Sō Yoshitoshi
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Sō Yoshitoshi (Japanese: 宗義智) (1568 - 31 January 1615) was a Sō clan daimyō (feudal lord) of the island domain of Tsushima at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo. Under the influence of Konishi Yukinaga he was baptized and accepted the name "Dario". He took part in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the 1590s, and led a force in the siege of Pusan. Siding with Tokugawa Ieyasu during the decisive Sekigahara Campaign, Yoshitoshi's clan became counted among the trusted fudai (inner) daimyō, despite remaining in Tsushima throughout the campaign.
Yoshitoshi was the fifth son of Sō Masamori; his wife, who took the baptismal name Maria, was the daughter of Konishi Yukinaga. Yoshitoshi became the head of the family in 1580, after his adoptive father, Sō Yoshishige, was defeated, and Tsushima conquered, in a prelude to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyūshū Campaign. Yoshitoshi thus entered Hideyoshi's service, and began organizing negotiations with Korea, as Hideyoshi's representative. The Joseon king refused to allow Japanese troops to pass peacefully through Korea in an attempt to conquer Ming Dynasty China, and the negotiations ultimately proved entirely fruitless, leading to Hideyoshi's decision to invade Korea militarily.
Yoshitoshi played a crucial role in Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, as a result of Tsushima's strategic location between Japan and Korea, and his knowledge of, and experience with, Korea. He thus led the first major land assault of the war, the siege of Pusan, on 13 April 1592, while Konishi Yukinaga attacked the Korean naval fortress. He continued his command through a number of the ensuing engagements.
In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu established a new shogunate, and officially granted Yoshitoshi Tsushima han as his domain. He was also assigned the responsibility for restoring friendly relations with Korea in light of the previous decade's invasions; an agreement was reached in 1609. The Sō would remain the shogunate's representatives to Korea throughout the Edo period (1603-1868), and would gain significantly as a result, politically and economically.
[edit] References
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
