, and folk beliefs.
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