Yukinaga Konishi

1555 (age 45)

Kyoto, Japan

He first served Ukita Naoie, a military leader under the powerful Mori family of western Japan, but later became a vassal of Hideyoshi, distinguishing himself at the battle of Yainazaki, which took place after the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, at the battle of Shizugatake the following year, and in other encounters. He thus played an important part in assisting Hideyoshi to gain control of the entire country and became one of his most trusted retainers. In 1600 he joined Ishida Mitsunari and the others who opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu at the battle of Sekigahara but was defeated and, on orders from Ieyasu, was taken to Kyoto and put to death at the Rokujogawara execution ground.

Yukinaga Konishi

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小西行長

military

Background

Yukinaga Konishi was born in 1555. He was the son of Konishi Ryusa a wealthy merchant of the port city of Sakai in the province of Izumi.

Career

He first served Ukita Naoie, a military leader under the powerful Mori family of western Japan, but later became a vassal of Hideyoshi, distinguishing himself at the battle of Yainazaki, which took place after the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, at the battle of Shizugatake the following year, and in other encounters. He thus played an important part in assisting Hideyoshi to gain control of the entire country and became one of his most trusted retainers.

In 1600 he joined Ishida Mitsunari and the others who opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu at the battle of Sekigahara but was defeated and, on orders from Ieyasu, was taken to Kyoto and put to death at the Rokujogawara execution ground.

Achievements

In 1587 he won distinction in the campaign against Kyushu, and the following year helped to put down the peasant rebellion in the province of Higo, present-day Kumamoto Prefecture; in recognition for these accomplishments he was given a fief of 240,000 koku in the same province, where he devoted himself to protecting the Christians within his domain and carrying out acts of charity.

In 1592, when the so-called campaign of the Bunroku era against Korea took place, he was ordered by Hideyoshi to lead the vanguard and was the first to land at Pusan, after which he captured Seoul and went on to occupy Pyongyang. The following year he returned to Japan and labored to bring the peace negotiations that were then going on to a successful conclusion. When efforts to arrange a peaceful settlement failed, he took part in the second Korean invasion in 1597 but withdrew with the other leaders on the death of Hideyoshi the following year.

Religion

In 1584 he was baptized a Christian and took the name Augustine, being referred to by the European missionaries of the time as Don Augustin.

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