TALES FROM HISTORY

Shimadzu Yoshihiro Remembered in Kagoshima’s Myōenji Pilgrimage

The “Demon Shimadzu” and the pilgrimage held in his honor

Shimadzu Yoshihiro’s escape from the epic Battle of Sekigahara is legendary. But before we can tell that story, we first need to set the stage.

Background

The late 15th century through the end of the 16th century is aptly called the Warring States Period. During those years, Japan was rocked by continuous strife, bloodshed, and power struggles between rival warlords.

In the mid 16th century, Oda Nobunaga, an exceptionally powerful lord, arose in Owari (now Aichi Prefecture). He conquered one great warlord after another, and over a period of 20 years succeeded in uniting much of the country — until he was betrayed by one of his own and driven to commit seppuku, the samurai’s ritual suicide.

One of Nobunaga’s generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, consolidated power and continued the work of unification by force. His ambitions got the better of him, though, when he set off to conquer Korea and the Chinese Ming Dynasty. In the midst of his defeats in Korea, his life was cut short by illness.

Before his death, Hideyoshi set up a council of five elders to govern Japan until his 5 year old son was fit to rule. One of those men was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a highly intelligent and devious warlord to whom Hideyoshi had granted the backwater…