Toyotomi Kunimatu (豊臣国松)
Kunimatsu TOYOTOMI/Kunimatsu HASHIBA (1608 - June 19, 1615) was a son of Hideyori TOYOTOMI. His mother was a concubine of Hideyori called Isa (a daughter of Gohei Watanabe. There is a view that she was a daughter of a vassal named Watanabe of the Gohojo clan, but, recently, the view that she was from the Watanabe family has gained stronger footing.). She had a younger sister, Tenshu-ni.
Soon after his birth, Kunimatsu was looked after by the Wakasa Kyogoku family and, later, became an adopted son of Yazaemon, a whetstone shop owner in Wakasa, with whom Kunimatsu's wet nurse married again.
When the Winter Campaign of the Siege of Osaka happened, Kunimatsu entered the Osaka-jo Castle together with Jokoin in order to avoid investigation as the illegitimate child of Hideyori. Later, as peace was concluded, he stayed in the Osaka-jo Castle.
On the occasion of the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka in the next year, Kunimatsu exchanged cups of sake with his father, Hideyori, on May 8 and left the castle together with his wet nurse and Rokurozaemon TANAKA (warrior of the Kyogoku family, fuyaku (a warrior who educates the son of the Lord to become a great leader)?).
However, as a result of search by the Tokugawa family, Kunimatsu was brought to Katsushige ITAKURA, Kyoto-shoshidai (the shogunate's military governor stationed in Kyoto), and, on May 23, after paraded through the city of Kyoto using a vehicle, he was beheaded together with his wet nurse and Rokurozaemon TANAKA in Rokujokawara. He was eight years old.
His tomb is in Seigan-ji Temple in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City.
Reportedly, Rokuzaemon TANAKA could avoid death penalty as the vassal of the Kyogoku family, but he voluntarily submitted to be executed at the same time.
It is a fact that reminds us of the personality of young Kunimatsu and Tanaka.
It is also said that Kunimatsu, although he was very young, immediately before beheading, accused the Tokugawa family for its various treasonous acts against the Toyotomi family and died without showing any trace of commotion.
If it is a true story, we can call him a really stouthearted and clever man of great promise.
According to a different view, Kunimatsu escaped to Satsuma Province and he was sheltered by the Shimazu clan and became Nobutsugu KINOSHITA (Nobuyoshi KINOSHITA) who was founder of a branch family, that was a kotaiyoriai (alternate yoriai, a family status of samurai warriors in the Edo period), of the Kinoshita family of Hiji Domain in Bungo Province. As the ground for this view, characters of "Kunimatsu" are engraved on the mortuary tablet of Nobutsugu KINOSHITA, although we cannot tell how far we can rely on it.