Some people say that the charm of history lies in its storytelling and mystery.
Film and television image: Oda Nobunaga
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > 1591</h1>
After defeating the wise ten soldiers Wei Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki in June of the 10th year of Tenshō to avenge his late lord Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began to unify the hegemony of the whole country. From the Battle of Mt. Ugatake (1583) to the Battle of Odawara (1590), to the campaign to pacify the Tohokujo clan of kanto, to the conquest of the Oyu region the following year, Toyotomi Hideyoshi not only swallowed the domain of his former master Oda Nobunaga, but also completed the first unification in Japanese history in just a decade.
In the process of quickly unifying Japan, he relied not only on Toyotomi Hideyoshi's personal abilities and luck, but also on the courtiers who advised him around Hideyoshi. At present, among them are the familiar Ishida Mitsunari, Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, etc., who later fought in the Sekigahara War because of their different ideas. They were all shōjo factions that had risen in toyotomi Hideyoshi's unification of the country. Before them, there were a number of old courtiers left over from the Oda Nobunaga era.
There are also several special people who are difficult to define status and merit, one of which is the celebrity to be talked about today - a generation of tea patriarchal names Qianzongyi, also known as "Qianli Xiu".
Senritsu was originally a Sakai-kok businessman. Later, he became acquainted with Oda Oda Nobunaga and became Oda Nobunaga's political right-hand man. Oda Nobunaga also became interested in the tea ceremony. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Chiritsu turned to assist Toyotomi Hideyoshi and helped him gain the throne.
Famous Japanese Sengoku General: Toyotomi Hideyoshi
In 1585, Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a tea party for the emperor at the Kyoto Imperial Palace. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi personally performed tea ceremony tea for the emperor, which became an important event for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to get close to the emperor and gain the approval of the imperial family. This is an important credit to Senritsu, who is responsible for guiding Toyotomi Hideyoshi's tea art. It can be said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the protagonist and director of this court performance, and Chiritsu was the supervising producer. Toyotomi Hideyoshi also took the opportunity to ask the emperor to give this meritorious man the title of "Ritsuki", and the name "Senritsu" was derived.
In addition, Senritsu was also Hideyoshi's right and left hand in political diplomacy, such as Tenshō's fifteenth year (1587) invasion of Kyushu, the revival of Hakata and other events with the help of Senritsu. Moreover, since Chiritsu became Hideyoshi's "tea head" (chief tea master), the princes came to see him, became a disciple or friend of Senritsu, and established an extensive network of friends. The year before (1586), the daimyō visited Osaka and asked Toyotomi Hideyoshi to go north to clean up the Shimazu clan, and through this he also saw the actual situation of toyotomi Hideyoshi's regime, and he told his courtiers:
The official affairs look for the Secretary of State (Prime Minister), and the other matters look for Qianli Xiu.
Gongqing (Zaizai) refers to Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in other words, in Muneyoshi's eyes, both Senritsu and Hidenaga were important figures who held the lifeblood of the newly established Toyotomi regime at that time, assisting Hideyoshi from the inside out. However, these two important figures quickly disappeared from the Toyotomi Hideyoshi regime in the nineteenth year of Tenshō (1591).
On the 22nd day of the first month of that year, Toyotomi Hidenaga, who had been weak for a long time, passed away, leaving his eldest brother Hideyoshi without his most powerful assistant and relatives. On February 26, less than two months after Hidenaga's death, Senritsu was also ordered by Hideyoshi to be cut off for his sins.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed the personnel exchange work in just two months, and not only that, after hidenaga and Senritsu were absent, but also from the beginning, Hideyoshi's Bee-suga Ieasa (whose father. Masakatsu had died in 1586) and withdrew from the center of power, leaving only Maeno Nagayasu and Asano Nagamasa, who were also accused of dying a few years later in the Shuji Incident.
