Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Ichigyo-in Temple

 

     The foundation of Ichigyo-in Temple was supported by Nagai Naomasa (1587-1668).

     When Naomasa was 11 years old, his father, Naokatsu (1563-1626), worked and fought for Tokugawa Nobuyasu (1559-1579).  Then, Nobuyasu's father Ieyasu (1543-1616) was forced by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) to have Nobuyasu commit harakiri suicide.  Naokatsu and his family became masterless and jobless.  2 years before the death of Nobunaga, the family was employed by Ieyasu.

     Even when Naomasa’s father became masterless and jobless, his grandfather, Osada Shigemoto (1504-1593), kept working and fighting for Ieyasu in Ohama, Mikawa Province.  Ohama Port used to be a strategically important point to command the Mikawa Bay.  In 1582, Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide(1528-1582), and Ieyasu had to escape back to Mikawa Province.  It was Shigemoto who offered a ship to pick him up.

     Ohama is mentioned in the Wamyo Ruijusho (namely Japanese Names for Things Classified and Annotated),  which was a Japanese dictionary compiled in 938.

     Naomasa killed Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536-1584), who was a milk brother of Nobunaga and who was worth 130,000 goku, in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, and was awarded 5,000 goku.  As Tsuneoki’s first son, Motosuke (1559-1584) was also killed in the battle, Tsuneoki was succeeded by his second son, Terumasa (1565-1613), who was shocked to hear his father’s death was just 5,000 goku worth.

     Naomasa fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, contributed to Ieyasu’s victory, and promoted to 7,000 goku.  After the Siege of Osaka Castle, he was promoted to 17,000 goku and became a daimyo. 

     Monk Konen (?-1667), whose worldly name is unknown, was Naomasa’s servant in charge of footwear.  Although it is unknown whether he followed Naomasa since Naokatsu’s masterless and jobless days or he started serving Naomasa when he came of age, presumably provided by Shigemoto for Naomasa, Konen took part in all the battles that Naomasa fought in.   After his retirement, he was given a hermitage in Naomasa’s second residence in Edo.  He died one year before the death of Naomasa, who rewarded Konen by changing the hermitage into a temple, which was named Ichigyo-in.  Ichigyo could mean one team.

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