* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Matsunaga Hisahide
松永久秀
The Magnificent Villain — who murdered a shogun, burned a great temple, and died embracing his beloved tea kettle
Description
The Emergence of the Extraordinary — From Miyoshi Nagayoshi's Trusted Aide to Warlord
Matsunaga Hisahide is believed to have been born around 1510 (the seventh year of the Eishō era), but his origins remain uncertain with various theories proposed. Having served Miyoshi Nagayoshi and come to prominence, Hisahide rose rapidly through his superior political talent and dispassionate judgment. After Nagayoshi's death in 1564, Hisahide seized real power within the Miyoshi clan and became involved in the Eiroku Incident of 1565. In this event, Hisahide's son Matsunaga Hisamichi and the Miyoshi Triumvirate attacked Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru at the Nijō Palace, forcing him to take his own life (Hisahide himself remained in Yamato Province). The "Eiroku Incident" shocked contemporary society. The unprecedented act of a sitting shogun being slain by his vassal demonstrated that insubordination in the Sengoku period had reached its ultimate extreme.
The Burning of Tōdaiji's Great Buddha Hall and Assessment of "Evil Acts"
In 1567 (the tenth year of the Eiroku era), the conflict between Matsunaga Hisahide and the Miyoshi Triumvirate escalated into fierce battles with Tōdaiji Temple in Nara as the battlefield. During these battles, the Great Buddha Hall of Tōdaiji burned down. While later accounts often attribute the burning of the Great Buddha Hall to Hisahide, closer examination of historical records suggests the Miyoshi Triumvirate may have been responsible, and scholarly debate continues regarding the extent of Hisahide's culpability. Regardless, Hisahide, attributed with two grave sins—the murder of the shogun and the burning of the Great Buddha Hall—became known as the embodiment of the "Three Great Evils" that even Oda Nobunaga marveled at: slaying a shogun, betraying his own lord, and burning the Great Buddha Hall.
Submission to Nobunaga and the Renowned Tea Kettle "Koten'myō Hiragumo"
In 1568 (the eleventh year of the Eiroku era), as Oda Nobunaga came to control the Kinai region, Hisahide submitted to him. Nobunaga greatly valued Hisahide's talents and entrusted him with the rule of Yamato Province. During this period, an exchange concerning the celebrated tea kettle "Koten'myō Hiragumo" took place between Hisahide and Nobunaga. Nobunaga repeatedly requested the Hiragumo tea kettle, but Hisahide ultimately refused to surrender it. This kettle is known as a "supreme utensil under heaven" and symbolizes both Matsunaga Hisahide's refined cultural aesthetics and a certain pride he maintained even before power.
Swords and Tea Ceremony — Sengoku Aesthetics
Matsunaga Hisahide held an important place as a daimyo of tea ceremony, ranking alongside Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. The refined aesthetic sensibility Hisahide demonstrated in collecting and appreciating celebrated tea utensils was equally evident in his appreciation of swords. Surrounded by blacksmiths of the Yamato school as lord of Yamato Province, Hisahide, well versed in the collection and authentication of renowned blades, is said to have possessed superior swords. It is also recorded that Hisahide, who favored masterpieces of ancient blades, actively collected renowned swords from the Northern and Southern Courts period. Hisahide's cultural attitude of equally revering swords and tea utensils as "supreme utensils" represents the apex of Sengoku warrior aesthetics.
Death at Shigisan Castle — Perishing with the Hiragumo Tea Kettle
In 1577 (the fifth year of the Tenshō era), Hisahide again rebelled against Nobunaga. Surrounded at Shigisan Castle by Nobunaga's forces, Hisahide refused to surrender and chose a magnificent death. According to legend, Hisahide packed gunpowder into the "Koten'myō Hiragumo" tea kettle and detonated it, perishing together with the kettle. While the truth of this legend remains unclear, it has been widely transmitted to posterity as an episode symbolizing Hisahide's pride—choosing death over surrendering a supreme utensil under heaven. The magnificent end of the sixty-seven-year-old extraordinary man is deeply etched into Japanese culture as the ultimate expression of Sengoku aesthetics.
The Extraordinary Man's Aesthetics and Swords
Matsunaga Hisahide's life condensed and illustrated the relationship between power, beauty, and death in the Sengoku period. The complex personality of Hisahide, who slew shoguns and burned great temples while simultaneously loving tea ceremony and celebrated utensils, possesses a richness that transcends a simplistic "villain" image. Swords, too, were for Hisahide a type of "supreme utensil"—simultaneously a symbol of power and the apex of beauty. The sword held in the extraordinary man's hand was not merely a weapon, but embodied the fusion of the pursuit of beauty and the exercise of power amid the chaos of the Sengoku period.
Notable Swords
- Yamato tradition collection blades — swords from the five Yamato schools (Senjuin, Tegai, Shikkake, Taima, Hosho) gathered by Hisahide during his governance of Yamato Province, treated with the same connoisseurship he applied to tea objects
- Nanbokucho-era classical tachi — bold, powerful blades from the 14th century that Hisahide reportedly favored, collected as meiki (supreme objects) alongside his famous tea wares