These people were replaced by young ministers who began to appear before 1591, such as Ishida Sansei, Nagasho Masaya, and Masuda Nagamori. It can be said that 1591 was not only a year of alternation between the old and new centers of power, but also an important year of changing destiny.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the death of Senrihu who is suspected of sinus rebirth</h1>
I'm sure everyone knows the end of the Toyotomi regime. Since 1591 was so important, it is necessary to explore it. What's more, the sudden death of Senritsu, a man who had such a profound influence on politics and the tea ceremony, why did he suffer such a fate? Is he really dead?
This must surprise everyone. Everyone knows that at that time, Qianlixiu was ordered to kill himself by cutting his stomach! It also left a famous poem" "Seventy years of life, force to encircle XiRu, I this treasure of the sword, the ancestor Buddha killed together."
The problem arises here, and to solve the mystery, we must first sort out the events themselves.
In January of that year, Toyotomi Hideyoshi met with Date Masamune, who was pleading guilt in Kamigyo, at Kiyosu, Owari Domain. The reason for the guilt is to get involved in Ozaki Kasai Kasai. After returning to Kyoto, Toyotomi Hideyoshi met with Masamune again and formally accepted Masamune's plea. During this period, there was news against Qianlixiu.
Date Masamune
At the beginning of the nineteenth year of Tenshō, Hidenaga died of illness, and there was a bad news about Senritsu. At that time, some people said that on the three gates of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto stood a wooden statue of Senritsu. It was the temple that thanked Senritsu for his efforts for Daitoku-ji Temple and erected this statue to commemorate his kindness. After Hidenaga's death, the incident intensified. Hideyoshi was on his way back to Beijing, and news kept coming to his ears.
On February 13, shortly after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's return, two weeks before Chiritsu had been given to commit suicide, Hideyoshi suddenly ordered Chiritsu to go to Sakai. When Senritsu was still unclear about the reason, his tea ceremony disciple Hosokawa Tadaoko and tea friend Furuta Shigeran (Oda Shigeru) seemed to know about this in advance and rushed to send off Senritsu as soon as possible.
In short, thirteen days after February 26 to 28, news came from inside and outside Kyoto that Senritsu had been punished. However, the doubt is that the way of being punished is very strange.
According to records of the people in the Kyoto area at that time, the object of punishment was not Senritsu himself, but a wooden statue made for him by Daitoku-ji Temple. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the confiscated wooden statues of Daitoku-ji Temple to be hung outside jurakudi and to practice "punishment", that is, to tie them with crosses and pierce the bodies of prisoners with sharp objects. Not only that, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi also ordered people to cut off the head of the Statue of Senritsu and have the Headless Statue stomp on its head. It can be seen that, at least in the eyes of everyone, Toyotomi Hideyoshi hates the existence of wood carvings. In addition, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the erection of a wooden bulletin board next to the statue listing various crimes of Senritsu. Unfortunately, however, in the existing historical data, not all of the above-mentioned crimes are recorded.
After the news of Senritsu's punishment came out, the abbot of Daitokuji Temple, who was involved in the matter, was summoned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for questioning. Taishofu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother, and Hidenaga's wife went to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's place to intercede for Senritsu and the abbot of Daitoku-ji Temple. Soon after, the abbot was released. Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not punish Daitoku-ji Temple in any way, nor did he prevent the beheading and hanging of the statue.
So, what was the situation at this time? Judging from the news that he was far away from Kyoto, there is a saying that Qianlixiu confessed to committing suicide by cutting his stomach. In the Diary of a Nobleman of Kyoto, it is mentioned that wood carvings were tortured, not Senritsu. From the end of February of that year, the "Thousand Li Xiu" disappeared from the public record. No one knows what happened to Qianlixiu. Before we continue to investigate, let's first look at how this incident developed in the Edo period, developing the feat of Senritsu not succumbing to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and committing suicide in a heroic way.
During the Edo period, the tea ceremony continued to evolve. Naturally, the mystery of the punishment of a generation of tea saints has also become a concern for many people. At that time, many relevant materials describing the situation at that time continued to flow out, including the family history written by thousands of tea ceremony descendants. With the development of the times, there are more and more types and forms of "death" and "method of death" in Qianlixiu. For example, in the Chiritsuki Biography (1653), Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered Uesugi Keisatsu and three thousand soldiers to surround Senritsu's residence until Senriki committed suicide in order to avoid the trouble of the princes who were friends with Senritsu.
