お初 Ohatsu | |
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 Portrait of Ohatsu | |
| Born | 1570 |
| Died | September 30, 1633(1633-09-30) (aged 62–63) |
| Spouse | Kyōgoku Takatsugu |
| Parents |
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| Family |  Azai clan Toyotomi clan Kyōgoku clan |
Ohatsu (お初) orOhatsu-no-kata (お初の方) (1570 – September 30, 1633) was a prominently placed figure in the lateSengoku period. She was daughter ofOichi andNagamasa Azai, and the sister ofYodo-dono andOeyo. Alongside her sisters, she was active in the political intrigues of her day. Ohatsu's close family ties to both theToyotomi clan and theTokugawa clan uniquely positioned her to serve as a conduit between the rivals. She acted as a liaison until 1615 in thesiege of Osaka, when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi.[1]
Ohatsu was the second daughter ofAzai Nagamasa. Her mother,Oichi, was the youngest sister ofOda Nobunaga.
Her father died during thesiege of Odani in 1573 after rebelling againstNobunaga, and Ohatsu's brother Manpukumaru was killed. With her sisters and her mother, she joined the Oda clan. In 1582, after the assassination of her uncle inHonnō-ji Incident, her mother marriedShibata Katsuie, a general in the service of the Oda, and in 1583,Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked theKitanosho castle, the castle that Ohatsu lived with her foster father, Katsuie. Her mother died and Hideyoshi took Ohatsu and her sisters under his care.
When she married her cousinKyōgoku Takatsugu in 1587, he was adaimyō inŌmi Province, holdingŌtsu Castle for the Toyotomi. At this point, Takatsugu was afudai daimyō (hereditary vassal) of the Toyotomi with a stipend of 60,000 koku annually. After 1600, Takatsugu's allegiances had been transferred to the Tokugawa; and he was rewarded with the fief ofObama inWakasa Province and an enhanced income of 92,000koku annually.[2]
The changing fortunes of her husband affected Ohatsu's life. The registers of luxury goods dealers give an insight into the patronage and tastes of this privileged class. Being sterile, she advised her husband to take a concubine to ensure descendantship to theKyogoku clan, however she adopted her niece,Oeyo's daughter, who would later marryKyogoku Tadataka, son of Takatsugu.[3]
Ohatsu's older sister wasYodo-Dono, also called Chacha. She was the concubine and the second wife of Hideyoshi; and the mother ofToyotomi Hideyori. Yodo-dono received great political power after Hideyoshi's death, because she was the heir's mother, she actually ran theToyotomi clan after the fall of theCouncil of five elders. Hideyoshi's death led Japan to go to war again.
Ohatsu's younger sister,Oeyo, also known as Ogō, was the main wife of ShogunTokugawa Hidetada and the mother of her successor Iemitsu Tokugawa. The Kyogoku clan allied withTokugawa Ieyasu of Eastern army against Western army inSekigahara Campaign. The Western army was led byIshida Mitsunari and other vassals loyal to Toyotomi. Ohatsu was in the castle when thesiege of Otsu occurred. Ohatsu and Oeyo were allies of the Eastern Army, their sister, Yodo-dono, was one of the prominent anti-Tokugawa (Eastern army) figures during Sekigahara and later during thesiege of Osaka.
After the death of Ohatsu's husband in 1609, she withdrew from the world at Nozen-zan Jōkō-ji (凌霄山常高寺), A Buddhist convent in Obama (where she is now buried), taking the name Jōkō-in (常高院). However, Ohatsu remained active in the political intrigue of her time. Her family ties with the Toyotomi clan and the Tokugawa clan ensured that she served primarily as an intermediary between the two rivals. In 1614, during thewinter campaign of the siege of Osaka, Ohatsu acted again as a peace negotiator and reunited with her sister, Yodo-dono. Although Yodo-dono hated the Tokugawa clan for personal reasons, she was the forerunner of a peace treaty between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa. However, in 1615, the two factions went to war again. WhenOsaka castle was on fire, Yodo-dono and Toyotomi Hideyori committedsuicide, thus ending the Toyotomi's legacy.
On September 30, 1633, Ohatsu died. Although the Kyōgoku clan moved to Izumo-Matsue a year after Ohatsu's death, her grave remained intact according to her wishes.
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