Notes on Sawamura Daigakunosuke [沢村大学助] (nee Yoshishige [吉重]) (1560-1650)
Portrait of Sawamura Daigaku in full armor (from historian Fujimoto Masayuki’s [藤本正行] book, Armor-Wearing People [鎧をまとう人びと]).
My maternal grandfather, Sawamura Goro [沢村五郎] (1887-1977), spent most of his life in Kobe but grew up in Kumamoto. Although I was vaguely aware that his family had a connection to the Hosokawa clan [細川氏] that had ruled Kumamoto for many generations, until recently I did not know the history behind this relationship, or of my ancestor, Sawamura Daigakunosuke [沢村大学助] (born Yoshishige [吉重]), who established the Sawamura name. Here is a brief summary of what I found about him.
Born 1560 in Takahama of the Wakasa region (now Fukui Prefecture), Daigaku was patrilineally descended from Emperor Seiwa [清和天皇] (reign: 858-876) via the Ashikaga [足利氏] and Momonoi [桃井氏] branches. (Our family tree from the Emperor to my son’s generation is linked here.) Daigaku began his career as a foot soldier for the feudal lord, Henmi Masatsune [逸見昌経]. After Henmi’s death in 1581, Daigaku began serving Hosokawa Tadaoki [細川忠興], who ruled South Tango Province [丹後南半国]. After showing great valor in various battles, including the pivotal Battle of Sekigahara [関ヶ原の戦い] that ushered in the Tokugawa Shogunate era of unification and peace in Japan, Daigaku rose quickly through the ranks. In 1632, he followed Tadaoki’s younger brother Tadatoshi [細川忠利] to Higo (Kumamoto), a large fief of 540,000 koku in Kyushu that Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu [徳川家康] presented to Tadatoshi. There, Daigaku served out his days as Hosokawa’s chief retainer, with a domain of 11,000 koku.
Kumamoto Castle, where Daigaku and his descendants served the Hosokawa daimyo.
Daigaku fought in over thirty battles, and his reputation as a fierce warrior spread across the land. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he was presented with the Vermilion Spear [皆朱の槍] by Tokugawa Ieyasu despite holding only the rank of a baishin [陪臣], akin to a vavasor, at the time. (An alternate version of the story can be found here.) The Vermilion Spear was only allowed to be held by a top samurai from the most distinguished lineages. Daigaku’s spear eventually ended up at Kumamoto High School (which my grandfather attended), but unfortunately it was destroyed along with the building during an Allied air raid in WWII. The spear lives on, though, as part of the school flag design.
Even at age 78, Daigaku joined the fray in the Shimabara Rebellion [島原の乱]. It is ironic that he fought on the shogunate side to put down the rebel Christians, since my grandfather was the head of Kansai Bible College. Daigaku was also instrumental in convincing legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi [宮本武蔵], to come to Kumamoto and accept the patronage of the Hosokawa clan in 1633. He introduced Musashi to Unganzen Temple [雲巌禅寺] on the outskirts of Kumamoto, site of the Reigan Cave [霊巌洞], where Musashi retired as a hermit to pen The Book of Five Rings [五輪書]. In 1645, Musashi died of thoracic cancer in the cave, tended to by Daigaku and others. Daigaku’s dramatized role in setting up the famous duel between Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro [佐々木小次郎] is depicted in the 2019 film, Musashi [武蔵], featuring Meguro Yūki [目黒祐樹] as Daigaku.
An inscription by Sawamura Daigaku at the Unganzen Temple.
Sawamura Daigaku died on September 17, 1650. His grave is at the Jodo Temple [成道寺] in Kumamoto. There is an exhibit on him in Takahama museum [高浜町郷土資料館]. His descendents continued to serve the Hosokawa clan until the Meiji Restoration, including my great-grandfather, who still wore a katana while roaming the halls of Kumamoto castle according to family lore.
Jodo Temple plaque.
July 2016 visit.
Sawamura Daigaku’s grave. (Drawing by Linnea Kirby.)