F-1. Could you tell us about the Date family crest?

The Date family is a noble family, thus, has owned “Mibikiryo (circle with three horizontal lines)”, “Kiku (chrysanthemum)”, “Kiri (paulownia)”, “Botan (peony)”, “Kanibotan (crab and peony)”, “Kuyo (Navagraha)”, and “Yukiusu (thin snow)” aside from the main crest of “Take-ni-Suzume (bamboo and sparrow)”. According to the Kannei Family Tree, “Mibikiryo” was made into a family crest from the pattern of the curtain that was sent as a gift to the Date Family from Minamotono Yoritomo back in the days of Tomomune, the first head of the Date Family. The “Take-ni-Suzume” was used since the days of Harumune, the fifteenth shogun of the Date Family. “Kuyo” and “Yukiusu” were used from the period of Masamune, and “Kiku” and “Kiri” were bestowed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. “Botan” was given to Tsunamura, the fourth feudal lord of the Sendai Domain and the 20th leader of the family, by the Konoe family, and it was later changed to “Kanibotan” by Yoshimura, the fifth feudal lord of the Sendai Domain and the 21st leader of the family.

F-2. Why is the family crest of the Date family “Take-ni-Suzume”?

“Take-ni-Suzume” is known as one of the Date Family’s family crests, however, it was originally the main crest of the Fujiwara Kanshuji Family before it was given to the Kamisugi family who controlled the Kanto Region in the Muromachi period. It became the Date family crest in 1542 when Tanemune, the fourteenth leader of the family, received it as a present from the Kamisugi family for sending Sanemoto, Tanemune’s third son, for an adoption. It replaced “Mibikiryo” and became the main family crest of the Date Family since Harumune, the fifteenth leader of the Date family.

F-3. Could you tell us about the descendants of Date Masamune?

The current leader of the Date family is Date Yasumune, the 34th leader of the family and the 18th leader of the Sendai Date family.

F-4. When was the name “Sendai” established?

In the 20th volume of “Teizankokikakiroku”, it says “Masamune paid a visit to Sendai Castle between 7am and 9am on December 24, 1600, and began to conquer the area in order to establish his castle (Sendai Castle / Aoba Castle). He changed the writing of the name of “Sendai” from “千代” to “仙臺”. Although Sendai used to be written as “仙体” for there used to be a thousand images of Buddha on the side of the castle, it was later changed to “千代”.

F-5. Since when the name of the Sendai Domain used?

There is no official record of the name “han (domain)” being used in the Tokugawa Shogunate. The land of the feudal lords were described with a name of a place, and the Date Family’s land was called Sendai Ryo. “Han” was first used when the name of the era was changed to Meiji in 1868 and the Shogunate’s land was divided into prefectures (Fu and Ken) and other major feudal lords’ land was turned into Han for “the Three Governments of Fu, Ken and Han”. Sendai Ryo was changed to Sendai Han in 1869, and it was later changed to Sendai Ken (prefecture) in 1871 due to the elimination of Han. Following this, it is incorrect to use “Sendai Han (domain)” or “feudal lord” to describe Sendai before the Meiji era, however, it has been frequently used in modern Japanese for it is convenient to describe the government body of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

F-6. Could you tell us about the armors and weapons that were used in the Sendai Domain?

The Sendai Armor, an armor unique to the Sendai Domain, consists of five metal plates on the trunk and is often referred to as “Gomaido (five-layered body)”. The Sendai armors are usually painted with black lacquer, and they only used helmets and armors that resisted and survived the bullet testing. Modern technologies, such as the Sendai Gun, a matchlock, and pistols used on horseback, were actively utilized in the Sendai Domain.

F-7. Was the “Five Cardinal Virtues of Date Masamune” a work of Date Masamune himself?

There has been no concrete evidence for “Teizan Masamune-ko Ikun” or “Sendai Komon Masamunekyo Ikun”, both of which are often referred to as the “Five Cardinal Virtues of Date Masamune”, on any historical documents of the Date family. Only a very few articles had the five cardinal virtues of Date Masamune. It is more of a popular belief and, in no way, a historical fact as there is no evidential backup for its origin and date of issue. ”Sendai Komon Masamunekyo Ikun: Too much humanity will weaken you. Too much justice will harden you. Too much courtesy will flatter you. Too much wisdom will make you lie. Too much faith will make you lose. ”

F-8. Who are the seven old enemies of Date Masamune?

We are afraid we cannot answer to this question as the question is very broad. (Reference: This would be one way to answer the question. Satake, Ashina, Soma, Iwaki, Ishikawa, Shirakawa and Sukagawa are the seven feudal lords of nearby domains who fought against Date Masamune around the same period of time. )

F-9. Could you tell us about the vassals of the Date family?

The vassals of the Date family were divided into retainers of a higher rank and a lower rank to achieve proper regulation and order. The retainers of a higher rank included clans, families, quasi-families, clans (of a different kind), seniors, Chakuza, Tachiue and Meshiida. The retainers of a lower rank included middle-class retainers, Kumishi and infantrymen.

