Masamune Date

Date Masamune (伊達 政宗?) (September 5, 1567 – June 27, 1636) was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye, and Masamune was often called dokuganryū (独眼竜), or the "one-eyed dragon".

Date Masamune was the eldest son of Date Terumune, born in Yonezawa Castle (in modern Yamagata Prefecture). At the age of 14 in 1581 Masamune led his first campaign, helping his father fight the Sōma family. In 1584, at the age of 18, Masamune succeeded his father, Terumune, who chose to retire from his position as daimyo. The Date family was founded in the early Kamakura period by Isa Tomomune, who originally came from the Isa district of Hitachi Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture). The family took its name from the Date district (now Fukushima Prefecture) of Mutsu Province, which had been awarded to Isa Tomomune by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Kamakura shogun, for his assistance in the Genpei War (1180–85) and in Minamoto no Yoritomo’s struggle for power with his brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Date Masamune's army is recognized by its black armor and golden head gear.

Masamune is known for a few things that made him stand out from other daimyo of the time. In particular, his famous crescent-moon-bearing helmet won him a fearsome reputation. As a child, smallpox robbed him of sight in his right eye, though it is unclear exactly how he lost the organ entirely. Some sources say he plucked out the eye himself when a senior member of the clan pointed out that an enemy could grab it in a fight. Others say that he had his trusted retainer Katakura Kojūrō gouge out the eye for him. Because of his missing eye, his own mother condemned him as unfit to take over as clan leader and began favoring his younger brother as heir.

The Date clan had built alliances with neighboring clans through marriages over previous generations. However, there were many disputes over the lands during the 15th and 16th centuries. Shortly after Masamune's succession, a Date retainer named Ōuchi Sadatsuna defected to the Ashina clan of the Aizu region. Masamune declared war on the Ashina for this betrayal, but his army was halted by the Ashina general Iwashiro Morikuni, who forced Masamune to retire from the campaign. Masamune took control of Obama Castle after this.

With the rise of Masamune, formerly amicable relationships were cast aside as he began to attack and conquer all of the surrounding lands, even those of his kin in Mutsu and Dewa Provinces. Shocked by his ruthlessness, a neighboring family, the Hatakeyama, desperately appealed to Date Terumune to rein in his son's military campaigns. Invited to dinner by the Hatakeyama, Terumune said that he was unable to control his son. In an unheard-of act of desperation, the family kidnapped Terumune and attempted to take him back with them. Masamune, who was out hunting, received word of the kidnapping. When he and his men closed in on the kidnappers as they were about to cross a river, Terumune ordered his son's men to kill all the enemy, even at the cost of his own life. Masamune's men did as they were told and killed everyone, including Terumune. Masamune continued the war and tortured and killed the families of his father's kidnappers.

Source: Wikipedia