Ōtomo Sōrin. He was a daimyo in what is today Oita. He was a Christian. He was Oita’s “Christian Daimyo.” Did I mention he was Christian? Such is the extent of most of our knowledge of the name which pops up most frequently when discussing the history of Oita. But what did Otomo Sorin do? How did he live? What did he do on those cold March nights when the silence and solitude are enough to break the hardest of men? Greg Pampling of Taketa City compiled the following detailed and entertaining biography of this eclectic figure to answer these questions and more. Well, most of those questions.

Take a trip around any of the larger towns in Oita prefecture and chances are you will encounter various statues, monuments, and memorial plaques dedicated to one particular man – Ōtomo Sōrin. From his likeness outside the front of JR Oita station, to the exhibition on his rule in the prefectural library, Ōtomo Sōrin obviously left a fairly large legacy in Oita. Yet most explanations on his life usually focus on his role as a Christian daimyo (or warlord) and his links to Christianity, and tend to ignore the other episodes of his life that made it so dramatic. This is a bit of a shame, because once you delve more deeply into the history of Ōtomo Sōrin, his life becomes every bit as fascinating as those of other well-known figures of the age of warring states (otherwise known in Japanese as the Sengoku jidai).

Ōtomo Sōrin`s story begins in the town of Funai (the same Funai that comprises the center of modern Oita city) in the third year of Teiroku, or 1530. He was the eldest legitimate son of the shugo (a type of medieval administrator appointed by the shogun) Ōtomo Yoshiaki. Of his mother not much is known – she may have been the daughter of one of the court families of Kyoto, or the daughter of the Ōuchi family of Suo province (now part of modern Yamaguchi prefecture). As the eldest son of the household head, Sōrin (or more correctly Yoshishige, since he did not adopt the name Sōrin until much later in life) would have expected that he would succeed his father to the position of shugo of Bungo province, however events did not go quite as he imagined. Yoshishige`s father wasn’t particularly fond of him and much preferred another son he had by one of his concubines, a boy by the name of Shioichimaru. The fact that Shioichimaru was so favoured by his father was probably a result of the dealings of his mother and a councilor to the Ōtomo named Nyuta Tango no Kami. In the nineteenth year of Tenbun (1550), Yoshishige was sent into exile in Beppu.

Yoshiaki soon summoned four of his senior councilors and informed them of his decision to name Shioichimaru as his heir. All four expressed surprise at this, and warned Yoshiaki that such a move would most likely result in unrest. Furious at their refusal to accept his idea, Yoshiaki kicked away his seat and stormed out of the meeting. After a few days cooling off, Yoshiaki again summoned the same four councilors to another meeting, but this time for a more sinister purpose. Two of the councilors knew the habits of Yoshiaki and, feigning illness, did not attend. The two that did meet Yoshiaki were soon carried out of his residence and executed. The two remaining councilors, knowing that Yoshiaki would soon come after them, decided that attack would be the best form of defense. Raiding the Ōtomo residence one night, they managed to kill Shioichimaru and his mother and severely wounded Yoshiaki, who would later die from his injuries (both councilors were later killed by allies of Yoshiaki). With the removal of Yoshiaki, those councilors still remaining in the Ōtomo camp declared Yoshishige to be the next heir to the Ōtomo household and recalled him to Funai. This incident was known as the `Rebellion of the Second Floor`, since it was there that Yoshiaki was attacked

