Tamura Kiyoaki

Tamura Kiyoaki was a Sengoku-period daimyo of Mutsu Province and the 25th head of the Tamura clan, which claimed descent from Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, the first Sei-i Taishogun. He held the title Daizen no Daibu. His birth year is unknown; he died on the 9th day of the 10th month of Tensho 14 (19 November 1586).

Family

His father was Tamura Takaaki (d. 1574) and his mother a daughter of Date Tanemune. He had a younger brother, Ujiaki. His principal wife was Okita, daughter of Soma Akitane and sister of Soma Moritane. His only child was his daughter Megohime (1568-1653). His adopted heir was Muneaki (c. 1574-c. 1648), a son of Ujiaki.

Ties with the Date

He succeeded his father Takaaki on the latter's death. To stand against the Satake and the Ashina, he married Megohime to Date Masamune as his principal wife and kept his independence with the help of Date reinforcements. Megohime was known as Tamura Gozen and later as Yotokuin.

Mediating between the Date and the Soma

When a territorial dispute arose between the Date and the Soma, he drew in Satake Yoshishige and Iwaki Tsunetaka to put pressure on Date Terumune, and brokered peace by having Soma Yoshitane return Marumori Castle to the Date. His wife Okita is also said to have played a part. The Tamura and Soma are described as having kept a conservative independence from the Date.

Contact with Oda Nobunaga

He is said to have been on friendly terms with Oda Nobunaga, who informed him by letter of the many enemy soldiers killed at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.

After his death

Kiyoaki had no children other than Megohime, and in particular no son, and after his death in 1586 a fresh dispute over the succession broke out among the Tamura retainers, the Date and the Soma. In the end Date Masamune made Muneaki, son of Kiyoaki's younger brother Ujiaki, the heir.

Later reputation

Like his father, he is known as a capable commander. Through his daughter Megohime, wife of Date Masamune, his name is tied to the history of the Date house.