F-10. Did Date Masamune have brothers or sisters?

Date Masamune had a younger brother, Kojiro, and two younger sisters who died young. In 1590, Date Masamune exiled his mother, Hoshunin, who maneuvered to assassinate Masamune by poisoning just before Masamune was about to go to Odawara, to Yamagata. His younger brother, Kojiro, was punished for causing a split in the family and died at the age of 13.

F-11. Could you tell us about the battles Date Masamune was involved in?

The major battles of Date Masamune are as follows: the Battle of Hitotoribashi in 1585 in Adachi District (Fukushima Prefecture) against Satake and Ashina; the Battle of Suriagehara against Ashina Yoshihiro in 1589 at Mt. Bandai; Suppression of the Kasai Osaki Riot in 1589 ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi; Overseas mission in Korea for two years from 1592 ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi; the Battle of Shiroishijo against Uesugi Kagekatsu ordered by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600; the Winter Campaign of the Siege of Osaka in 1614; and the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka in 1615.

F-12. Could you tell us about the Date family before Date Masamune?

According to the Date Family Tree that was edited in the early 18th century, Tomomune, the founder of the Date family, was a descendant of Fujiwarano Yamakage, lived in Nakamura, Isaso, Makabe District, Hitachinokuni (Shimodate City of Ibaraki Prefecture and Mooka City of Tochigi Prefecture), and had a name of “Nakamura”. In 1189, Tomomune got involved in the Oshu conquest with Minamotono Yoritomo, and was awarded Date District (Fukushima Prefecture) and changed his name to Date. From then on, the Date family played an important role in the politics of the Kamakura Shogunate and the Muromachi Shogunate. During the Sengoku period, Tanemune, the fourteenth leader, was ordered to protect Oshu, and Harumune, the fifteenth leader, was ordered to supervise Oshu. They both utilized their position to expand their territory in Oshu and created a solid foundation as feudal lords.

F-13. Could you tell us about the life of Date Tadamune (the second feudal lord)?

Date Tadamune was born in Osaka in 1599 as the second son of Date Masamune. He succeeded the Date Family at the age of 38, and became the second feudal lord of the Sendai Domain in 1636. Tadamune governed his domain by utilizing his refined personality and political techniques and completed a number of administrative projects, such as the construction of Ninomaru at Sendai Castle and the Kanei Land Survey. He died at the age of 60 on July 12, 1658.

F-14. Could you tell us about the life of Date Tsunamune (the third feudal lord)?

Date Tsunamune was born at Sendai Castle Ninomaru in 1640 as the sixth son of Date Tadamune. He succeeded the Date family at the age of 19 in 1658, becoming the third feudal lord of the Sendai Domain. In 1660, Tsunamune was told by the then shogunate to live in obscurity at the age of 19, thus, Kamechiyo (Tsunamura, the fourth feudal lord), the legitimate child, succeeded the Date family at the age of 2. Tsunamune was looked after by Date Munekatsu, which eventually led to the “Kanbun Incident” (Date Sodo).

F-15. How many people lived at Sendai Castle?

Sendai Castle was divided into two sections; the “Front” section was where rituals, meetings and affairs were conducted, and the “Inner” section was a private residence for the lord’s family members. Approximately 100 women, from the senior ladies to maids, lived and worked at the “Inner” section.

F-16. What kind of castle was Sendai Castle?

According to the report by Sebastián Vizcaíno, a Spanish envoy who visited Sendai Castle in October of 1605, “Sendai Castle is one of the most refined and defensive castles in Japan…”. Sendai Castle was constructed on a mountain to fulfill all possible military demands. It was surrounded by Hirose River, the turrets were located on a cliff, and it was naturally a strong fort that did not need a castle tower.

F-17. Why is there no Sendai Castle today

The castle gate and the turrets of Sendai Castle remained after demolition and accidental fires in the Meiji period, however, the castle was fully burnt down by the Sendai Air Raid in 1945. The current turrets were reconstructed after the war.

F-18. Why are there two ways of counting generations of the Date Family (“世” and “代”)?

We use “世” to count the successive leaders of the Date Family, Tomomune is the first leader of the family. Date Masamune would be the 17th leader of the family (17世) and the first feudal lord of the Sendai Domain (1代). This is to avoid confusion of successive headings.

F-19. Could you tell us about the Tanka poem Date Masamune composed before his death?

According to the “Teizankojikakiroku” (an old document that recorded the life of Date Masamune), “ it says “Date Masamune died at the age of 70 and left a Tanka poem that goes ‘the moonlight in my heart / no clouds could dim it out / it was the only light I saw/ the only light I needed to survive this period of turbulence’” (reference: Teizankojikakiroku Page 39, concluded in 1703). Moreover, “Masamune-ki” (published in 1642 by Date Shigesane) included the same poem with different word choices. Both of them have been referred to as Date Masamune’s last poem just before his death.