Date Shigezane

* Sen6
* Sen5
* Sen4
* Sen2

**Date Shigezane**  (明智 (あけち)成実 (しげざね), *****Date Shigezane*****? Date Shigezane) is the current head (Sen1-2) is a retainer of the Date Clan, serving under Oda Nobunaga. She serves as a recruitable general since Sengoku Hime 1, and has appeared in all 7 of the games in the Sengoku Hime series / Sengoku Hime 1, Sengoku Hime 2, Sengoku Hime 3, Sengoku Hime 4, Sengoku Hime 5, Sengoku Hime 6, Sengoku Hime 7, Tengokuhime 1, Tengokuhime 2, Jangoku Hime and the upcoming Shin § Sengoku Hime.

## Introduction

**Sengoku Hime 2:** Date clan vassal. His dream is to become a warrior who surpasses Masamune's younger sister, "Kenshin Uesugi" and "Tadakatsu Honda". She has a complex with her pretty name "Narumi" and she comes up with the name "Shigezane".
She can't think of difficult things.

伊達家家臣。政宗の妹、「上杉謙信」「本多忠勝」を超える天下無双の武人になるのが夢。「なるみ」という可愛らしい名前にコンプレックスをもっており、「しげざね」と名乗ることを思いつく。
難しいことを考えることができない。

**Sengoku Hime 4:** A cousin and childhood friend who is a vassal of the Date clan and one year younger than Masamune.
He has been with Masamune since he was a child and grew up as one of the leaders of the next generation of Date.
He has a bright, energetic and positive personality.
Although she looks and feels young, her positive attitude is also demonstrated in battles, and her brave appearance in a battle that never retreats naturally encourages soldiers.

幼少の頃から政宗と行動を共にし、次代の伊達を担う者のひとりとして育ってきた。
明るく元気で前向きな性格。
見た目に違わず精神的にも幼いところがあるが、前向きな姿勢は合戦においても発揮され、決して後退しない心構えで戦に臨む彼女の勇ましい姿は、自然と兵を勇気づける。
【デザイナー：碧野グンジョウ】　【演者：藤森ゆき奈】

**Sengoku Hime 5:** A cousin and childhood friend who is a vassal of the Date clan and one year younger than Masamune. He has been with Masamune since he was a child and grew up as one of the leaders of the next generation of Date. He has a bright, energetic and positive personality. Although she looks and feels young, her positive attitude is also demonstrated in battles, and her brave appearance in a battle that never retreats naturally encourages soldiers.

デザイナー：碧野グンジョウＣＶ：藤森ゆき奈

**Sengoku Hime 6:** An energetic girl. She is confident and she calls herself a brave warrior. She has no guns in the battle, but she makes up for it with a plethora of momentum. She is a little bad at thinking. She is a little jealous of Masamune's masculinity, she likes cool things, especially caterpillars and centipedes.

**Tengoku Hime 1:** He is a vassal of the Date clan and is a childhood friend of his cousin, one younger than Masamune.
He has a bright, energetic and positive personality.
Although she looks and feels young mentally, her positive attitude is also demonstrated in battles, and her brave appearance in the battle with a mindset that she never retreats encourages her nature and soldiers. ..

明るく元気で前向きな性格。
見た目に違わず精神的にも幼いところがあるが、前向きな姿勢は合戦においても発揮され、決して後退しない心構えで戦に臨む彼女の勇ましい姿は、自然と兵を勇気づける。

## Historial Infomation

Date Shigezane (伊達 成実, 1568 – July 17, 1646) was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. Founder of the Watari-Date clan. A senior retainer of the Date clan of Sendai, he was a cousin of Date Masamune on his mother's side, and a cousin of Masamune's father Date Terumune on his father's side. Together with Oniniwa Tsunamoto and Katakura Kagetsuna, Shigezane was known as one of the "Three Great Men of the Date Clan".

Shigezane was a son of Date Sanemoto and was at first known as Tôgorô. He was fought at Battle of Hitotoribashi in 1586 and Battle of Suriagehara in 1589, and well known for his fighting skill.
After distinguishing himself at the Battle of Hitadori (1586) he was given Nihonmatsu castle and an income of 38,000 koku. He played an active role in the defeat of the Ashina clan in 1589.

In 1595, after the first Korean campaign, he suddenly retired at Mount Koya, but re-entered Masamune's service in 1600 and later went on to fight at Osaka Campaign in 1614 - 1615. He later produced a written work on the Date family.

