KoyaQuest

Grave of Date Masamune

up close of temple roof ornament at Japan's Mt. Koya

KoyaQuest

Grave of Date Masamune

KoyaQuest

Grave of Date Masamune

KoyaQuest

Grave of Date Masamune

Grave to Date Masamune 伊達政宗墓所だてまさむねぼしょ

Grave of Date Masamune

Not too far from the mausoleum of Uesugi Kenshin and the graves of Takeda Shingen and his son Katsuyori, is the impressive memorial to another contemporary warlord, Date Masamune (1567 -1636). Legend has it that, as a young man, Masamune gouged out his own eye when it had been damaged by smallpox, which, if left in its afflicted state, might have been a disadvantage in combat.

While he is often depicted in films and video games wearing his signature eyepatch, no contemporary portrayals of Masamune show him with one, leaving the issue somewhat in doubt. Similarly, his famous nickname "dokugan-ryū," or the "one-eyed dragon," may have been from a later generation.

In addition to his military service to both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Masamune was known for his patronage of various arts and his interest in international relations. From his fiefdom in northern Japan, he dispatched emmisaries to Spain and the Vatican.

His five-tier, four-meter-high memorial at Oku-no-in features a Shinto-style torii gate and a fence made up of 49 stone posts, one for each of the 49 attendants of the Bodhisattva Maitreya (Miroku, in Japanese).

Of greater if more unsettling interest are the 20 smaller gorintō surrounding the large central monument. Standing at the approximate height of a man, each one represents one of Masamune's 20 loyal retainers who chose to follow their lord into death by committing ritual suicide. While it is not unusual to have the monuments of loyal martyrs standing alongside that of their lord (see the nearby grave of Ishida Mitsunari), the placement of these memorials inside a fence like this appears to be unique.

View of Date Masamune's Grave
View of Date Masamune's Grave

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