Chiritsu, described in the same book, remains calm in the face of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After drinking a cup of tea, he committed suicide with a magnificent "cross cut belly" and took out his intestines from his stomach to express his dissatisfaction. Subsequently, the toyotomi Toyotomi emissaries who came to the autopsy directly cut off The head of Senritsu.
At that time, there were many taboos of the Tokugawa shogunate, but the gossip about the Toyotomi clan regime was "politically correct" and could be expressed at will. From the standpoint of thousands of descendants, it is understandable to beautify the ancestors, but these events are more folk rumors and are not entirely credible. So, to what extent can we trace the "Senrihu incident"?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > the mystery of the "cause of death" of Senrihu</h1>
First, let's talk about the "cause of death" of Qianlihu.
Whether or not Chiritsu died at the time, let's talk about why he was suddenly beaten by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In addition to the above-mentioned wood carving problems, there are two possibilities in contemporaneous records, namely, Qianlixiu used his influence and power to sell tea sets at high prices for huge profits. Second, Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to marry Senritsu's daughter as a concubine, but Washiru was severely refused. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was so angry that he seized the wood carving and tea set business at Daitoku-ji Temple and killed Senritsu on the pretext.
The latter has enjoyed widespread support from the Edo people since the Edo period, probably because the image of "Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lustfulness" gradually took shape at that time. The Qianlixiu incident is the material of high cooperation between the two sides. The political position is correct, so naturally it has won the support of the parties. However, calmly analyzing, even if it is true, after The death of Senritsu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi found nothing. "If you want to get the daughter of Senrihu, why not possess his daughter after that?" From the analysis point of view, the credibility of this statement is not high.
So, what about the problem of wooden statues and selling tea sets?
Simply put, according to records at the time, the act of selling tea sets at a high price violated the toyotomi Hideyoshi taboo. Even so, since the recorder of the incident did not show surprise in his words, this suggests that the matter may have really existed. The question is whether "selling tea sets at a high price" is enough to take the life of a tea saint. Therefore, the biggest problem is still the problem of wooden statues. Even if the sale of tea sets is related, it is only an additional secondary issue. Why, then, did the wooden statue have such a big problem that it became evidence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's sin of revealing Senritsu to the public?
First of all, at that time, Kyoto was nominally the domain of the emperor, but in fact, it was one of the important towns administered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the most important link in the toyotomi regime's defense of the imperial family. Temple management in Kyoto is naturally the focus of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attention. Some researchers believe that Senritsu helped repair the famous Daitoku-ji Temple, and later received the memorial of the standing statue of Daitoku-ji Temple. The whole incident ignored and damaged Toyotomi Hideyoshi's influence and reputation in Kyoto-kyo to a certain extent, completely ignoring the existence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
At the same time, although Senritsu was in his fifties, there were almost no statues of him in Japan except for the noble monks and saints. From a political point of view, it is undoubtedly to enhance his reputation in Kyoto and Gongwu. For Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified Japan at that time, although Senritsu was one of his important advisers, from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's point of view, Many of Toyotomi's achievements today came from his own favor and affection. The act of the Daitokuji statue was, to some extent, an act of treason, against the interests of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rule.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" > innocent Ishida Misumasa and Date Masamune</h1>
People have doubts about these claims. They don't think these problems are enough to kill people. Whether it's a wooden statue, a tea set or a daughter, it's just a smoke screen. "The truth will never surface. Since the Edo period, scholars and novelists have embarked on their journey of "searching for the truth". Two of them became their targets—Ishida Misumi and Date Masamune. Why?
Mitsunari Ishida
It is easy to understand Ishida Sansei. First of all, after The Death of Senritsu, the Youth Faction immediately took over, perfectly filling the vacancies of hidenaga, Senritsu and other old predecessors, coupled with the "image of a traitor" since the Edo period, Ishida Mitsunari in order to successfully take power, joined hands with other young factions to overthrow Senritsu.
