DISCOVER FUKUI

Tagaya Sakon Mitsutsune served as a senior retainer to Yuki Hideyasu, the first lord of the Fukui domain, and was entrusted with pacifying the border region between Echizen and Kaga provinces. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Sekigahara and held a fief of 32,000 koku.

※Photo provided by Awara City Local History Museum

Tagaya Sakon Mitsutsune was a military commander of the Momoyama period. He became lord of Ōta Castle in Shimōsa Province (present-day Yachiyo Town, Yuki District, Ibaraki Prefecture) with a fief of 30,000 koku at a young age and served as a retainer to Yūki Hideyasu (second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu).

When Hideyasu became lord of Echizen with 680,000 koku, Sakon Mitsunori was granted 30,000 koku (later increased by 2,000 koku) as Hideyasu's foremost retainer and was entrusted with pacifying the border region between Kai and Echizen Provinces.

He built his residence on the plateau of Yamatokura Island along the Hokuriku Road, and his domain encompassed 54 villages.

After Hideyasu died of illness in April 1607 (age 34), Sakon Mitsunori also passed away in July of the same year. While Fukui Prefecture's historical research had previously recorded his death at age 41, the 'Tagaya Kiki' suggests he died at age 30. His remains were cremated, and his ashes were enshrined in a pagoda-style stupa at the Kakinohara District Mausoleum. His posthumous Buddhist name was Kenjō Shōken Kōji, and his family temple was Senkyōji in Kakinohara.

His son, Yasutsune, succeeded him as head of the Tagaya family. However, after Yasutsune died following the Summer Campaign of Osaka, his adopted younger brother was not permitted to inherit, and the Kakihara residence was abolished after only two generations. Later, though, his great-grandson, Torachiyo, erected a five-ring memorial pagoda. The grave site was maintained starting in March 1991, managed by the ward thereafter. Currently, the Tagaya Sakon Sanei Memorial Association has been appointed as the responsible manager and oversees its upkeep.

In fiscal year 2016, the Tagaya Sakon Mitsunori Stone Mausoleum was restored, and the grave site underwent further improvement.