2:6 Selfless Lord Amako Tsunehisa
translated by Yoshiko Dystra
The retainers are digging up the tree.
Amako Tsunehisa [1458-1541],1 the lord of Izumo, excelled in military arts and governing his domain. He was blessed with many subjects and the great prosperity of his clan. The present Lord Amako Tsunehisa belongs to the fifth generation from the original founder, En'ya Takasada. Takasada committed suicide in Izumo because of the slanders spread by Lord Ko Moronao,2 an administrative assistant of the shogun during the time of the first Ashikaga Shogun Takauji [1305-1358].
1 Amako Tsunehisa, Governor of Iyo (1458-1541), controlled Izumo, Oki, Inaba, and Hoki after the Onin War (1467-77).
2 Ko Moronao won promotion by assisting Ashikaga Takauji, the first Ashikaga shogun, but later became arrogant and was killed in 1351. For his amorous affairs, see 5:9,Chirizuka Monogatari, 5:9.
After the death of Takasada, his three-year-old son took the tonsure and was brought up by a nun. When he became an adult, he left the priesthood and called himself Amako, the Child of Ama [nun], in honor of the nun. The ancestors of Amako are said to be the descendants of the celebrated Sasaki Family related to Emperor Uda.
Lord Amako Tsunehisa was honest and generous by nature. As he helped the poor including the ronin and shared everything with his subjects, he was highly regarded and greatly respected.The people admired him and said that the good old days of Meng Chang-jun3 of Qi with his three thousand guests had been revived in the land of Izumo.
After the disturbance at the Funaokayama in the eighth year of Eisho [1511],4 the capital, Kyoto, enjoyed peace for a time. But incessant battles took place in the local regions because greedy war lords fought against each other. During this time, Lord Amako was spent peaceful days in his Izumo castle.
3 Minister Meng Chang-jun (?-279 B.C..) of Qi was known for keeping and entertaining several thousand guests at his palace.
4 Ashikaga Yoshitada defeated Hosokawa Masanori in the incident. Funaokayama, a small hill in Kita-ku of Kyoto City, has the Kenkun Shrine where Oda Nobunaga is enshrined.
Whether his guests were the daimyo lords who were closely related to him or mere samurai, the congenial lord treated everyone equally. If anyone praised any of his possessions, including books, robes, swords and even horses, he would offer them to him as a gift. So those who knew the lord's generous and selfless disposition used to refrain from praising anything belonged to him, but simply looked at them without offering any comments on their second visits.
At the end of the year, the lord took off his robes and garments and gave them to his servants. He spent several days wearing only a thin cotton kimono, yet he never seemed cold. His complexion remained unchanged and his hands and feet were unaffected by the cold weather. He appeared as if he was enjoying a warm spring day.
Once when a certain man visited the lord, he noticed a tall pine tree in the front garden. Although the man knew the lord's generous nature, he thought it impolite not to comment on such a magnificent tree with such beautiful branches. So he said to the lord, "The old pine tree in your garden looks most splendid. The way the branches curve and are spread is beyond description. I wonder who donated the tree. Or did it naturally grow in the garden? I have never seen such a tree like that. Please take good care of it." After praising the tree, the man left.
On the following day, the lord told his retainer, "Dig up the tree carefully. Get more men and send it properly to the man who visited me yesterday." So the retainer had some men dig up the tree and they tried to load it on a cart. But the ten ken long5 trunk and its widespread branches were too big for the cart, and it was difficult to carry the tree through the narrow streets. So the retainer reported the trouble to the lord. Nonchalantly he replied, "That's not a big problem. Simply cut off the branches as there is no other way." So the tree was cut into small pieces and sent to the man in an ox-drawn cart. It is foolish to question the lord's decision for he was utterly devoid of any selfish desire.
5 One ken, about six feet.
When a lord of the Hosokawa family heard this story, he said to his men, "Samurai should never forget that fighting is their primary concern. Although all samurai share the basic idea of the Way of the Warrior, there are differences among the individuals. Some in the service of their master are tricked by the enemies. And so they fail. Others fight over trifling matters such as the order of seating. One loses his life in a sudden enemy attack while another suffers from the shame brought on his posterity by an insulting remark made by an opponent. Such things often happen. So depending on the circumstances, one lord raises an army, fights, and loses, while another wins and seizes his enemy territory. This is the natural course in the way of the samurai. Personal desire or avarice is not necessarily a cause of fighting.
"Born into a samurai family of talent, Lord Amako is familiar with the Way of the Warrior, and all the stories about him sound quite wonderful. I have never heard of anyone so selfless as he is. He is truly an exemplary and superior lord.
"Since a warrior's life can never be completely safe, not even for a moment, he cannot easily promise anything for the future. How can he be worried about the ups and downs of his posterity? I am deeply impressed by Lord Amako's manners and behavior. Some may criticize his way, but not everyone can practice it for it is difficult to be as selfless as he is. But I would at least like to try to be fair with my subjects and avoid extreme favoritism."
~~~ The End ~~~
©2007 by Yoshiko Dykstra