Hosokawa Gracia | |
|---|---|
細川ガラシャ | |
.jpg) | |
| Born | Akechi Tama (明智たま,Akechi Tama) 1563 (1563) |
| Died | August 1600 (aged 36–37) |
| Cause of death | killed byOgasawara Shōsai under Gracia's request |
| Resting place | Sozenji (Osaka, Japan) 34°44′02″N135°30′31″E / 34.733778°N 135.5085°E /34.733778; 135.5085 |
| Other names | Akechi Tama (明智玉,Akechi Tama), Akechi Tama (明智珠,Akechi Tama), Akechi Tamako (明智玉子,Akechi Tamako), Akechi Tamako (明智珠子,Akechi Tamako), Shūrinin (秀林院,Shūrinin) |
| Era | Sengoku period-Azuchi–Momoyama period |
| Spouse | Hosokawa Tadaoki |
| Children | Hosokawa Tadataka,Hosokawa Tadaaki,Hosokawa Tadatoshi |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Hosokawa Fujitaka (Uncle) |
Akechi Tama (明智たま,Akechi Tama), usually referred to asHosokawa Gracia (細川ガラシャ,Hosokawa Garasha), (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocraticAkechi family from theSengoku period.[1] Gracia is best known for her role in theBattle of Sekigahara;Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to sway her husband,Hosokawa Tadaoki, into joining his side on the battle. She refused to commit suicide because of herCatholic faith, breaking the code of conduct imposed on women of thesamurai class and causing a family retainer to kill her instead.
She was the daughter ofAkechi Mitsuhide andTsumaki Hiroko, the wife of Hosokawa Tadaoki, and a convert to Catholicism.[2][3] As the last notable survivor of the Akechi clan, the clan that planned and executed the assassination ofOda Nobunaga, the first "Great Unifier" of Japan, Gracia's death affected both armies. The incident did much damage to Ishida's reputation, which greatly reduced his chances of recruiting more allies, some of whom were also secretly Christians.
She was namedAkechi Tama or Tamako at birth; Garasha, the name by which she is known in history, is based upon her Catholicbaptismal name, Gracia.
She marriedHosokawa Tadaoki at the age of sixteen; the couple had five or six children. In the Sixth Month of 1582, her fatherAkechi Mitsuhide betrayed and killed his lord,Oda Nobunaga, making the teenage Tama a traitor's daughter. Not wishing to divorce her, Tadaoki sent her to the hamlet of Midono in the mountains of the Tango Peninsula (now inKyoto Prefecture), where she remained hidden until 1584, untilToyotomi Hideyoshi requested that Tadaoki bring Tama to the Hosokawa mansion inOsaka, where she remained in confinement.
Tama's maid, Kiyohara Kayo, baptized Maria, was from aCatholic family, and her husband repeated to her conversations with his Christian friendTakayama Ukon. In the spring of 1587 Tama managed to secretly visit the Osaka church; a few months later, when she heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had issued aproclamation against Christianity, she was determined to be baptized immediately. As she could not leave the house, she was baptized by her maid and received the Christian name "Gracia". She is said to have studied both Latin and Portuguese and to have read and become fascinated withThomas à Kempis'The Imitation of Christ.
In 1595, Tadaoki's life was in danger because of his friendship withToyotomi Hidetsugu, and he told Gracia that if he should die she must kill herself. When she wrote asking the priests about the plan, they informed her that suicide was agrave sin. However, the danger passed.
The death of Hideyoshi in 1598 left a power vacuum with two rival factions forming:Tokugawa Ieyasu in the east andIshida Mitsunari in the west. When Ieyasu went to the east in 1600 leading a large army, including Tadaoki, his rival Ishida took over the impregnablecastle in Osaka, the city where the families of many of Hideyoshi's generals resided. Ishida devised a plan to take the family members hostage, thus forcing the rival generals either to ally with him or at least not to attack him.
However, when Ishida attempted to take Gracia hostage, the family retainerOgasawara Shōsai killed her and then committedseppuku after lighting the mansion on fire. The outrage over her death was so great that Ishida was forced to abandon his plans. Most Japanese accounts state that it was Gracia's idea to order Ogasawara to kill her. However, these accounts were written many decades after the actual death of Gracia. The original Jesuit account written shortly after her death instead states Tadaoki had commanded the servants of his household to kill Gracia if her honor were ever in danger. The servants had seen the attempted kidnapping as such, and acted on this order.[4]
_Hosokawa_Gracia_haka.jpg)
A Catholic priest,Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino, had Gracia's remains gathered from the Hosokawa mansion and buried them in a cemetery inSakai. Later, her remains were moved to Sōzenji, a temple in Osaka. Gracia also shares a grave with Tadaoki atKōtō-in, a sub-temple ofDaitoku-ji.[further explanation needed]
Gracia is an ancestor of former prime ministerMorihiro Hosokawa.[5]
Gracia frequently appears as a character in Japanese historical fiction, both novels and drama. One website lists her as a character in over 40 stage dramas, movies, TV dramas, etc., from 1887 to 2006.[citation needed] She is also frequently referred to in popular writing or talks on the history of the period.Ayako Miura's novelHosokawa Garasha Fujin (English title:Lady Gracia: a Samurai Wife's Love, Strife and Faith) follows history fairly closely.
James Clavell used Gracia as the model for the character of Mariko Toda in his novelShōgun.[6] Additionally Clavell gave the Japanese wife of Vasco Rodrigues (whose Japanese name was Nyan-nyan) the baptismal name Gracia. This book was later adapted for television as aminiseries in 1980 where Mariko was portrayed by Japanese actressYoko Shimada, who had previously portrayed Gracia in the 1978 JapaneseTaiga Drama seriesŌgon no Hibi. Elements of Mariko's story follow Gracia's quite closely, although the manner of her death is different (Mariko threatens to commit suicide if she is not allowed to leave Osaka Castle and is then killed in a raid on her compound, thereby her death served the original purpose as her threatened suicide, enraging the other hostages) and the two characters do not fundamentally have anything in common. Inthe 2024 miniseries, Toda Mariko is played byAnna Sawai.[7]
Gracia appears as a playable character inKoei'sSamurai Warriors series starting onSamurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends. She is also playable inWarriors Orochi 3.[10] She is a playable character in the post-credit story mode ofPokémon Conquest (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan), with her partnerPokémon beingMusharna andGothitelle.[11]
The city ofNagaokakyō, Kyoto hosts the Garasha Festival every November.
She appears as an event final boss in the browser gameTouken Ranbu. She is also a prominent figure in theStage: Touken Ranbu playKiden: Ikusayu no Adabana, and makes an appearance in the spin-off Video GameTouken Ranbu Warriors.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