There is actually a question of Date Masamune involved here. As mentioned above, before Senritsu "served his sentence", it was precisely the time when Masamune pleaded guilty for the Ozaki Kasai issue, and Mitsei established relations with the Hatsuku Satake family because of diplomatic work since the Battle of Odawara, which had established relations with the Tokiru Satake family because of his diplomatic work, and the Satake family had a grudge with the Date family because of the defeat of the previous Oshu Battle for supremacy and the demise of the Ashina family. Therefore, many historians believe that Sansei has always wanted to find an opportunity to help the Satake family vent their anger, and the problem of Kasai Osaki is just a good opportunity.
However, as mentioned earlier, Hideyoshi eventually accepted Masamune's defense and did not severely punish Masamune. Some historians and novelists brought in Senrishiu. They believe that Senritsu saved Masamune. Thirty percent of them vent their hatred and ascend to power. So QianLixiu was pushed to the execution table. The above statement is well known in Japan. Thinking calmly, there is no evidence that Ishida Mitsunari was involved. Second, was Ishida Sansei's influence at the time sufficient to influence Toyotomi Hideyoshi to punish Masamune and mutilate Senritsu?
Besides, at that time, masamune was also helped by a number of people such as Maeda Toshiya and Asano Nagamasa, so why was it only targeted at Senritsu? As for the issue of Zhengzong, Qian Lixiu and Zhengzong had only met a few times, and the exchange was only a few short months, so it was not reasonable and credible to conclude that Qianlixiu and Zhengzong had a deep friendship and were very close.
In addition, before the "Senritsu" incident, ishida Sansei and other young and strong factions had already risen in the great cause of reunification. Even if it is not excluded that there are some conflicts of interest and power between them, it is still difficult to determine whether the thousand lixiu is sufficient to hinder their rights. Before the evidence is conclusive, it is believed that is the work of Ishida Sansei and others, which is actually the logic of "who benefits from the incident, who is the murderer".
If, based on the above analysis, Ishida Sansei could not have been the real murderer, and Masamune was a passerby, then why did Toyotomi Hideyoshi persecute Senritsu?
First of all, I think the problem of wooden statues is not enough to kill Senritsu. It should be noted that Senritsu was killed within a month after Toyotomi Hidenaga's death, and only affected Senritsu alone.
Judging from the relationship between the former and the latter, it has a lot to do with Hidenaga's death, that is, Senritsu was "liquidated" after Toyotomi Hidenaga's death. Since Hidenaga and Senritsu assisted Toyotomi Hideyoshi together, after Hidenaga's death, Hidenaga's mother and Hidecho's wife went to intercede for Senritsu and the abbot of Daitoku-ji Temple, which shows that Hidenaga and Senritsu have the same position and have a very close relationship.
After Hidenaga's death, the liquidation results of Senritsu reflect toyotomi Hideyoshi's deliberate rejection of the "Hidenaga and Senritsu" factions, and the problem of wood carving and tea set sales should be a reason to explain to the outside world. The question, then, is, why would Toyotomi Hideyoshi exclude those who belonged to his younger brother Hidenaga and those who were his important advisers?
At present, apart from the highly controversial historical record "The Night Story of Martial Arts" written by Maeno Nagayasu's descendants, there is no other indication of a contradiction between Hidenaga, Senritsu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. According to the Gobutsu Night Talk, Hidenaga and Senritsu disagreed with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea and Ming after reunification, the details of which were not explained. Considering that the Martial Arts Night Tale is a family history added to the Edo period, and since the author Yoshida family is a descendant of Maeno Nagayasu. It was mentioned earlier that he was forced to die in the Xiuzi incident. Most of his descendants have a negative attitude towards Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his later years, so it is difficult to judge from his one-sided words. It can only be seen as one of the statements.
From the current historical data, it is difficult to determine Toyotomi Hideyoshi's motives, but we can think differently.
