📖 Date Masamune

Date Masamune was a legendary warlord of the Sengoku period. It is said that he once lamented his misfortune of being born at the wrong time: "If I could have been born twenty years earlier, I could have hunted in the central plains and achieved the ambition of unifying the world." The characteristic of having lost his right eye added an air of mystery and unique valor to his persona. To this day, the title "One-Eyed Dragon" remains a symbol of Date Masamune and continues to attract attention. Throughout his life, Date Masamune experienced the eras of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, using his extraordinary wisdom and courage to achieve surprising victories and escape dire situations. He eliminated the powerful warlord Ashina and became the dominant ruler of the Tohoku region, also pledging allegiance to the Toyotomi army during the Siege of Odawara against the Hojo clan, and later serving the Tokugawa clan in the Battle of Sekigahara. After the Sekigahara battle, Masamune became the first lord of the Sendai domain. He then shifted his focus to the governance of his territory. For instance, he actively improved waterways to enhance trade and transportation with Edo, engaged in large-scale civil engineering projects, repaired Buddhist temples and shrines, and extensively developed rice fields, significantly increasing the rice production in Oshu, which became a major supply for Edo. While enriching the Sendai domain, he also played a positive role in the economic development and social stability of Edo.

A prominent daimyō active during the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early Edo period, he was a historical figure who pacified the Tōhoku region and established the Sendai domain. He lost the sight of his right eye due to illness at the age of five. He became the 17th head of the Date clan. He decisively eliminated the warring states daimyō "Ashina clan," becoming the overlord with the largest territory in the Tōhoku region. He became the first lord of the Sendai domain.