Yagyū Munetoshi
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Yagyū Munetoshi 柳生 宗厳 |
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|---|---|
| Born | Yagyū Shinsuke Munetoshi 1529 Yagyū, Yamato Province |
| Died | May 25, 1606 Yagyū, Yamato Province |
| Native name | 柳生 宗厳 |
| Other names | Sekishūsai, Yagyū Shinzaemon, Yagyū Tajima-no-Kami, Yagyū Muneyoshi |
| Style | Shinkage-ryū |
| Teacher(s) | Kamiizumi Nobutsuna |
| Notable students | Yagyū Munenori, Yagyū Toshitoshi, Takeda Ujikatsu |
Yagyū Sekishūsai Taira-no-Munetoshi (柳生石舟斎平宗厳 1529 – May 25, 1606) was a samurai in Japan's Sengoku period famous for mastering the Shinkage-ryū school of combat, and introducing it to the Tokugawa clan. He was also known as Shinsuke, or Shinzaemon.
Munetoshi was born Yagyū Shinsuke in 1529 in Yagyū Village (present day Yagyū, Nara) in Yamato Province. His father, Ietoshi, was a minor landed lord. When Munetoshi was 12, Ietoshi joined a general named Kisawa Nagamasa in contesting the growing power of the warlord Miyoshi Chōkei. However, Kisawa was killed in battle, and the Yagyū found themselves on the defensive. With over half of Yamato Province under his control, Miyoshi left the rest of the conquest to his lieutenant, Tsutsui Junshō.
The Tsutsui and the Yagyū had feuded previously, and Junshō wasted no time. In 1544 he attacked the Yagyū at Koyagyū Castle with some 10,000 men. According to the Tamon-in Nikki, a chronicle of the Kōfuku-ji temple, at first the Yagyū were caught by surprise, but Ietoshi rallied his troops for a defensive battle. Munetoshi, a young man of 15, ably led a small troop of his own. The Tsutsui troops surrounded the castle, burned the surrounding houses and villages, took control of the outer castle and cut off the water supply, but the main castle still held out. The Yagyū held out or three days, but they were greatly outnumbered, and had no choice but to capitulate, and submit to the Tsutsui.
The Yagyū served the Tsutsui for eight years. Munetoshi studied the martial and liberal arts, becoming proficient with the spear and sword, as well as studying Confucianism, Zen Buddhism, and Shingon Buddhism. Munetoshi soon gained notice as an able warrior and commander, and as many of orders were sent by Tsutsui to him, a young man in his 20s, as were sent to his father, still an active lord in his 50s. One message sent by Junshō’s son Fujikatsu to Ietoshi singles out Munetoshi in particular for praise.
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