Kakizaki Yoshihiro

Kakizaki Yoshihiro was a warrior of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods, and the third son of Kakizaki Sukehiro. He was the first lord of the Matsumae Domain. He was born on the third day of the ninth month of 1548 (Tenbun 17) and died on the twelfth day of the tenth month of 1616 (Genna 2).

Under the Toyotomi regime

When the Japanese invasion of Korea began in 1592 (Bunroku 1), he was among the first to attend Toyotomi Hideyoshi at his headquarters at Nagoya in Hizen. In the following year (Bunroku 2), he received from Hideyoshi a red-seal letter recognizing his rule over Ezo. He is said to have thereby freed himself from the control of the Andō family and become lord of Ezo-shima.

Renaming and Ieyasu's recognition

In 1599 (Keichō 4) he changed his family name to Matsumae. In 1604 (Keichō 9) Tokugawa Ieyasu granted him a black-seal letter confirming his monopoly on trade with Ezo.

Fukuyama Castle

In 1600 (Keichō 5) he began building a new castle, Fukuyama-kan, on the Fukuyama plateau. It took six years and was completed in 1606 (Keichō 11).

Grave

The Matsumae family graveyard holds the grave of "Matsumae Yoshihiro, the fifth generation (first lord of the Matsumae Domain)", and the graveyard is designated a national historic site.