Date Yoshikuni (伊達慶邦, October 17, 1825-July 12, 1874) Japanese daimyo lord of the late Edo period. 13th generation lord of the Sendai domain, and 29th generation head of the Date clan. Descendant of the famed Sengoku warlord Date Masamune. Famous for being the commander-in-chief of the Northern Alliance of Confederated Domains during the Boshin War, he was a strong personality throughout the period leading up to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. During his tenure as lord he was also known by his courtesy title, Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami. October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... Edo (Japanese: , literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Sendai ) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku (northeast) region. ... Grave of ÅŒshÅ« Sendai Date clan at Mount Koya The Date clan (伊達氏) was a samurai family. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Boshin War (戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō, literally War of the Year of the Dragon) was fought in 1868-1869 between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the pro-Imperial forces in Japan. ...

Early life

Yoshikuni was born at Aoba Castle in Sendai, the 2nd son of the 11th generation lord, Date Nariyoshi. His childhood name was first Jozaburo (穣三郎), and then Tojiro (藤次郎). In 1838, after taking the name Date Toshimura, he became selected as successor to the 12th generation lord Date Narikuni. Early the following year, at age 14, he had his coming-of-age ceremony in Edo Castle, paying his respects to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi and receiving the "yoshi" character from his name, thus becoming Date Yoshitoshi, and receiving the titles of Chikuzen no Kami and jijuu (chamberlain), and the court rank of junior 4th, lower grade. Sendai ) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku (northeast) region. ... Tokugawa Ieyoshi (徳川 家慶 Tokugawa Ieyoshi, 1793–1853; r. ...

Late in Tenpo 12, on the shogun's orders, he succeeded his elder brother and became lord of Sendai, holding an income of 620,000 koku and receiving the titles of Mutsu no Kami and Sakon-e gon-shosho. However, despite such a high income rating, his domain was ravaged from the enormous Tenpo Famine, and for the rest of the Bakumatsu era, functioned at an actual economic rating of around 100,000 koku.

Career as Daimyo

Yoshikuni contributed to security efforts in Kyoto in the 1860s, having the Shimodachiuri-gomon Gate of the Imperial Palace under his supervision. In 1868, however, Sendai forces did not get involved in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. However, in the period immediately following the battle, he was increasingly consulted by Matsudaira Nobunori, lord of Aizu, who wished to use the Date clan's as-yet unmarred reputation in the eyes of the new government in order to achieve leniency for his father, Katamori. Yoshikuni eventually became leader of the Northern Alliance of Confederated Domains, and received the title of shōgun from Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, who had declared himself the northern emperor, Tōbu. However, because of Yoshikuni's indecisiveness and the confederation's incohesiveness, he was defeated by the combined armies of Satsuma and Chōshū led by Kujo Michitaka, and voluntarily placed himself in confinement. Matsudaira Nobunori ); (1855-1891) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who served as daimyō of Aizu from 1868-69. ... Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保), (February 15, 1836−December 5, 1893) was a samurai that lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early Meiji period. ... His Imperial Highness Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa , 1 April 1847 - 5 November 1895) of Japan, was the 2nd head of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family. ...

The same year, Yoshikuni's fourth son Munemoto succeeded the family headship, and he went into retirement, dying in 1874 at age 50. For the purpose of being deified, he did not receive a posthumous, funerary name.

References

• Genealogy of the Date clan beginning in the mid to late 12th century
• Basic data on the Sendai domain, including a Date clan lineage
• Extensive biography of Date Yoshikuni