Pursuing his dying father into Higo province (modern Kumamoto prefecture), Yoshishige took the mantle of the Ōtomo family and soon used it to good effect. In the twenty-second year of Tenbun, or 1553, Yoshishige faced a revolt by three noble families within Funai, which he soon suppressed. In the following year he managed to eliminate the Kikuchi family of Higo and subdue the Sagara family, thereby capturing the title of shugo of Higo province. Later Yoshishige would vie for the position of tandai (or general overseer) of Kyushu. This put him in direct conflict with the Ōuchi, who were looking to establish a port in Hakata (now part of modern day Fukuoka) in order to further their trading ambitions, and an appointment by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru to the position of tandai would go a long way to achieving those ambitions. For years the Ōuchi had been pressuring the Shoni family of Dazaifu to give up their territory, and thus had formed a relationship with the Shibugawa family to help force the Shoni to surrender. The Shoni, looking about for their own allies, naturally turned to the rising power of the Ōtomo in the east. In the end, both the Shoni and the Shibugawa were destroyed by their alliances, and the Ōuchi and the Ōtomo were drawn into a series of direct conflicts against one another. In the end, fortune favored the Ōtomo. In 1551 the head of the Ōuchi household was murdered by one of his councilors, which effectively removed the Ōuchi from competition for the north of Kyushu. With both the Shoni and Shibugawa out of the way, things looked fairly good for Yoshishige to take over control of the north, however all was not so simple. In 1559 Ryuzoji Takanobu of Hizen province (part of modern Saga prefecture) attacked and destroyed both the Shoni and the Shibugawa, thereby making himself ruler of Dazaifu. Moreover he made an alliance with Mori Motonari, one of the `great` daimyo of the era of warring states, and a major rival of the Ōtomo. In fact such was the influence of the Mori that Yoshishige was forced to suppress another rebellion (supposedly supported by the Mori) that broke out in the Usa region during the years 1555-1556.

In the eighth and ninth years of Eiroku (1565-1566) Yoshishige again faced the power of the Mori when Takahashi Akitane and Tachibana Akitoshi both allied themselves with the Mori and rebelled against the Ōtomo. This rebellion was not without good cause, as Yoshishige (as will later be shown) was not a man given to controlling his desires, and had Akitane`s elder brother Chikazane killed in order to make off with his wife. This rebellion would cause Yoshishige a considerable amount of trouble, and would only end three years later when Mori Motonari was forced to withdraw his troops from Chikuzen province (part of modern Oita prefecture, mainly the area surrounding Nakatsu) following an attack on another of his territories. With the end of this conflict, Yoshishige was finally able to bring his troops back to Bungo and re-gather his strength. In the space of sixteen years Yoshishige had been forced to fight for his position, his life, and for the fortunes of the Ōtomo family. Looking back on those sixteen years he must have felt some degree of satisfaction, for not only had he secured the positions of shugo of Bungo and Higo, he had also been named shugo of Hizen, and in 1559 claimed Buzen, Chikuzen and Chikugo, thus making him lord over six provinces in northern Kyushu. In the same year, the shogun appointed him to the much coveted position of tandai of Kyushu. It was a remarkable step in a so far dramatic career, and one that would reap both its fair share of dangers and rewards.

Ōtomo Yoshishige: The man and his ties with Christianity

So far we have dwelt a fair bit on how Yoshishige came to power and the circumstances surrounding the early period of his life. At this point it might be of interest to turn towards the more personal side of Yoshishige, to see what kind of man he was and what made him such an interesting character. For instance, one could say that Yoshishige possessed something of a capricious nature – after all, he changed his name ten times during his lifetime, and his wife twice. He was something of an art collector, for through his relations with the traders of Hakata he obtained works from both the Korean peninsula and Ming China, as well as European artifacts. He was a devoted follower of Sado, or the tea ceremony, and sent buyers far and wide to gather famous tea bowls, whisks, and tea chests. He commissioned paintings, including one of Niujima castle (in Usuki) and brought many high class courtesans (or taiyu) from Kyoto in order to `educate` him in the finer arts and dances. He spent much of his time pursuing aristocratic sports, including falconry and dog hunts with his retainers.

Given the wide range of his interests, it is probably no surprise that he held a special affection for religion and its mores (though his ability to follow those mores made an altogether different story). Early in his life he devotedly followed the path of Zen, even inviting the Zen master Iun of Daitokuji in Kyoto to Bungo to study Iun`s teachings. Shortly before his acceptance of Christianity, he entered into a Buddhist monastery and changed his name to the more esoteric Sōrin, the name by which he would be remembered. Despite his affinity for Buddhism, it was his encounter with Christianity that would bring him to the apex of his life, and signal a golden age for Bungo province. The initial spark of his enthusiasm began in 1551 with an invitation for St Francis Xavier to visit Funai, an invitation that Francis accepted. For two months Francis and Sōrin discussed the finer points of faith, and upon Francis` departure, Sōrin provided him with letters and gifts for the king of Portugal, and sent an ambassador to Goa in India to act as his representative and contact with the Jesuit order.

