Ōta Dōkan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ōta Dōkan (太田道灌) (1432-1486) was born as Ōta Sukenaga (太田資長) into a daimyo family descending from Minamoto no Yorimasa. He served as a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi family, and is reputed to have been an excellent tactician. However, he was killed after being accused of disloyalty during a period when the Uesugi family faced inner conflict. He is most well-known for having built, in 1457, Edo Castle (now the Imperial Palace). He took the name Dōkan, by which he is mainly known, the following year.

The castle was chosen as the home of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1590, and was used as the seat for the government. Every October 1, Tokyo celebrates its anniversary, in honor of the memory of the founder Ōta Dōkan.

Dōkan was also well-read in classical (Heian period) literature and a skilled poet. Among the other monuments he built is the Hirakawa Shrine, which is celebrated with a festival on April 24-25. The shrine, located on the Edo castle grounds, is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the kami of poetry and scholarship.

Ōta Dōkan's death poem is as follows:

Kakaru toki
sa koso inochi no
oshikarame
kanete nakimi to
omoishirazuba

Ōta Dōkan

Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
the loss of my life.

(trans. Yoel Hoffmann)