Early years
In 1568, Shigezane was born as the eldest son of Date Sanemoto, the lord of Ōmori Castle in the Shinobu District of Mutsu Province. During his youth, he studied under a priest of the Jishū sect of Buddhism named Ryōzan Oshō (the abbot of the Sennen Temple in the village of Awano in the Date District). In 1579, Shigezane attended his coming-of-age ceremony at Ōmori Castle with Date Terumune having the honor of crowning Shigezane. In 1583, he became the head of the family and lord of Ōmori Castle, carrying responsibility to keep control over the southern portions of the Date territory.
In 1585, at the Battle of Hitotoribashi, Shigezane fought valiantly in the midst of a rout of the Date forces and enabled Date Masamune to escape. On 9/13 of Tenshō 14 (1586), Shigezane moved from Ōmori Castle to Nihonmatsu Castle after its capture by Masamune. In lieu of his former fief comprised of the Shinobu and Date districts, Shigezane received a fief of approximately 38,000 koku in the Adachi District. In the twelfth month, he wed the eldest daughter of Watari Shigemune. As a central figure in the Date army, Shigezane achieved meritorious results in battle on numerous occasions. In 1588, in the Kōriyama Conflict, Shigezane and a small battalion valiantly defended against an invasion of the Date territory by Ashina Yoshihiro for two months. Shigezane then lured Ōuchi Sadatsuna and his associate, Katahira Chikatsuna, to return to the service of the Date. In 1589, at the Battle of Suriagehara, Shigezane assaulted the enemy forces from the flank, reversing a position of weakness in the early stages of the battle.
In the fifth month of 1590, when Masamune deployed for the Conquest of Odawara led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Shigezane stayed behind to protect Kurogawa Castle. Toward the end of the year, he also joined in the suppression of a revolt by provincial clans known as the Kasai-Ōsaki Uprising. This event was triggered after Hideyoshi removed certain clans from power in connection with a campaign to subjugate the Ou region (Mutsu and Dewa provinces) known as the Oushū Retribution. After Hideyoshi learned of incitement of the uprisings, he ordered Masamune to go to the capital of Kyōto, while Shigezane and Kokubun Morishige entered Myō Temple as hostages of Gamō Ujisato. In 1591, accompanying Masamune’s transfer to Iwadeyama Castle, Shigezane was awarded sixteen villages in the Igu District and one village in the Shibata District which were in the former territory of Tade Munezane, the lord of Tsunoda Castle, whereupon Shigezane relocated from Nihonmatsu Castle to Tsunoda. In 1592, Shigezane participated in the Bunroku Campaign, an expedition by Hideyoshi on the Korean Peninsula. After returning from overseas, Shigezane followed orders from Masamune to be stationed at the Date residence in Fushimi. On 6/4 of Bunroku 4 (1595), his formal wife, Watari-Gozen, died of illness in Fushimi. On 8/24 of Bunroku 4 (1595), Shigezane was the second person after Ishikawa Yoshimune to sign a pledge by a group of retainers residing in Kyōto in regard to the Hidetsugu Incident. In this event, Toyotomi Hidetsugu (the eldest son of Hideyoshi’s older sister) committed seppuku on Mount Kōya. The reason for this outcome is not certain, but may have been ordered by Hideyoshi upon suspicion that Hidetsugu was plotting a rebellion.
Absconding from the clan
After the Hidetsugu Incident, Shigezane suddenly absconded from the Date family in Fushimi and, upon orders of Masamune, was seized at Tsunoda Castle by Yashiro Kageyori who had been stationed to defend Iwadeyama Castle. Alternatively, Kageyori may have stormed Tsunoda Castle upon hearing the news from a retainer of Shigezane named Shiranezawa Shigetsuna. Over thirty retainers of Shigezane who resisted, including Haneda Sanekage, died in the ensuing battle, while Shigezane’s group of retainers was broken up. However, there are many uncertainties regarding this event. First, theories regarding the year in which Shigezane absconded range from the autumn of 1595 to 1598. Second, his destination was either Mount Kōya or Kasuya in Sagami Province. Third, as to the reasons for Shigezane to abscond, either (i) he was in the second seat in the family after the Ishikawa clan, and dissatisfied with his compensation, or (ii) to avoid guilt by association with Masamune as to involvement in the Hidetsugu Incident, he bore the suspicion and entered into seclusion, or (iii) he absconded upon orders of Masamune to carry out a secret plan.