After Hidenaga's death, all of Hidenaga's vassals voluntarily defected to Hidenaga's adopted son (nephew) and heir Toyotomi Hideho. Judging from the relationship between Hidenaga and Senritsu, Senritsu was loyal to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and took care of Toyotomi Hideho. At that time, in addition to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Toyotomi Hideho, there were Toyotomi Hideyoshi's own sons Toyotomi Tsurumatsu (who died in September of the same year) and two adopted sons (nephews) Toyotomi Hideji and Toyotomi Hidekatsu.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
After the death of Toyotomi Hidenaga, the second-largest figure who supported the Toyotomi family, only Hideho, Hideji, and Hidekatsu were able to support the Toyotomi family, while Tsurumatsu was still young at this time. Hideho was twelve years old at the time, and Hideji and Hidekatsu had grown up and were the adopted sons of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. That is to say, after the succession gap between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Toyotomi Hidenaga appeared in the early nineteenth year of Tenshō, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gradually dismantled the forces of the Hidenaga faction, Andyotomi Hideho died of illness four years later (1595), and the entire Toyotomi Hidenaga clan was absorbed and integrated by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi clan.
History does not have ifs, but can we imagine if Chiritsu had been alive before Toyotomi Hideho's death, and whether the two toyotomi clans could have been merged into one? From the later Toyotomi Hideji incident, we can see that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's action to merge the lineage was advancing in an orderly manner.
As for the Shōjo faction (not necessarily just Ishida Sansei), who pursued the unification of Toyotomi's decrees, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who did not reject this result, the existence of giants like Chiritsu would mean that the Toyotomi Hidenaga clan would still be a powerful branch, but would this branch be a stumbling block to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rule and the future power of his son Tsurumatsu?
Based on the above analysis, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was impulsive and reckless, and suddenly weakened the power of the Hidecho clique, so that the invasion of Korea could proceed smoothly and strengthen the rule of his own clique, which was still a possibility that could not be completely ruled out.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > Is Qianlixiu really dead? </h1>
Finally, we will discuss the basic question of whether Qianlihu really ended up the same as the wooden statue? According to the current historical data, it can be strictly said that at that time, the news of his suicide did come out, but the official did not say it.
Japan "Cha-Yō" Sen no Rikyu
The claim that Senritsu killed himself was actually made in the Edo period, half a century after the events themselves, and none of the recorders experienced it firsthand, so we cannot be sure whether their claims are reliable. Based on the actual situation, today's scholars argue that Senritsu may not have died, but was expelled from the power center of the Toyotomi regime.
In fact, in the two or three years after Senritsu's "death," Toyotomi Hideyoshi mentioned "Senritsu" at least twice in his letter. Some say that Mr. Qianlixiu appeared on the front lines of the invasion of North Korea, clues that make it difficult for scholars who support various claims to explain.
The scholars who support Li xiu's death in the nineteenth year of Tenshō certainly do not consider Li Xiu to be "resurrected" or alive, so they think that it refers to Li Xiu's tea ceremony or other matters related to Li Xiu; as for the scholars who support Li Xiu's possible lack of death, of course, two or three examples are used as evidence. But the question is, if Rishio really didn't die and appeared in front of people, then why would Hideyoshi and Hideyoshi's courtiers be assured to let him continue to appear, without fear of making small moves during his aggression? At the same time, Li Xiu was a well-known tea man at that time, and an old superstar in the political arena, if he really appeared in front of people alive, would the daimyo treat him as if he did not know him, or automatically regarded him as someone else? Don't even mention the message that "Li xiu is still here" in the letter?
In fact, in the records of famous artists who have been friends with Qianlixiu, we do not see any signs of this.
Recently, some scholars believe that Senritsu may have been taken in by a friend after he left Kyoto on February 13. These can be said to be speculations, with no real evidence.
According to the current situation, the only thing we can confirm is that there is no original historical data to check, and someone did see the body of Qianlixiu, witnessed the situation when he "cut his abdomen and committed suicide", and left a record. Toyotomi Hideyoshi did execute the wooden statue of Senritsu. As for whether QianLixiu himself is dead or alive, many theories are not very reliable so far, and new historical materials are waiting to provide enough clues to solve this century-old mystery.