Katō Yoshiaki
Katō Yoshiaki
Name In Japanese: 秋山 真之
Pronunciation: ka-tō yo-shee-a-kee
Period: 1563 to 1631
Yoshiaki was born in 1563 in today’s Aichi Prefecture. After joining his father in exile after a failed uprising, he arrived in Omi Province, where his father served Hashiba Hideyoshi, lord of Nagahama Castle. Hideyoshi recognised the young man’s ability and began to favour him. Yoshiaki took part in many of Hideyoshi’s battles, receiving promotions and grants of land with each success. As a result of his bravery at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, Yoshiaki was recognised as one of Hideyoshi’s seven leading generals.
In 1585, he supported Kobayakawa Takakage during the invasion of Shikoku and participated in the pacification of Iyo Province. The Chōsokabe clan became Hideyoshi’s vassals and were sent back to Tosa, and many of the Kōno committed seppuku at Gian-ji Temple near Yuzuki Castle. For his efforts, Yoshiaki was awarded land on Awaji Island, becoming a daimyo feudal lord for the first time.
He led the Awaji navy in the conquest of Kyushu in 1587 and the conquest of Odawara in 1590. He also served with distinction in several naval battles during Hideyoshi’s attempted takeover of Korea.
In 1595, he was awarded a large landholding in Masaki, Iyo Province, today a suburb of Matsuyama city, so he moved to Iyo Masaki Castle. Yoshiaki ordered his vassal Shigenobu Adachi to carry out work on the Iyo River, now the Shigenobu River, and to expand the castle town.
While Yoshiaki was engaged at Sekigahara, the Mōri of Hiroshima sought to invade Iyo with local help from their allies, the Kōno and Murakami clans. But Katō clan forces prevailed in a holding action, and when news of the victory of the eastern forces reached Iyo, it was all over, and the local Kōno clan ceded power to interlopers from Honshū.
After the death of Hideyoshi, the nation of Japan was divided into two factions, those supporting Tokugawa Ieyasu, mainly in eastern Japan, and those supporting Ishida Mitsunari, mainly in western Japan. Having experienced a bitter disagreement with Mitsunari in the Korean campaign, Yoshiaki sided with Ieyasu at the pivotal Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
While Yoshiaki was engaged at Sekigahara, the Mōri of Hiroshima sought to invade Iyo with local help from their allies, the Kōno and Murakami clans. But Katō clan forces prevailed in a holding action, and when news of the victory of the eastern forces reached Iyo, it was all over, and the local Kōno clan ceded power to interlopers from Honshū.
In 1601, Yoshiaki obtained permission from Ieyasu to build a castle on Mt. Katsuyama not far from Yuzuki Castle of the Kōno clan. Much of the castle in Masaki was moved from there to build Katsuyama Castle. Two years later, Yoshiaki moved his headquarters from Masaki to Katsuyama and changed the name of the area to Matsuyama.
From 1606 to 1609, Yoshiaki was involved in a series of castle construction projects, including at Edo, Sunpu, Sasayama, and Nagoya.
In 1627, when Gamō Tadasato of Aizu in northern Japan died without a legitimate son, the Gamō clan was transferred to the Iyo Matsuyama domain, and Yoshiaki was sent to the Aizu domain in his place. He took the five-storey keep from Matsuyama Castle with him (the current, smaller keep was built later). In 1631, Yoshiaki became ill and died in Edo. He was 69 years old.
Although Katō Yoshiaki was not from Shikoku, by establishing Matsuyama as a major city, he contributed to the development of the region. Today he’s celebrated by the city authorities with a banal PR ‘character’ called ‘Yoshiaki-kun’. There’s also a statue of him mounted, in armour, with a spear on Ropeway Street.
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