Background
Soma Daisaku was born in 1799. His original name was Hidenoshin Shimotomai.
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Soma Daisaku
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also known as
Hidenoshin Shimotomai
Career
There had been a feud between the Nambu Clan and its neighboring Tsugaru Clan. The Tsugaru Clan was founded by Ukyo Ishii, a treacherous chief retainer of the Nambu Clan, with the support of Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Wishing to destroy the Tsugaru Clan, Hidenoshin went to Tokyo and practiced the arts of the sword and spear under Kozo Hirayama. In 1822, Lord Yasuchika Tsugaru was appointed a chamberlain, thereby preceding the Nambu family in Court ranking.
Indignant over this development, Hidenoshin and his friends attempted to ambush Lord Tsugaru at Yatate Pass (Akita Prefecture). They had buried gunpowder in the road which he was to pass and were armed with guns. The plot was revealed by an informer to Lord Tsugaru, who used another road. Hidenoshin changed his name to Daisaku Soma and hid himself in Tokyo. Arrested there by Shogunate police, he was executed. The story became famous through kodan (feudal romances told at vaudevilles).
