#145
      145. SURRENDER OF GRANTED DOMAINS BY IRIKI-IN
                      SHIGETOYO, 1574

                   (Uwai Akikane nitcho; also KK, V.)
THE tyrannous and much hated lord of Keto-in, Yoshishige, was stabbed to death, on 15 February
1565, by his jealous wife, a Shimadzu lady, who in turn was immediately murdered by the former's
page Murao. Thus ended this illustrious house of the Shibuya family after more than three hundred
years of feudal existence under fourteen successive lords since its settlement in Keto in. The domains
of the extinguished house were at once annexed by Iriki-in Shigetsugu, but the former vassals of
Yoshishige would not support the new master but rather follow the liege lord Shimadzu Takahisa;
the latter accordingly took over Keto in, and, in 1580, granted it and Miya-no-zho, together with
twelve mura, including Tsuruda, Kashiwa-bara, Naka-tsu-gawa, and Kubuki, to his son Toshihisa.2
A revolt begun in 1568 by a Keto-in was readily suppressed.3
  All the Shibuya had become vassals of the Shimadzu, but some of the former had still retained
their lands. Of the five branches of the stock that settled in Satsuma in 1247, the Tsuruda lost their
land in 1401, the Taki lost theirs in 1422, which was annexed by the shu-go in 1470, and now the
Keto-in domain also came to an end. There still remained the two houses Iriki-in and Togo in thier
historic territorial spheres, the former vastly more powerful than the latter.
   Yosihisa, the 16th Shimadzu lord, whose mother was Iriki-in Shigetsugu's aunt, succeeded his fa-
ther, Takahisa, at an age of thirty-three, in 1566. Soon he found himself confronted by three formid-
able antagonists: Kimotsuki in south Osumi; Hishigari at northeast corner of Satsuma, allied with the
Sagara beyond the boundary of Higo; and Ito, the most puissant of all, who after decades of per-
sistent effort, finally in 1568 took the important town of Obi in south Hiuga, and added it to his
vast dominion in the north. Ito then struck hands with the Hishigari-Sagara combination, and
gradually crept into the strategic points north of the Kirishima mountain range, along the Iwase
and the upper Sendai rivers. It was to this powerful alliance that the Shibuya attached themselves,4
in 1568, hardly realizing that the very strength of the enemy of the Shimadzu lord was destined
soon to challenge the latter to put forth his great resources of power and to raise him in a short
time to the pinnacle of his military glory. In 1569, the retired shu-go Takahisa posted his able son
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Yoshihiro north of Mt. Kirishima as bulwark against Ito's advance; and, in September, with Yoshi-
hisa attacked Oguchi, forcing Sagara's 8,000 men to surrender, displacing Hishigari,5 and once for
all taking control of the important frontier road leading to Higo. This rendered the Shibuya's posi-
tion untenable. In February 1570, "(Iriki-in) Shigetsugu induced Togo Yamato no kami Shigenao
nyn-do Ki-Shun," says the Iriki-in genealogy, "to surrender to the shu-go, lord Yoshihisa, and,
offering him Taki, Midzu-hiki, Chugo, Yuta, and Nishikata, to apologize for his guilt of many
years. At this time, Shigetsugu also offered the five fortresses, Kuma-no-zho, Momotsugi, Hirasa,
lkari-yama, and Takae. This was done for the sake of the permanent security both of the lord's
and of his own houses."6 Yoshihisa, with characteristic liberality, pardoned the offense of Shige-
tsugu and Ki-Shun, permitting the former to retain Kiyoshiki and the lateer, Togo, the original
homes of their respective families. At the same time, Midzuhiki, Chugo, Nishi-kata, and Kyo-
domari, all along the lower Sendai, were added to the domains of Shimadzu Yoshitora at Idzumi;
Miyasato was granted to Hirada So-O; and Shimadzu Iehisa, the shu-go's brother, was appointed
ji-to7 of Kuma-no-zho.8
  Thus was the fortune of the Togo, who had for for some time been reduced in circumstances and
dependent upon either the Shimadzu or the Iriki-in, still further crippled. In 1587, Yoshihisa as-
sumed control of Togo and appointed a Shimadzu as its administrator.9 So was the Togo branch
of the Shibuya forced to go the same way as the Tsuruda, the Taki, and the Keto-in. The Iriki-in
only remained.
