Dosan Saito (1/2)The man who unified Mino and married his daughter to Oda Nobunaga.

After the Onin War and during the Sengoku period, it became common for subordinates to replace their masters. Dōsan Saito, who is considered one of the three great villains of the Sengoku period, is not known about his origins or early life, but he was able to unify Mino and marry his daughter Kicho (Nohime) to Oda Nobunaga of Owari, a neighboring country. He was a talented and capable military commander. What was the life of Dosan Saito, who was defeated by his son and killed in battle?

The first half of life with traditional theories and new theories

Previously, it was believed that he was born in Nishioka, Yamashiro Otokuni District, in 1494. However, there is a theory that his year of birth was 1504, and there are various theories about his place of birth.

According to the ``Mino Province Chronicles'', his ancestors had served as northern samurai for generations, and his father, Matsunami Sakon General Kan Motomune, was said to have become a prisoner due to circumstances and lived in Nishioka.

Dosan's childhood name was Minemaru, and in the spring of the age of 11, he received tokudo at Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto and became a monk under the name Horenbo.
Afterwards, when his disciple and schoolmate Nichigofusa (Nanyobo) went to Jozaiji Temple in Imaizumi, Atsumi District, Mino Province as the chief priest, Horenbo also took the opportunity to return to the secular world and became Shogoro Matsunami (also known as Shokuro). It will be called.

Shogoro married the daughter of oil wholesaler Naraya Matabei and became an oil merchant, calling himself Yamazaki-ya.
During the Taiei era, Shogoro became successful and famous as an oil peddler.

According to "Mino Province Old Chronicles," the business method was, ``When pouring oil, don't use a funnel, just pour it through a hole in a coin. If the oil spills, we won't charge you.'' It became popular in Mino as a kind of public display of pouring.

Shogoro was a successful peddler, but one day, a samurai named Yano of the Toki family who bought oil told him, ``Your skills as an oil seller are wonderful, but after all, they are the skills of a merchant.If you put this power into martial arts, you would be great.'' It is said that he could have become a great samurai, but it would be a shame,'' and so he made up his mind to quit his trade, practiced using spears and guns, and became a master of martial arts.

After that, Shogoro, who wanted to become a samurai, asked for Nichiun, who was renamed Nichigobo of Jozai-ji Temple in Mino, and succeeded in becoming a vassal of Nagai Nagahiro, the small governor of the Toki clan, the governor of Mino. Shogoro took the name of the Nishimura clan, a vassal of the Nagai clan, and called himself Kankuro Nishimura Masatoshi.

Kankuro gradually distinguished himself with his martial arts and talent, and gained the trust of Toki Yoriyoshi, the second son of Toki Shugo. When Yoriyoshi lost to his older brother Masayori (Yoritake) in the succession to the family headship, Kankuro secretly devised a plan and, in August 1527, raided Kate Castle and drove Masayori to Echizen. , made a great contribution to Yoriyoshi's assistant guardianship.

Kankuro, who had Yoriyoshi's trust, plotted to eliminate Nagahiro Nagai, who also had Yoriyoshi's trust, and murdered Nagai Nagahiro for misconduct between 1530 and 1533. , he called himself Shinkuro Nagai Norihide.
Around this time, Yorizumi Toki was looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

In the 4th year of Tenbun (1535), he and Yoriyoshi clashed with Yorizumi, and with the help of the Asakura and Rokkaku clans, the war spread to all of Mino.

When Saito Toshiyoshi, the governor of Mino, died of illness in 1538, he inherited his name and called himself Shinkuro Saito Toshimasa. In 1539, he underwent major renovations to his castle, Inabayama Castle (later Gifu Castle).

However, recent research has revealed that there is a high possibility that the career history of his father, Shinzaemon No. 1, is mixed in with these biographies.

If the ``Nagai Shinzaemon Officer'' seen in documents from the Taiei era is the same person as Dosan's father, it means that he was already active as the Nagai clan during his father's generation. Furthermore, Fujiwara (Nagai) Norihide issued his first document in a document dated June 2015, and had succeeded to the headship of the family from Shinzaemon before then.

