* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Kitabatake Tomonori
北畠具教
Swordsman Daimyo of Ise, Heir to Tsukahara Bokuden's Secret Technique
Description
Life and Origins
Kitabatake Tomonori was born in Kyōroku 1 (1528), the eldest son of Kitabatake Harutomo, a court-noble daimyō of Ise Province. The Kitabatake family began with Kitabatake Akiyoshi, son of Kitabatake Chikafusa, who supported Emperor Go-Daigo during the Northern and Southern Courts period. It was a house of the provincial governors (kokushi) of Ise and a distinguished court-noble warrior family that ruled southern Ise. Tomonori succeeded to the headship from his father in Tenbun 22 (1553). As the eighth head of the Kitabatake family, he governed Ise Province.
Encounter with a Sword Saint and the Transmission of the Hitotsu no Tachi
The greatest factor in carving Tomonori's name into posterity was his extraordinary talent and training as a swordsman. Tomonori is said to have studied under the legendary sword saint Tsukahara Bokuden and received Bokuden's secret technique, the Hitotsu no Tachi. The Hitotsu no Tachi is regarded as Bokuden's inner secret. Tomonori also learned swordsmanship from Kamiizumi Nobutsuna (Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami), and he was on friendly terms through the sword with Yagyū Muneyoshi (Sekishūsai) of Yamato. It is said that he introduced Yagyū Muneyoshi and Hōzōin In'ei to Kamiizumi. He is also known for protecting and supporting swordsmen who traveled to train.
Rule of Ise and Resistance to Nobunaga
As a daimyō, Tomonori pursued active diplomacy and military action, including expanding his territory northward and subduing Shima Province, and he brought the power of the Kitabatake family to its peak. However, in Eiroku 12 (1569), he was attacked by Oda Nobunaga. He held out at Ōkawachi Castle (Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture) and held back Nobunaga's forces for more than fifty days, but he was forced to make peace. He then took in Nobunaga's second son, Chasenmaru (later Oda Nobukatsu), as adopted heir to his legitimate son, Kitabatake Tomofusa.
Assassination at the Mise Residence
Tomonori took Buddhist vows in Genki 1 (1570) and moved to the Mise residence (Mise Gosho). He still retained real power, however, and he did not submit to Nobunaga, even concluding a secret pact with Takeda Shingen. On the 25th day of the 11th month of Tenshō 4 (15 December 1576), warriors acting on Nobunaga's orders made a surprise attack on the Mise residence. It is said that Tomonori's sword had been tampered with by a close attendant who had colluded with the attackers, so that it would not come out of its scabbard. Tomonori, who was known as a master swordsman, met his death with regret. Age at death: 49.
Connection with Swords
Regarding his final moments at the Mise residence, one tradition holds that he fought with his sword in hand, cut down 19 enemy soldiers, and wounded 100 others. Another account holds that he could not resist and was cut down because his sword had been tampered with by a collaborator. Both versions are passed down as the tragedy of a master swordsman tied to the sword.
Later Reputation
He was one of the representative swordsman daimyō of the Sengoku period. Like his father, Harutomo, he was a court-noble warrior who was also fond of waka poetry. On a hill in Iitaka, Matsusaka, there is a head mound (kubizuka) said to be Tomonori's. At the site of Kitabatake Shrine in Ōdai, a resident claiming to be a descendant is said to have built the Kokushi-dō hall to pray for Tomonori's repose.