  The Iriki-in still held their hereditary domain of the in, and, besides, Ama-tatsu to the north-
west, and Yamada and Tazaki to the west. To these Shimadzu Takahisa had some time before
added the grant of Yoshida,10 on the seashore south of the estuary of the Sendai. About the end
of 1570, Iriki-in Shigetsugu died and was succeeded by Shigetoyo.11 That Shigetoyo still retained
something of the high air of his more recent predecessors may be inferred from the conduct of his
envoy Murao Kurando, who went to Kagoshima in 1574 to present to the shu-go a sword, the
customary annual gift from the vassal on the first day of the eighth lunar month, (whichi in this
year fell on 17 August). Murao disputed the order of precedence at the audience which the coun-
cillors of the shu-go had prescribed, and returned to Kiyoshiki without presenting the sword.12
This incident was followed closely by the events narrated in the diary of Uwai Akikane quoted
below. Uwai (often pronounced Owai) was a vassal of high station under Yoshihisa, and was, as
will be seen, a principal actor upon the scene that the described. His language is plain but curious,
and difficult of translation.

  "[THE 8th month 8th day, 24 August 1574. (Previously Yoshihisa, refusing to give
credence to a rumor of Iriki-in Shigetoyo's rebellious intentions, had casually referred
to it one day during a conversation with the latter, and intimated that Shigetoyo might
take some step to prove his innocence.)] . . . I attended the court as usual. Iriki-in
dono has sent his reply to what the lord said to him last month. Iriki-in dono's envoys
Yamaguchi Chikuzen no kami and Togo Mimasaka no kami delivering the reply, it
was received by us three, Honda Shimotsuke no kami dono, Ijichi Kageyu dono, and
myself. We received it at the goma-dokoro.13 The sense [of the reply] was: [Iriki-in
dono] was deeply grateful that, when at the audience of last month the lord, referring
to the rumor of his evil intentions, dismissed it with only one remark, and left his
personal fortune undisturbed; [Iriki-in dono] acknowledged the justice of the lord's
remark that, since men had insisted that they would not serve him in company with a
disloyal person, [Iriki-in dono] should do something to convince them of his inno-
cence; he would therefore return to the lord his granted domains; and he would be
obliged if the elders(ro-chu) specified which [grants] he should offer. Accordingly, we
gave the reply to Murata dono and Hirata dono. They asked me to report it to the
lord, but, doubting that the moment was opportune, I did not report.
    "[The 10th day, 26 August. Iriki-in dono's reply was presented to the lord.]
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. . . The lord said that, as the councillors(dan-go shu) would attend court in a day
or two, the elders(ro-chu) might well consult at that time; that, howerver, if specific
domains were demanded, it might appear that he had spoken to [Iriki-in dono] be-
cause he wished them; and that it might be well if any domains returned were sub-
stituted cho for cho. As for the matter of an oath, the lord said that its wording also
might be referred to [deliberation at] the dan-gi sho;14 that Iriki-in dono's oath only
might be phrased according to his own discretion, but his chief vassals or, as had been
suggested by Hagino Uneme, those who were  wont to come to court, might each affix
a religious(shin-pan)15 and blood seal(keppan). . . .
     "The 11th day [27 August]. Attended court as usual. This morning we three,
Honda Shimotsyke no kami, Ijichi Kageyu, and myself, heard a message from Iriki-in
dono at the goma-dokoro,12 his envoys being Togo Mimasaka no kami and Yamaguchi
Chikuzen no kami. The sense [of the message] was: as had been said before, [Iriki-in
dono] was grateful that, when men spoke of his rebellious thought, the lord did not
have recourse to law, as he might have done, but saved his personal fortune with only
one remark, and, moreover, granted him his original domain;16 although [Iriki-in
dono] had said that he would offer whatever granted domains the elders(ro-chu)
should specify, he now begged to say that, since he held16a four myo besides Kiyoshiki,
he would offer all the four places, namely, Yamada, Ama-tatsu, Ta-zaki, and Yoshida.
