伊達政宗

                                   DATE Masamune (1567-1636)

                                     The first Daimyo of Sendai Han in early Edo   

                                     Period. Son of Date Terumune the lord of

                                     Komazawa castle in Dewa province. His birth 

                                     name was Bontenmaru. Masamune joined the

                                     Toyotomi armies and by 1590 he was able to

                                     defeat a number of warriors. As a reward he

                                     received 58, 000 koku of land in Oshu province.

                                     Later he received more land in Omi and Hitachi

                                     provinces, which increased his total land-

                                     holdings to 62,000 koku.

 

                                     After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death he joined

                                     Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara.

                                     His letter to Ieyasu from the battlefield is one

                                      of the only clues to the size of armies in that

                                      battle. In 1601 he built a castle in Sendai and moved there.
 

According to legends Masamune was a fierce warrior, known for his mastery of warfare. In one of his battles, when an enemy arrow struck him in the eye, he pulled the arrow out and continued to fight. Naturally, he lost the eye and since then he placed a cover (often depicted as tsuba) on his eye. As attractive this legend may be, it is but a legend. Date Masamune lost his eyesight due to sickness or it was a birth defect. Regardless, his place in history as one of Japan's most important daimyo remains. In this portrait of Masamune the injured eye is exposed and is easily identified.