In addition, the diary of Sanetaka Sanjo Nishi, a court noble, states that Dosan's father passed away in this year. In a document dated November 26 of the same year (in the possession of Nagatakiji Temple, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, deposited at the Gifu City Museum of History), it is co-signed with Kagehiro Nagai, in a format that respects the lord's family, and Dosan is responsible for the murder of Nagai Nagai. This refutes the legend that he took over the Nagai clan's family name and did not allow Nagahiro's descendants to inherit it.

Additionally, a prohibited document with Nagahiro Nagai's signature was issued dated March 3rd year of the Kyoroku era, and it is known that at least the murder of Nagahiro in the New Year of the 3rd year of Kyoroku was a misrepresentation. However, after this, Dosan's signature alone appeared in a document dated September 1998 (``Kegonji Documents'' and ``Fujiwara Norihide Ban''), and Kagehiro's name has not been found in any documents since then. It is assumed that Kagehiro had retired or died by this time.

Country theft of Mino

In 1541, Toshimasa poisoned Yorimitsu Toki (Yoriyoshi's younger brother), and the conflict between Yoriyoshi and Toshimasa deepened. For a time, Toshimasa was in a difficult situation, but in 1542 Toshimasa attacked Yoriyoshi's residence, Okuwa Castle, exiled Yoriyoshi to Owari, and became the de facto lord of Mino. It is said that

The decapitation was created from such acts, and it was said that ``Killing your master and killing your son-in-law is a punishment for yourself.In the old days, it was Osada, but now it is Yamashiro (A violent deed such as killing your master or son-in-law will lead to personal destruction.In the old days, Nagata Tadamune of Owari, and today it would be Saito Yamashiro no Kami Toshimasa of Mino).

However, Yorie, who received the support of Nobuhide Oda, formed a partnership with Yorizumi, who had been exiled earlier and was under the protection of Takakage Asakura (his father Masayori was presumed to have died before this). Both invaded Mino with the support of the Asakura clan and the Oda clan, using the Toki clan's return to Mino as a pretext.

As a result, Yorie entered Ibi Kitagata Castle, and Yorizumi (or Masayori may have also survived and acted together) returned to Kate Castle.

In a letter sent by Dosan on May 21, 1546 (1546) or 16th year (1547), it is confirmed that Dosan was given matcha along with 50 persimmons as a present during the camp. It can be seen that he actually enjoyed the tea ceremony and used his free time to enjoy tea ceremonies even while in the camp.

In September 1547, Oda Nobuhide launched a large-scale attack on Inabayama Castle, but Toshimasa nearly wiped out the Oda army in a siege battle (Battle of Kanoguchi, however, at the time There are different theories). Meanwhile, Yorizumi suddenly passed away in November of the same year. Under these circumstances, Toshimasa made peace with Nobuhide Oda, and in 1548 married his daughter Kicho (Nohime) to Nobuhide's eldest son Nobunaga Oda.

When they met at Shotokuji Temple (present-day Tomita, Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture) after marrying Kicho to Nobunaga, Nobunaga, who had been described as a ``trickster'', came dressed in formal clothes and equipped his bodyguards with many guns. Toshimasa Saito was very surprised by this, and at the same time he saw Nobunaga, he said to his vassal Hyosuke Inoko, ``My children will become servants, just like tying horses in front of Nobunaga's gate.'' There is a description in ``Nobunaga Koki.''

Through this peace, Kageoki Nagaya, the lord of Aiba castle, and Mitsuchika Ibi, the lord of Ibi castle, who had rebelled against Toshimasa with the support of the Oda family, were destroyed, and Yorie, who had remained in Ibi northern castle, was defeated in Tenbun 21 (1552). He was once again exiled to Owari and completely subdued Mino.

In his later years and his final moments when he was beaten by his son.

Around the end of the Tenbun period, Fujuan Baisetsu taught him the ``Sukigon no Zu'', a tea room arrangement, which was handed down by Ryōmichi Inaba. This historical material reveals the lineage of the tea ceremony, in which the method of setting the tea ceremony tatami room at Fujuan Baisetsu was taught to Dosan Saito, who passed it on to Yoshimichi Inaba, and then passed it on to Tomoe, Shino. .