Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Keisan-ji Temple

 

     There used to be Horyu-ji Temple near Tomioka Beach, which suffered gradual erosion, and that caused the temple move to halfway up Tomioka Hill.  In 1624, Toshima Nobumitsu (1579-1628) renamed the temple Keisan-ji after his mother’s posthumous Buddhist name, Goson Keisan.  She had died on October 6, 1613.

     Nobumitsu arranged a match between Inoue Masatoshi (1606-1675), the son of Masanari (1577-1628), the elder statesman of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the daughter of Shimada Naotoki (1570-1628), the Osaka Governor.  However, Lady Kasuga (1579-1643), who was the wet nurse of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third and then shogun, and who was also an influential politician, stepped in.  She introduced the daughter of Torii Naritsugu (1570-1631) to Masatoshi and Masanari.  Masanari couldn’t refuse the introduction, and the first match was broken off.  Nobumitsu completely lost face.

     On August 10, 1628, Nobumitsu came across Masanari in the corridor in the west wing of the Edo Castle.  He slashed at Masanari with his short sword, saying, “A samurai must not be a double-dealing liar.”  One of the guards, Aoki Yoshikiyo (?-1628), was surprised and tackled Nobumitsu from the back.  Nobumitsu thrust the short sword into his own abdomen and killed himself.  For Yoshikiyo’s misfortune, the short sword penetrated Nobumitsu and reached Yoshikiyo’s abdomen and left him fatally injured.  That was the first bloodshed in the Edo Castle

     Under the guilt-by-association system, all the other Toshima Families should have been punished.  Sakai Tadakatsu (1587-1662), another elder statesman of the Tokugawa Shogunate, however, praised Nobumitsu’s vengeance, and asked for a lenient sentence.  Only Nobumitsu’s eldest son, Yoshitsugu (?-1628), had to commit harakiri at the age of 13 for joint responsibility.  Shimada Naotoki (1570-1628) also committed harakiri.  Masatoshi and the daughter of Naritsugu?  They got married, and lived happily with many children ever after.  With some casualties, Lady Kasuga proved her great insight to find the best match.

     Nobumitsu seems to have had another son.  He became in employment with Tokugawa Yorinobu (1602-1671),  who started the Kishu-Tokugawa Family and who also lamented the death of Nobumitsu.

     When Yorinobu’s great grandson, Yoshimune (1684-1751), made the 8th shogun, Nobumitsu’s descendant also came to Edo to work for Yoshimune and the Tokugawa Shogunate.

     The temple witnessed the first bloodshed in the Edo Castle.  71 years 7 months and 4 days later, Asano Naganori (1667-1701) slashed at Kira Yoshihisa (1641-1703) in the main grand corridor of the castle; the beginning of the Ako Incident.  The incident led to another famous incident, the revenge of the forty-seven samurais.

Address: 4 Chome-1-8 Tomiokahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0051

Phone: 045-772-3264