* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Oniwa Yoshinao
鬼庭良直
The aged Date retainer known as "Oniwa Sagetsusai" who died covering Masamune's retreat at Hitotoribashi
Description
Life
Oniwa Yoshinao (1513–1586) was born as the son of Oniwa Motozane, lord of Koyadate Castle in Date District, and served the Date clan as a retainer. When Date Terumune succeeded to the headship in 1564, he was selected as a member of the council (hyōjōyaku), and in Tenshō 3 (1575) he handed the headship to his eldest son, Tsunamoto, retired, and took the name Sagetsusai.
The Battle of Hitotoribashi
In the tenth month of Tenshō 13 (1585), the Awanosu Incident occurred, in which Lord Terumune was abducted by Nihonmatsu Yoshitsugu and lost his life. In the following eleventh month, the allied forces of the southern Ōshū lords, centered on Satake Yoshishige of Hitachi, made a surprise attack on the Date army, which was besieging Nihonmatsu Castle, near Hitotoribashi in Adachi District (the Battle of Hitotoribashi). The Date army, inferior in numbers, collapsed entirely, and the enemy even closed in on the main camp of the head of the house, Masamune. Sagetsusai, to whom Masamune had entrusted command and given a golden command baton (saihai), took charge of the rearguard himself and threw himself into the enemy ranks so that Masamune could escape.
Anecdotes and Death
Because of his advanced age, Sagetsusai could not wear heavy armor. Instead, wearing a yellow cotton cap in place of a helmet and light clothing, he held his ground at the front line and fought valiantly. The Oniwa unit is said to have taken more than 200 heads. In the meantime, Masamune succeeded in retreating to Motomiya Castle. Sagetsusai himself was cut down by Kubota Jūrō, a retainer of Iwaki Tsunetaka, at the age of 73 by the traditional count.
Later Reputation
As a loyal retainer who, at an advanced age, threw himself into the rearguard to defend his lord in crisis and saved the Date house from peril, Sagetsusai's grave still remains at the Hitotoribashi battlefield, and he is spoken of as an elder general who supported the revival of the Date house.
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