Kodaiin (Kitamandokoro/Nene) (1/2)A wife who supported the nation's naked people

The late Muromachi period was a time when many parts of Japan were in turmoil and called the Warring States period. During the Sengoku period, there was a hero named Toyotomi Hideyoshi who rose from the dead and unified the country. Hideyoshi served Oda Nobunaga, and rose from being a minor samurai to becoming a powerful military commander of the Oda family and then becoming a ruler of the nation. It was his wife Kodaiin who supported Hideyoshi. This time, I would like to introduce Kodaiin, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the great ruler of Japan.

"Nene", "Kitamandokoro" and "Kodaiin"

Kodaiin later became the legal wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan.
Kodai-in was originally named ``Nene,'' ``One,'' and ``Nei.''

When her husband Hideyoshi was appointed Kanpaku, Nene became known as Kitamandokoro. Kitamandokoro was a term used to refer to the legal wife of an aristocrat in the early Heian period. In the middle period, it became formalized and senji came to refer only to the legal wife of the regent or Kanpaku. Kitamandokoro is a word used to describe the wife of the regent Kanpaku. Now, when ``Nene'' came to be called ``Kitamandokoro,'' it became especially famous in history, and it became established that Kitamandokoro = Nene. After the Edo period, Kitamandokoro was used to refer to the wife of the regent Kanpaku, and ``Nene'' was used to refer to an individual.

Furthermore, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, she became a nun and was given the title of inn by the imperial court, first calling herself Kodaiin Kaiyo Shinni, and later changing her name to Kodaiin Kogetsshinni. From this point on, ``Kitamandokoro'' came to be called ``Kodaiin''. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's legal wife was known as ``Nene'', ``Kitamandokoro'', and ``Kodaiin''. In this talk, I will proceed as "Kodai-in".

From birth to adopted daughter of the Asano family

Kodaiin was born in Asahi Village, Owari Province (present-day Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture) to Sadatoshi Sugihara and Asahi-dono (also known as ``Kohi'').
His siblings include Kinoshita Iesada, Choseiin (the wife of the doctor Sanori Zentomo), and Sugihara Kuma (the legal wife of Asano Nagamasa). Asano Nagamasa, whom Kuma Sugihara married, became a senior vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, participated in the management of the Toyotomi administration, and became one of the five magistrates. The children born between Nagamasa and Kuma were Yukinaga Asano (eldest son), the first lord of the Asano family in Kii, and Nagaaki Asano (second son), the first lord of the Asano family in Aki after being transferred from Kii province to Aki province. ), his son (Naganao Asano) was Nagashige Asano (third son), who became the first lord of the Asano family in Ako, where Chushingura is set.

The Sugihara family, where Kodai-in was born, and the Asano family, who are related by marriage, became a large family connected to the Toyotomi family.
Kodaiin was born into the Sugihara family, but when she grew up, she became the adopted daughter of Nagakatsu Asano, who was married to her mother's (Asahidono) younger sister (aunt Fuku). One theory is that Kinoshita Tokichiro (Toyotomi Hideyoshi), who was an ashigaru, and Kodaiin became a couple, but his mother, Asahi-dono, was against this marriage. It is said that Tokichiro, who was in trouble, begged his relative Nagakatsu Asano to adopt Kodaiin as his daughter, and finally they were able to get married.

Marriage with Hideyoshi

In August 1561, Kodaiin married Kinoshita Tokichiro (Toyotomi Hideyoshi), a vassal of Oda Nobunaga. It is said that it was a free love affair, which was rare at the time, and the wedding was simple because of her husband's low social status. The two were brought together by love, and even after Hideyoshi became ruler of Japan, they were said to have remained close throughout their lives, even getting into fights in front of the feudal lords in their Owari accents.

Furthermore, until the Sengoku period, the legal wife, who had the right to be a housewife, was in charge of household affairs, so Kodaiin later came to be in charge of the Kinoshita family (later the Hashiba family and the Toyotomi family). After Hideyoshi became the ruler of Japan, Kodaiin seems to have had a strong personality, sending a large number of sake and appetizers to Terumoto Mori, who came to Kyoto.

Kodaiin, who married Hideyoshi who served the Oda family in Owari, was close to Hoshunin (Matsu), who would become the wife of Toshiie Maeda, when she lived in Seishu, and is said to have acted as a matchmaker between Toshiie and Matsu. He was also close to Michiyoin (Chiyo), the wife of Kazutoyo Yamauchi, who became the lord of Tosa (present-day Kochi Prefecture), and Kenshoin also lived near Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, where Kodaiin lived in his later years. Kodaiin and the wives of warlords from Owari who later became feudal lords established a relationship around this time.