In 1600, upon the outbreak of the Battle of Sekigahara, Uesugi Kagekatsu offered Shigezane a fief of 50,000 koku in exchange for serving as his retainer, but Shigezane refused on the grounds that he did not intend to serve a family that originated from retainers. During his time away from the clan, Shigezane also received (via Ōkubo Tadachika) an offer from Tokugawa Ieyasu, but the discussions fell apart owing to a serious punishment from Masamune known as hōkō-kamae preventing him from future service without the consent of his former lord. In the seventh month of the same year, Shigezane was persuaded by Date Masakage and Katakura Kagetsuna to return to the service of the Date. Shigezane is also said to have joined the army of Ishikawa Akimitsu in an assault on Shiroishi Castle in the Katta District of Mutsu in the summer of 1600.
Role as head of the Watari-Date family
On 12/30 of Keichō 7 (1602), Shigezane entered the stronghold of Watari Castle in place of Katakura Kagetsuna who had moved to Shiroishi Castle. Shigezane was granted twenty-three villages in the Watari District and a fief of 611 kan, 356 mon (5,095 koku).
After returning to the clan, Shigezane served in numerous important capacities. In 1606, Shigezane announced the news of the engagement of Masamune’s daughter (Iroha-hime) and the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Matsudaira Tadateru), while from 1614 to 1615, he joined in the Siege of Ōsaka. In 1622, he aided the seizure of Nobesawa Castle arising from the demotion of the Mogami clan. After the death of Masamune in the summer of 1636, Shigezane continued to wield influence as a clan elder under Date Tadamune, the second head of the domain. In 1638, Shigezane traveled to Edo as the representative of Tadamune to express their gratitude to the Edo bakufu for a loan of 5,000 kan of silver to cover expenses associated with a flood in their domain the prior year. At the banquet, Shigezane was requested to share war stories from the Ōu region. As Shigezane shared his experience at the Battle of Hitotoribashi, he was overheard by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shōgun, separated by a bamboo blind, for which Iemitsu noted he was deeply impressed by the account.
While performing these diplomatic duties, Shigezane also vigorously promoted the reconstruction and development of his territory. In the agricultural domain, he made improvements to irrigation facilities by completely restoring the former Iwajizō channels from the twelfth century, and built the Hatohara channels running from a dam in Higashiosaka in the Igu District to Hadeniwa in the Watari District. To make use of shore land that was not suitable for cultivation, he invited technicians from Futawatashi-hama in the Oshika District and created salt farms in four locations around Lake Torinoumi (Toriyazaki-hama, Hakaone-tahama, Nagatoro-hama, and Ōhata-hama). Later, after his fief was increased by ten villages in the Uda District equivalent to 200 kan, he opened two additional salt farms on the Niinumaura shore (Imaizumi-hama and Imakami-hama)
In 1644, the Kanei General Land Survey resulted in the reallocation of landholdings which placed an upper limit of 2,000 kan (20,000 koku) per family. The amount of the Watari landholding was computed to have reached almost twice the amount originally granted. Consequently, a portion of the land was reallocated to the bakufu. In total, twenty-three villages in the Watari District, ten villages in the Uda District, one village in the Igu District, and two villages in the Isawa District accounted for 2,000 kan. Owing to the implementation of these policies in this era, even after his death, the development of new areas steadily continued so that, ultimately, the Watari-Date attained landholdings in the amount of 2,435 kan, 302 mon (24,353 koku).
On 2/9 of Shōhō 3 (1646), Shigezane transferred his role as head of the family to his adopted heir, Date Munezane, and died that summer at the age of seventy-nine.
Personal qualities and anecdotes
Shigezane had a motif on his helmet in the form of a caterpillar. This was to convey the lesson that caterpillars never pull back.
After the Battle of Hitotoribashi, while staying at Shibukawa Castle, a servant mistakenly set alight a box of gunpowder intended for use in arquebuses, causing the castle to burn down. During this fire, Shigezane suffered severe burns to all of the fingers on his right hand, which remained for the rest of his life.
After returning to service, Shigezane maintained friendly relations with Masamune, as revealed in a letter written by Masamune to Shigezane stating that he did not have a particular reason, but had not met him for a while, so decided to write the letter.

**Lord(s):** Date Terumune 伊達輝宗 → Date Masamune 政宗 → Date Tadamune 忠宗

**Father:** Date Sanemoto 伊達実元

**Mother:** Shōseiin 鏡清院 (second daughter of Date Harumune 伊達晴宗)

**Spouse(s):** [Formal] Watari Gozen 亘理御前 (eldest daughter of Watari Shigemune 亘理重宗); [Second Wife] Iwaki Gozen 岩城御前 (daughter of Nikaidō Moriyoshi 二階堂盛義)

**Children:** 小僧丸 (daughter)

**Adopted Children:** Munezane 宗実 (adopted from the ninth son of Date Masamune 政宗)