Yusai Hosokawa
Military commander and man of letters from the last days of the Sengoku period to the first days of the early modern period. Built the foundation of the daimyo family called the Hosokawa clan and also was of his era’s foremost men of culture.
1534–1610
Military commander and man of letters from the last days of the Sengoku period to the first days of the early modern period. Fujitaka was his given name, Mankichi his childhood name, and Yoichiro his popular name. After taking the tonsure, he was given the name Yusai Genshi. The second son of Harukazu Mitsubuchi (1500–1570), a servant of the Muromachi shogunate. His mother was the daughter of Nobukata Kiyohara. According to one theory, he was the son of Yoshiharu Ashikaga, 12th shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. He was adopted by Mototsune Hosokawa in 1539 and had his coming-of-age ceremony in 1546. Receiving one part of the 13th shogun Yoshifuji (Yoshiteru) Ashikaga’s name — “fuji” from Yoshifuji — he was given the name Fujitaka, and following the death of his adopted father Mototsune, he inherited the headship of the Hosokawa family. Upon the assassination of shogun Yoshiteru in 1565, he gave his backing to Yoshiteru’s younger brother Kakukei Ichijoin (1537–1597), who had been cloistered in Kofuku-ji Temple and took the name Yoshiaki Ashikaga upon his return to secular life. In September 1568, Yoshiaki made his entry to Kyoto, aided by Nobunaga Oda, to become the 15th shogun. After Yoshiaki was driven from Kyoto in 1573, Fujitaka became a retainer of Nobunaga’s and was bestowed the territory of Nagaoka in Yamashiro Province, leading him to take the surname of Nagaoka for a time. Declining the invitation to join Akechi Mitsuhide on the occasion of the Incident at Honno-ji, he took the tonsure to join the Buddhist priesthood and was given the name Yusai Genshi. His position as family head he yielded to his son and legitimate heir Tadaoki (Sansai).
Later, he took part in battles including the siege of Odawara and the Bunroku campaign under the leadership of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and was besieged in Tanabe Castle in the Battle of Sekigahara as part of the Eastern army. With such experience serving under Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa, he built the foundation of the Higo-Hosokawa clan and spent the later years of his life in Kyoto, where he passed away at his home in the Sanjo district in 1610. He was given the posthumous Buddhist name Tesso Genji Taishoin and is interred at the Tenju-an subtemple at Nanzen-ji Temple (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto).
One of the era’s foremost men of culture, having studied the tea ceremony under Sen no Rikyu and the art of waka poetry under Saneki Sanjonishi, he was very well versed in a broad range of scholarly and artistic practices, including waka and renga poetry, the tea ceremony (sado), Confucianism, calligraphy (shodo), and ancient customs. Directing his energy into transcribing and collating the classics as well, he played a considerable role in handing down traditional culture and introducing it to people. Also possessed of superior skills in martial arts, he studied swordsmanship under Bokuden Tsukahara.
Particularly in the world of waka, he played a central part in literary circles from the Sengoku period (1467–1590) to the beginning of the early modern period (16th to 17th century). Joining initiates Tsuneyori To, Sogi, and Sanetaka Sanjonishi, he received the Kokin denju (secret transmissions on the Kokinshu [“Collection of Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times”]) from Saneki Sanjonishi and went on to initiate others himself, including Prince Toshihito Hachijo, Michikatsu Nakanoin, Sane’eda Sanjonishi, Mitsuhiro Karasumaru, and Teitoku Matsunaga. The transmission to the Prince was succeeded by initiations of Emperor Go-Mizuno’o, Emperor Reigen, and other high-ranking members of the nobility, a form of transmission called Gosho denju (palace transmission). From Teitoku Matsunaga, the practice of jige denju (commoner transmissions) was extended to warriors and townspeople as well. In a well-known anecdote, when Yusai found himself in a desperate situation besieged in Tanabe Castle during the Battle of Sekigahara, Emperor Go-Yozei so feared that the secrets of the Kokinshu might reach their end that he issued a decree for surrender of the castle and reconciliation.
A treatise on waka poetry, Niteiki (“Accounts Deep in the Ears”), was transcribed by Mitsuhiro Karasumaru from Yusai’s oral remarks. Other works by Yusai include a personal anthology, Shumyoshu, commentaries on classic works, Eiga Taigaisho (“Notes on Teachings Regarding the Eiga Taigai [‘Fundamentals of Poetic Composition’]”) and Ise Monogatari Ketsugisho (“Doubting Commentary on Ise Monogatari [‘Tales of Ise’]”), and travel accounts Kyushu Michi no Ki (“Journal of the Kyushu Road”), Togoku-jin Michi no Ki (“Journal of the Road to Battle in the Eastern Country”). His son and legitimate heir Tadaoki (Sansai) was also a leading disciple of Sen no Rikyu, was counted as one of the Rikyu shichitetsu (seven leading disciples of Rikyu), and was married to Gracia Hosokawa.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Related Works
Portrait of Hosokawa Yusai, etc.
細川幽斎の長子、細川忠興(ほそかわただおき、1563-1645)の肖像画。織田信長に重用され、信長の子信忠の1字を与えられ忠興と名乗り、明智光秀のむすめ玉(のちのガラシャ)と結婚。本能寺の変では光秀に与せず、以後は豊臣秀吉に従った。秀吉亡き後は、徳川家康に仕え、関ヶ原の軍功によって豊前国が与えられた。のちに出家剃髪して三斎宗立。当時屈指の文化人として聞こえ、鷹狩・能・和歌・連歌を好み、茶の湯を千利休に学び、利休七哲のひとりに数えらる。
落合芳幾(おちあいよしいく、1833−1904)のシリーズ武者絵「太平記英雄伝」に描かれた細川幽斎。「音川兵部大輔藤孝」として描かれている。「太平記英雄伝」は、『絵本太閤記』に取材した揃い物で、戯作者・山々亭有人(条野採菊)による略伝が記されている。
Past Exhibitions
| Title | shusai | Place | open | close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Institutions and External Links
- 永青文庫の名宝
永青文庫の所蔵する、国宝8件、重要文化財35件をふくむ、およそ6,000点の美術工芸品と88,000点の歴史文書の中から選りすぐりの名品を紹介する。「永青文庫」は、かつて熊本藩主であった細川家に伝来した美術品や文学作品の写本、古文書・古記録等を所有・管理する財団。
- 永青文庫研究センター
永青文庫資料をはじめとする熊本藩関係資料の総合的な資料に立脚した熊本大学の研究拠点。「永青文庫」は、かつて熊本藩主であった細川家に伝来した美術品や文学作品の写本、古文書・古記録等を所有・管理する財団。
References
- 『日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)』(JapanKnowledge)「細川幽斎」の項
- 『改訂新版 世界大百科事典』(JapanKnowledge)「細川幽斎」の項
- 『国史大辞典』(JapanKnowledge)「細川幽斎」の項
- 酒井茂幸「後陽成天皇の収書活動について」
- 中村幸彦「細川文庫について」(『図書館情報』3 (8)、1967、九州大学附属図書館)
- JapanKnowledge所収コンテンツの最終アクセス日は、いずれも2023/02/10。