The reply was conveyed to the lord. The lord said that, if these were all accepted, it
would appear as if he had mentioned the matter with a view to getting these domains;
and that, therefore, substitutes should formally be granted. The lord further said that,
as regards Yoshida, as it was the place specially granted by his father [Taka-hisa],
so that [Iriki-in dono] might have a little land on the seashore, it should not be dis-
turbed. This day Iriki-in dono attended at the court."
    [On the 12th day, 28 August, the lord's pleasure was conveyed to the envoys of
Iriki-in dono.]
    "The 16th day, [1 September]. Attended court as usual. The blood-sealed
(keppan) oath of Iriki-in dono was handed in, and also one by five of his own vassals,
who are all his official agents. Shortly the oaths were presented to the lord. The sense
[of the oaths] was: that, although it had been proposed that all the region of Sen-dai
beyond the mountains would be offered, since it was conceded that Yoshida17 would
be granted as heretofore and that for the remainder substitutes would be formally
granted, [Iriki-in dono] would forever be grateful. As for his men who at present were
at Yamada and Ama-tatsu, [he said that] they should not come to Kiyoshiki, but that,
since he should regret exceedingly to abandon them [without support], he would offer
[to the lord] the men along with [the land]. This was also conveyed to the lord. As
the lord said that the two questions, whether we should reply [to Iriki-in dono] and
[whether we should accept] the men together with [the land], should be submitted to
the elders, their opinions were sought accordingly. They all said that, as for the lord's
reply, a reply was given formerly when Iriki presented [an oath of allegiance with] a
religious seal, but it would be needless to give a reply this time, since his renewed oath
was due to his loss of faith, while our side was unchanged; and that, as for the men,
[the elders] should give [to Iriki-in dono] a private reply that those men might
properly go to him, the reason [for this view] being that, since they probably all were
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men who had followed [Iriki-in dono] for many years, they surely would not come to
us.18 These opinions were shortly presented to the lord. He said that it would be well
to give a letter [to Iriki-in dono], as document for proof in the future, saying that he
acknowledged his oath sworn with the blood-seal that the latter would forever enter-
tain no evil intention. The elders agreed that that would be fair. Haseba Oribe no suke
was accordingly instructed to draft a letter.19
    "This day Lord Chu-sho20 has sent a private message to the elders. Niiro Musashi
was his envoy; I transmitted [the message]. It said that Chu-sho held16a about 40 cho
at Nishite myo, Kuma-no-zho; that, the boundaries of this domain being intricate,
frequent dispute had arisen, to his regret, with Kuma-no-zho; that now he had heard
that Iriki-in dono had presented Yamada, Ama-tatsu, and Ta-zaki; that Yamada was
a myo of about 30 cho, of which a half had been assigned [to Chu-sho] when a divi-
sion was made last time; that, although the remainder [in the hands of Iriki-in dono]
might not amount to 30 cho, [Lord Yoshihisa] might accept it as 30 cho; that this,
in addition to the 12 cho of Ama-tatsu and Ta-zaki, would make 42 cho more or less;
and that [Chu-sho] wished that this be granted to him in exchange for his holding at
Kuma-no-zho. He would not complain [if thid exchange was effected]. [The message
further] said that, as regarded the affair of Iriki-in dono, it would be awkward if it
were rumored abroad that [Lord Yoshihisa] had spoken to him because he wished
[the latter's] domains on account of Lord Chu-sho's suggestions; and that [a suitable
arrangement of] this matter would be left to the discretion of the elders. The elders
replied that they thought that [Chu-sho's suggestion] seemed reasonable, but, not
knowing Lord [Yoshihisa]'s thought, could only acknowledge [the receipt of Chu-
sho's] private message. Chu-sho said that he would leave that also to the discretion of
the elders."
