Date Harumune's grave and his figure at Hoshuji Temple in Fukushima City [Fukushima Prefecture]

Date Harumune the 15th head of the the grandfather of Date Masamune the first lord of the Sendai domain , and was the man who established the Date clan's base in Masamune's hometown of Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture.

In this article, we will visit the grave of Lord Harumune and unravel the character he was

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The personality of Date Harumune

He was born in 1519 as the eldest son of Date Tanemune, the 14th head of the Date clan, and his mother, Taishin'in, the daughter of Ashina Moritaka . He took the name "Harumune"

There are few records from before the Tenbun Rebellion, an internal conflict with his father, Tanemune, but there is an anecdote that when Harumune married his wife, Princess Kubo, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Oshu, Harumune himself attacked the wedding procession of Princess Kubo, who was originally to marry into the Yuki family at the request of his father, Iwaki Shigetaka, and took her away, almost by force, making her his wife

Although it was a very rough beginning, her relationship with her father-in-law, Iwaki Shigetaka, was good thereafter, and she had even promised to adopt her first child, a son (Iwaki Chikataka), into the Iwaki family, so it is possible that this is a fictional story created to portray his character

The couple had a harmonious relationship, and Harumune did not have any concubines, but he had six sons and five daughters with his wife, Princess Kubo .

The Tenbun Rebellion: A civil war with his father, Tanemune, which involved the feudal lords of southern Oshu

Harumune's father Date Tanemune , had more than 20 children with his wife and concubines, and expanded his power by sending his children to neighboring daimyo. By the beginning of the Tenbun era (around 1532), he had become a figure with great influence over the daimyo of southern Oshu, including Mogami, Soma, Ashina, Tamura, Nikaido, Osaki, and Kasai.

However, Harumune opposed the plan to cede part of the former Soma territory of Uta and Namegata counties to Soma Akitane, and also strongly opposed the plan to send Harumune's third son, Tokimunemaru (later known as Date Sanemoto), as an adopted son to Uesugi Sadazane in Echigo, claiming that this was an "exodus of valuable talent from the Date clan."

This incident sparked a decisive conflict between father and son, and Harumune conspired with senior vassals such as Nakano Munetoki and Kuwaori Kagenaga to imprison his father, Tanemune, in Kuwaori Nishiyama Castle in 1542 (Tenbun 11)

However, Koyanagigawa Munetomo of the Tanemune faction rescued him and showed an attitude of fighting against the Harumune faction, and asked for help from various daimyo related to him, including Soma Akitane, so the internal conflict between father and son involved various daimyo in the Oshu region and developed into a major conflict that would later be called the Tenbun Rebellion

Initially, the situation progressed with the Tanemune faction in the lead, but in 1547 (Tenbun 16), Ashina Moriuji, who had previously been on the Tanemune side, defected to the Harumune faction, and the situation reversed. In 1548 (Tenbun 17), with the mediation of the 13th Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshifuji (Yoshiteru), a peace agreement was reached with the Harumune faction still in the lead

The Tenbun Rebellion, which had lasted for about six years, came to an end, and Harumune inherited the family headship and became the 15th head of the Date clan

The discord with his son Terumune is said to be the underlying cause of the Genki Incident

Harumune, who inherited the family headship after the victory in the Tenbun Rebellion, moved his base to Yonezawa and, supported by senior vassals such as Nakano Munetoki and Kuwaori Kagenaga, worked to rebuild the Date clan after the internal conflict

In 1555, he was appointed as the first head of the Date clan to serve as Oshu Tandai by the Muromachi shogunate, and in 1563, out of the 50 or so daimyo from all over the country approved by the shogunate, only two people from Oshu, Ashina Moriuji and Date Harumune, were given the honor of being listed as daimyo

Around 1564, he retired and handed over the family headship to Date Terumune

There were constant minor clashes between the two men, such as Terumune obstructing Harumune's attempt to build a retirement home on the outskirts of Yonezawa Castle, and Harumune opposing Terumune's attempts to suppress the rebellious Tade Munemitsu.Furthermore, Terumune married his own sister, Hikohime (Harumune's fourth daughter), to Ashina Morioki as his adopted daughter, and it is said that he had made a secret agreement with Ashina Moriuji, Morioki's father and head of the Ashina family, to side with Harumune if the two men ever fought

This suggests that the relationship between the two parents at the time had deteriorated to its worst possible state

Incidentally, Harumune was prevented from building a retirement home on the outskirts of Yonezawa Castle, so he retired to Sugizuma Castle (Fukushima Castle) in Shinobu County in 1565

Then, in 1570, Terumune received news that the Nakano clan, senior retainers of the Date clan, were suspected of treason. Terumune ordered an attack on Komatsu Castle, where Nakano Munetoki and his son Makino Hisanaka were staying, and the Nakano clan fled to the Soma clan

later the Genki Incident , was caused by the conflict between father and son Harumune and Terumune, and there is a theory that this conflict itself was a plot by Nakano Munetoki and Makino Hisanaka.

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Kohakuyama Hoshoji Temple, where Harumune's grave is located

It is said that Harumune built Hosho-ji Temple in a corner of the castle grounds to console the spirits of his ancestors and retainers. It is unclear whether this is the current location, but the current Hosho-ji Temple is located in Funaba-cho, Fukushima City, about a 10-minute walk from the remains of the main keep of Sugitsuma Castle (Fukushima Castle)

The entrance to Hoshoji Temple. Harumune's youngest son, Sugime Naomune, is also buried here

As you enter the temple grounds, the area on your left, surrounded by a stone fence (a fence made of wood or stone that surrounds the grave area), is the gravesite of Date Harumune

The graveyard of Date Harumune seen from the front. His gravestone faces the direction of Sugitsuma Castle (Fukushima Castle) so that he could view it even after his death

A stone monument engraved with the words "Tomb of Date Harumune, Junior Fourth Rank, Sakyo-dayu

The flower vases on either side of the tombstone are engraved "Marunouchi and three vertical lines," which has been in use since the time of family, Date Tomomune

lastly

Harumune lived a truly sad life, fighting with his own father and even becoming estranged from his own children, to the point of fighting one another. However, after the Genki Incident, the relationship between father and son began to improve, and he invited people to Sugitsuma Castle to hold banquets, where his grandson Bontenmaru (Date Masamune's childhood name) performed waka poetry. It is also said that when he was on his deathbed, Terumune came all the way from Yonezawa to visit him, and it appears that he enjoyed happy final years

From the Edo period onwards, in records such as the "Date Masato Yojiko" and the "Date Jikei Kiroku," which compiled the history of the Sendai domain, Harumune, who fought with his father and nearly fought with his son, is described as a "bad ruler," and this became established as the official history of the Sendai domain (the Date clan)

However, I personally think that in those days, there was no other way to do it

While some experts point out the similarities in the policies of Tanemune (father) and Terumune (son), who made use of diplomacy through marriage and adoption, Harumune, who had no concubines, was devoted to his wife, Princess Kubo, and often adopted his children as retainers, was perhaps a man who simply cherished the Date family as a family

Because of these feelings, he is one of my favorite historical figures

Hoshoji Temple <Information>

• Name: Mt. Kohaku Hoshakuji Temple
• Address: 3-16 Funabacho, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, 960-8103
• Phone number: 024-523-0748
• Official URL: -

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