In August of the year after Francis` departure, Sōrin allowed the missionary Gago to enter Bungo and begin the process of spreading the Christian faith. At first there were only a few converts, but this number soon rapidly increased, so much so that by 1555 there were 1500 converts in Funai alone. In spite of the efforts of the missionaries, most warrior and aristocratic families ignored Christianity and remained devoutly Buddhist, meaning that a majority of Christian followers were drawn from the very poorest of Bungo society. This did not concern Sōrin very much, for in 1557 he had a missionary station built in Funai and soon expanded the Jesuit activities to include building hospitals and housing for lepers. After his move from Funai to Usuki (1556), he had a church built near Niujima castle and had buildings erected for the Jesuits in order that they might continue their missionary work.

Though he was undoubtedly in favor of Christian teachings, by the mid 1550s Sōrin was not yet ready to convert to this new faith. He did, however, show every intention of doing so, so much so that his wife Nanata Hachiman, a woman who detested Christianity, began to have misgivings about her relationship to Sōrin. Many of his retainers also had their doubts about Christianity (furthered by the objections of the Buddhist orders to this foreign religion), and said as much in their private correspondence. In short, though their lord was all in favor of Christianity, the men who made up his household did not share his enthusiasm, which lent an air of tension to meetings between the two. Finally, in 1576, Sōrin yielded the position of household head to his son Yoshimune. In 1578 he finally divorced his wife, and remarried a woman far more in favor of his new faith. To signal his devotion, in the same year he received the baptismal and adopted the name that St Francis had suggested to him – Don Francisco. His retainers, despite their knowledge of Sōrin`s interest in Christianity, were still surprised by his decision, no more so that his son Yoshimune who as yet did not hold as much influence over northern Kyushu as his father. Gradually a sense of mistrust developed between father and son, a situation that unsettled many of the retainers of the Ōtomo household to the extent that they soon started to harbor plans for revolt. This spelled the beginning of the end for the Ōtomo family.

The Final Years of Sōrin

In 1577 the Shimazu family of Satsuma (modern Kagoshima prefecture), having suppressed a series of revolts in their territories and united the various families into one organization, finally made their move to expand their power into neighboring provinces. Their first target was the province of Hyuga (modern Miyazaki prefecture) and the family of Ito Yoshisuke. Unable to face the might of the Shimazu, Yoshisuke and his son Yoshimasu fled to Bungo and the protection of Ōtomo Sōrin. This was not merely because Sōrin happened to be the most powerful daimyo in northern Kyushu, but also because Yoshimasu was married to the daughter of Sōrin`s second wife. Together with Yoshisuke, Sōrin began to plan measures for a counter-attack on the Shimazu. Gathering together an army of 60,000 troops, Sōrin, accompanied by his missionaries, made the trek south towards Hyuga (destroying temples and shrines along the way, acts that greatly unsettled the Buddhist and Shinto believers in his army). One by one castles that had declared their allegiance to the Shimazu fell before the Ōtomo army until Sōrin reached the castle of Takajo. There he decided to rest his army before they advanced any further south, mainly because Sōrin was unable to agree with his generals on where next to proceed. Seeing the Ōtomo relax their guard, Shimazu Yoshihisa, splitting his army up into groups, made a quick attack on the Ōtomo near Mimigawa (now part of Omarugawa). Drawing the main part of the Ōtomo army into attacking across the river, the Shimazu moved around the flanks of the Ōtomo and proceeded to destroy it piece by piece. The Ōtomo army broke apart and soon fled, leaving behind dead numbering some 20,000. Ever since his rise to power, Sōrin had never received a defeat of such magnitude. It shook his confidence, and he never recovered.