    "18th day, [3 September]. . . . As [the lord's] reply19 to Iriki-in dono ['s oath]
was finished this morning, it was handed [to the latter]. Also an answer [to his vas-
sals' oaths] was given. Merely receiving these, he begged leave, and returned."

  (On the 20th, [5 September], there was a suggestion at court that Ama-tatsu be granted to
Honda Kii.)
  Uwai's diary also records that when, in 1575, Honda Kii no kami was appointed ji-to of Yamada
returned by Iriki-in Shigetoyo the preceding year, and the difficult boundary line between this
region and Iriki in was examined, it was ordered that more than twenty cho out of the seventy-
five cho which had been registered as being included in Iriki in should rightly belong to Yamada;
and that, when, on 6 December, Shigetoyo complained of this decision to Yoshihisa, the latter,
rejecting his councillors' advice to the contrary, ordered that the original demarcation should
continue.21




  1Hon-pan zhin-butsu shi; and San-goku mei-sho dzu-ye, xviii, 19.
  2Shimadzu koku-shi, xix. 3.                      3ibid., xix, 6; Sasshu shi, III.
  4In the Hiuga ki, the Shibuya families, the Taki and the Togo, are mentioned rather loosely as
Ito Yoshisuke's allies(yo-riki); in Shi-seki zassan, I, 437.
  5Shimadzu koku-shi, xviii, 7.                    6The Iriki-in genealogy.
  7For the meaning of the word ji-to in this period, see No. 154.
  8Shimadzu koku-shi, xviii, 8.
  9Sasshu shi, III. Five years later, Shigetora, the second son of Shimadzu Iehisa, who had been
adopted into the Togo family, was restored to the Shimadzu and his name was changed to Tadanao.
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   10At least after the middle of the 14th century, Yoshida always contained a large stud-farm for
the shimadzu; this was probably not included in Takahisa's grant to the Iriki-in.
   11Shigetoyo (d. 1583), the 14th Iriki-in lord, should not be confused with the 10th lord of the
same name.
   12Shimaszu koku-shi, xviii, 14. Murao insisted that at the audience he should follow, and not,
as the baron's council had decreed, precede, the envoy from Togo, for, Murao argued, the first lord
of Togo was an elder brother of that of Iriki.
   13The chamber in which the Buddhist rite of goma was sometimes performed.
   14Dan-gi sho, which, as appears here, was used for occasional political deliberations, was a
chamber specially set apart for certain Buddhist service (No. 152A and n. 26); it was, in the
Tokugawa period, maintained with an income from a taka of 800 koku (No. 153A).
   15Often sheets bearing the seals of the Kumano or other deities were used for writing oaths.
   16Hon-ryo; here if refers to Kiyoshiki.
   16aKaku-go. See No. 138, n. 3, where the same word is used, on the lord's side, in the sense of
"supporting" a vassal with a felf.
   17Subsequent history of Yoshida does not concern us. It is enough to say that it was soon lost
to the Iriki-in.
   18A sidelight on the question of the loyalty of rear-vassals. Incidentally, however it is not un-
fair to assume that the elders proposed this arrangement with a conscious intent further to em-
barass the finances of the lord of Iriki. It is a well-known fact that he ws henceforth burdened
with a disproportionately large number of vassals. See our preface to No. 154.
   19The reply was given on 3 September. It is not known whether it was a responsive oath by
Yoshihisa or his mere acknowledgment of Shigetoyo's oath; neither document has been preserved.
   20This was probably Shimadzu Yoshihisa's younger brother, Iehisa, later lord of Naga-yoshi.
Chu-sho was the Sinico-Japanese term for offices in the Naka-tsukasa(Chu-mu) department of the
imperial government at Kyoto, in which the post tai-yu had been given to Iehisa as an honorary
title.
   21Cited also in Shimadzu koku-shi, xviii, 18.