Husband's career advancement and cheating

From around 1568, Oda Nobunaga supported Yoshiaki Ashikaga and went to Kyoto. Her husband Tokichiro Kinoshita (Hideyoshi Toyotomi) also followed Nobunaga to Kyoto. However, Hideyoshi took a concubine in Kyoto, and she became Hideyoshi's first child, Ishimatsumaru (Hidekatsu Hashiba, who died young when he was young). Kodaiin, troubled by her husband's infidelity, wrote a letter to her lord, Nobunaga Oda, and Nobunaga also sent a letter of consolation in an official document stamped with the seal of ``Tenka Fubu.'' I did.

In 1574, Hideyoshi, who became the lord of Nagahama Castle in Omi Province, summoned his birth mother Omandokoro (Naka) and Kodaiin and moved from Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture) to Kita-Omi (northern Shiga Prefecture). To do. In place of her husband, who was often away from Nagahama on expeditions to various places, Kodaiin managed the household affairs in a position similar to acting lord of the castle. In addition, Kodaiin, who does not have any children with her husband, actively takes care of the children of her husband's relatives. The people who came out of this were Kiyomasa Kato and Masanori Fukushima.

From the Honnoji Incident to the Wife of the Nation

In this way, her husband Tokichiro Kinoshita (Hideyoshi Toyotomi) steadily rose in status within the Oda family, and Kodaiin supported him.
However, in 1582, the lord, Oda Nobunaga, was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide at Honnoji Temple (the Honnoji Incident). At this time, Kodaiin was in Nagahama Castle. However, Sadayuki Akei, the lord of Yamamotoyama Castle, who was allied with Akechi's side, attacked and occupied Nagahama Castle. Kodai-in Temple escaped the disaster by evacuating to Daikichi-ji Temple.

From this point on, Hashiba Hideyoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) defeated his master's enemy, Akechi Mitsuhide, and won the Oda family's political battle. Furthermore, he brought in surrounding daimyo under his control and rose to the top of the nation.

In 1585, Hideyoshi was appointed Kanpaku by the Imperial Court. Along with this, Kodaiin was also conferred the rank of Junior Third Rank and granted the title of Kitamandokoro. Kodaiin, who became the wife of a feudal lord, negotiated with the imperial court, dealt with the daimyo's wives and children, and took charge of the affairs of the Toyotomi family.

When Emperor Goyozei visited Jurakudai in 1588, Kodaiin, who had prepared and carried out the preparations, was appointed to the unusually high rank of Juichii (Junior First Rank). At the same time, Hideyoshi granted him fiefs worth 10,000 koku, including Hirano-sho.
In this way, Kodaiin became the wife of an ashigaru of the Oda family, became the lord of Nagahama Castle, and then became the wife of a feudal lord and supported her husband, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kodaiin was not just a wife who was in charge of the household, but also had the side of an administrator who was in charge of the affairs of the country.

During the Odawara expedition that began in 1590, Hideyoshi sent five letters from the Kanto region to Kodai-in and his wives around the area, one letter to Yodo-dono, and one letter to Tsurumatsu (Hideyoshi's first child with Yodo-kun). Hideyoshi sent one letter to Omandokoro (Hideyoshi's mother), and one letter to Hiroie Yoshikawa, and based on the amount of letters, Hideyoshi saw Kodaiin as one of the people in charge of the Kinai area when he was away. I can see that.
In addition, during the Korean War that began in 1593, he worked to facilitate supplies and transportation from Kinai to the front line of Nagoya in Kyushu, and together with Hidetsugu Toyotomi, he issued red seals.

Kodaiin and Yodo-kun

Kodaiin never had any children during his life. Hideyoshi, who became a ruler of Japan, had many concubines, one of whom was Yodo. Yodo was born as the daughter of Nagamasa Asai as his father and Nobunaga Oda's sister Oichi as his mother. Yodo established Tsurumatsu with Hideyoshi, and after Tsurumatsu died, he established Toyotomi Hideyori. It is said that Kodaiin had a long rivalry with Yodo-kun. This is because Kodaiin was a native of Owari Province, and raised Kiyomasa Kato, Masanori Fukushima, and others by his side. Kiyomasa, Masanori, and others formed a group centered on daimyo from Owari Province (the Toyotomi family) and was called the Budanha. As I mentioned earlier, Yodo is from Omi Province. The Toyotomi family also established a literary school (Toyotomi family) centered around the feudal lord from Omi Province, Ishida Mitsunari, and Yodo was seen as the center of it. It was thought that Kodai-in of the Owari Mudan faction and Yodo-kun of the Omi Bunchi faction were in conflict. However, recent research shows that the two had a cooperative system, with Kodaiin devoting herself to her late husband's Buddhist rites, and Yodo serving as Hideyori's guardian. Kodaiin and Yodo supported the Toyotomi family from their respective positions.

Hideyoshi's death

In August 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away. After her husband, Hideyoshi, passed away, Kodaiin worked with Yodo-no-Kimi to protect Toyotomi Hideyori and manage the affairs of the Toyotomi family.