Kyōgoku Takatsugu
Encyclopedia
was a daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

(feudal lord) of Omi Province
Omi Province
is an old province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. It is nicknamed as .Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is located at the center of the province...

 and Wakasa Province
Wakasa Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today southern Fukui Prefecture. It is also known as or .The province's ancient capital was at Obama, which continued to be the main castle town through the Edo period.-Neighboring Provinces:...

 during the late-Sengoku Period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's history.

Takatsugu is recognized as the founder of the modern Kyōgoku clan
Kyōgoku clan
The were a Japanese samurai kin group which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. The clan claimed descent from the Uda Genji. The name derives from the Kyōgoku quarter of Kyoto during the Heian period....

. His forebears had been powerful since the 13th century, but their fortunes had waned after the Ōnin War
Onin War
The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....

. Takatsugu is credited with restoring his family's lost prominence and position.

Takatsugu allied himself with Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

; and after Nobunaga's death, Takatsugu became a fudai
Fudai
was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...

(hereditary vassal) daimyo of the Toyotomi. Hideyoshi installed Takatsugu at Ōtsu castle (60,000 koku) in Omi province
Omi Province
is an old province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. It is nicknamed as .Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is located at the center of the province...

.

In 1600, he sided with the Tokugawa. On the same day as the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, failed in his efforts at the Siege of Ōtsu
Siege of Otsu
The took place in 1600, occurring concurrently with the battle of Sekigahara. Kyōgoku Takatsugu held Ōtsu castle for the Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison. Mōri Motoyasu and Tachibana Muneshige laid siege. The sides negotiated and Takatsugu surrendered...

, but Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

's victory at Sekigahara marginalized the consequences of that loss. In that same year, Takatsugu was rewarded with the fief of Obama
Obama Domain
The Obama Domain was a Japanese feudal domain of the Edo period, based at Obama Castle in Wakasa Province ....

 (92,000 koku) in Wakasa province
Wakasa Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today southern Fukui Prefecture. It is also known as or .The province's ancient capital was at Obama, which continued to be the main castle town through the Edo period.-Neighboring Provinces:...

.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, the Kyōgoku were identified as tozama
Tozama
A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...

or outsiders, in contrast with the fudai daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa. Despite this, Takatsugu prospered.

Genealogy

The tozama Kyōgoku claimed descent from Emperor Uda
Emperor Uda
was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.-Name and legacy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was or Chōjiin-tei....

 (868-897) by his grandson Minamoto no Masanobu
Minamoto no Masanobu
' , third son of Imperial Prince Atsumi , a kugyo of the Heian period. His mother was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihira. He became Sadaijin in 978. His daughter Rinshi was married to Fujiwara no Michinaga, when Michinaga was in far lower position...

 (920-993). They represent a branch of the Sasaki clan
Sasaki clan
are a historical Japanese clan. - Brief history :They are descended directly from Emperor Uda by his grandson Minamoto no Masanobu , but were adopted by the Seiwa Genji...

 who were adopted by the Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji
The ' were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended...

.

Takatsugu married Ohatsu, the second of three daughters of Azai Nagamasa
Azai Nagamasa
was a Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japan. His clan, the Azai, were located in northern Ōmi Province, east of Lake Biwa. He was both the brother-in-law of Oda Nobunaga, starting in 1564, and one of Nobunaga's enemies from 1570-1573. Nagamasa and his clan were utterly destroyed by Oda...

. Ohatsu's mother, Oichi
Oichi
or a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who married well -- Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo....

, was the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

. Takatsugu became a close relative
by marrying Nobunaga's niece.

The older sister of Takatsugu's wife, Yodo-Dono
Yodo-Dono
or was a prominently-placed figure in late-Sengoku period. She was a concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful man in Japan. She also became the mother of his son and successor, Hideyori. She was also known as Lady Chacha...

, was the second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 and mother of Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....

. In marriage, Takatsugu became a brother-in-law of Hideyoshi.

The younger sister of Takatsugu's wife, Oeyo
Oeyo
, , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a prominently-placed female figure in late-Sengoku period. She married three times, first to Saji Kazunari, then to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew Toyotomi Hidekatsu. Her third and last husband Tokugawa Hidetada became the second Tokugawa shogun...

, was the wife of Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...

 and the mother of Iemitsu. In marriage, Takatsugu became a brother-in-law of Hidetada.

After Takatsugu's death in 1609, Ohatsu became a Buddhist nun, taking the name Jōkō-in (常高院). With connections to both the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa, the Ohatsu had long served as a liaison between the rivals. She continued in this role until 1615 when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi.

Kyōgoku Tadataka (1593–1637) was Takatsugu's son. In 1607, Tadataka married the fourth daughter of Shogun Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...

. He died without leaving any heirs, which meant that his holdings reverted to the shogunate. However, the bakufu acted to continue his line by posthumously designating Kyōgoku Takakazu as an heir. Takakazu was Tadataka's nephew, the son of his brother Takamasa. Tadakazu was initially enfeoffed at Tatsuno
Tatsuno Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Harima Province ....

 (50,000 koku) in Harima province
Harima Province
or Banshu was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tamba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji....

.

In 1658, Takakazu was transferred to Marugame
Marugame Castle
, also known as Kameyama Castle and Horai Castle, is a hirayamashiro located in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

 in Sanuki province
Sanuki Province
was an old province of Japan on the island of Shikoku, with the same boundaries as modern Kagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called .It faced the Inland Sea and bordered on Awa and Iyo Provinces. Across Naruto strait it bordered Awaji Province too. Administratively it was included as a part of...

, where the contrived descendants of Takatsugu remained until the abolition of the han system
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...

 in 1871. The head of this Kyōgoku clan branch were ennobled as an hereditary viscount in the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

.
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