At this point, many of you might be wondering how a man the likes of Sōrin had been able to achieve so much in the early part of his life when one defeat was enough to send him fleeing back to Bungo. The reality was that Sōrin was never much of a general. He preferred to observe the fighting from a distance and let his subordinates, particularly a general of talent named Tachibana Dōsetsu, do the fighting for him. According to Jesuit records, Sōrin had a weak constitution and a predisposition for the arts and literature which meant that he never really exerted himself in military matters. Subsequently his defeat at Mimigawa was enough to convince many of the retainers throughout the Ōtomo territories that the time had come to revolt. Encouraged by the daimyo of Hizen Ryuzoji Takanobu, one by one various families throughout Hizen, Chikugo, and Higo rose up against the Ōtomo. This trend soon moved into Bungo with the revolt of the powerful lord Tabaru Chikahiro. The Tabaru had been one of the three great supporters of the Ōtomo house and certainly possessed the greatest military strength. Demanding the return of territories in the Kunisaki region, Chikahiro and Sōrin faced off against one another. Yet here history took another dramatic turn, for not long after launching his revolt Chikahiro soon died from illness. For Sōrin this was indeed good fortune, but it was not to last too long, for Chikahiro`s son Chikatsura continued the struggle until 1580 when he was finally killed.

Having so narrowly escaped such a dangerous situation, the remaining councilors in the Ōtomo camp were in favor of restoring Sōrin to the position of head of the household, a plan that soon gained the support of Sōrin himself (all inspite of the efforts of Yoshimune against the Tabaru). Restored to his former position, Sōrin soon set about trying to restore some of his lost ground whilst trying to keep both Ryuzoji Takanobu and the Shimazu at arms length. With the death of Takanobu in battle against the Arima in Shimabara (now part of Kumamoto prefecture) in 1584, the Ōtomo now directly faced the Shimazu for control of Kyushu. In 1585 the Ōtomo lost Tachibana Dōsetsu to illness, and in 1586 Takahashi Jōun, another of the talented generals in service of the Ōtomo, died defending Iwaya castle against the Shimazu. With the loss of two of his most important commanders, Sōrin did the only thing he could possibly think of – he called for assistance from one of the greatest generals in all of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, in response to Sōrin`s request, promised to come in person to Kyushu in order to suppress the Shimazu. For Shimazu Yoshihisa, the impending arrival of Hideyoshi spurred him into one final effort to capture all of northern Kyushu. In 1584 he had his sons Yoshihiro and Iehisa lead a two-pronged attack into Hyuga and Higo with the intention of invading Bungo, which they soon did a few weeks later. Coming up from the south, the Shimazu army of Iehisa soon gained the support of many of the families in the Ōno-Naoiri area. Ōtomo Yoshimune, concerned that he would soon be caught in a pincer trap fled Funai to the western castle of Ryuō (near modern Ajimu), an act for which he was severely reprimanded by Hideyoshi.

With the arrival of Hideyoshi in Kyushu, the Shimazu, having operated in Bungo for the previous six months, finally withdrew in the face of an attack by Hideyoshi on Satsuma. In the same year (1587) Shimazu Yoshihisa, after cutting his hair in the traditional sign of penitence, surrendered to Hideyoshi. For the Ōtomo this was again an act of good fortune, for soon Hideyoshi restored the Ōtomo Yoshimune to his position as head of the family and granted him his lands in Bungo. Sōrin hoped that possibly Hideyoshi might grant him Hyuga as well as thanks for his role in the suppression on the Shimazu, but he was to be disappointed. Not long after, Sōrin, a man who had spent so much of his early years creating a kingdom only to see it fall before him, passed away from illness at the age of fifty-eight.

When looking back over his life, Ōtomo Sōrin emerges as so very much a product of his times – driven by ambition, ruthless and callous when called for, but also a man of refined taste and extraordinary tolerance. His ambition blinded him to his faults (namely stubbornness and a tendency to be guided by his passions) but also helped him to create for the Ōtomo a thriving trade industry, a strong (albeit temporary) military presence, and a commanding presence in northern Kyushu. No wonder, then, that his memory still lingers on in this part of Kyushu, a reminder of his failings but a testimony to his achievements.

Resources:
歴史群像シリーズ、戦国九州軍記：群雄苛烈なる生き残り血戦　2002
戦国なるほど人物辞典　PHP研究所　2004

Article originally appear in the March and April 2006 editions of The Tombo Times.