* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Yamauchi Chiyo (Kenshō-in)
山内千代（見性院）
Wife of the Lord of Tosa Domain
Description
Life
Kenshō-in (also known as Chiyo) is traditionally said to have been born in 1557 in Ōmi Province. Her origins are recorded in several accounts: one theory holds that she was the daughter of Wakamiya Tomooki, a retainer of the Azai clan, while another holds that she was the daughter of Endō Morikazu, a local lord of Mino. Neither account is certain. Her given name is also recorded in two ways, "Chiyo" and "Matsu," and remains unclear. According to tradition, she caught the eye of Yamauchi Kazutoyo while learning sewing from his mother at the Nagano family's residence in Ugano, Ōmi, where Kazutoyo's mother had taken refuge, and she thereby became his wife.
The Legend of the Wife's Hidden Merit
The best-known anecdote about Kenshō-in is the story that she used her dowry to buy a fine horse, the "Kagami-gurige." In 1581, during a horse review held by Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto, this horse reportedly caught Nobunaga's eye, which brought Kazutoyo greater renown and an increase in his holdings. However, this anecdote is thought to have taken shape in the Edo period, and recent research has questioned its historical accuracy. Other anecdotes are also told of her: that she turned a measuring box upside down to use as a cutting board, and that she sold her own black hair to pay for Kazutoyo's construction costs.
Family
Kenshō-in and Kazutoyo had one daughter, Yone, who died young in the Tenshō earthquake of the 11th month of Tenshō 13 (January 1586). She then took in and raised an abandoned child, who became a trainee monk under the name Shōnan Sōge at Myōshin-ji temple. She adopted Tadayoshi, the son of Kazutoyo's younger brother Yasutoyo, and named him heir to the Yamauchi house.
Later Years
After Kazutoyo died in 1605, Kenshō-in left Tosa, moved to Kyoto, and settled near the residence of Kōdai-in. She received a retirement stipend of 1,000 koku and is said to have worked to maintain relations between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa houses. In her later years she is reported to have loved reading the Kokin Wakashū and the Tsurezuregusa, and to have been skilled at waka poetry and calligraphy. She died on December 31, 1617 (Genna 3, 12th month, 4th day), attended by Shōnan Sōge, at the age of 61.
Later Reputation
The anecdotes of Kenshō-in's inner support became widely known; from the modern era onward they were taught in schools as an exemplar of the ideal "good wife, wise mother" (ryōsai kenbo). As a representative example of a wife who supported her husband and helped him rise, she has repeatedly been featured in later kōdan storytelling, novels, and television dramas.