Episode 380 – The Three Daughters of Azai, Part 1

March 5, 2021

This week, we’re revisiting some well-trod ground (the final decades of the 1500s and the careers of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi) but through new eyes — focusing on the stories of Nobunaga’s sister Oichi, and her three daughters Yodo-dono, Joko’in, and Sugen’in.

Sources

Berry, Mary Elizabeth. Hideyoshi.

Elisonas, J.S. and J.P. Lamers, trans. The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga [Shincho-koki]

Images

Oichi no Kata. This painting was done in 1589 at Yodo-dono’s orders, after she used her new influence with Hideyoshi to have the Azai family temple restored and re-dedicated.
Azai Nagamasa. Painting from the same as above.
A statue of the three Azai sisters at the site of their mother’s death, Kitanosho Castle. Yodo-dono is at left; Sugen’in is in the center; Jokoin is on the right. These are about the ages they would have been when their mother died.
Yodo-dono as Hideyoshi’s concubine. Her ability to birth the previously childless (at least outside of adoption) Hideyoshi not one, but two sons secured her a place in his entourage.