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TOP >English
>Outline
of Zuihoden
| ZUIHODEN |
| Date Masamune was born in Yonezawa Castle in 1567. He conquered
various areas mainly in the southern part of the Tohoku region
and was widely dubbed dokuganryu(one-eyed dragon) because
of his missing eye. At the start of the Edo Period(1603-1867),
Masamune promoted local industry, economy, and culture as the
first feudal lord of Sendai-han(Sendai domain),which
had an official income of 620,000 koku.Masamune passed
away in 1636 at the age of 70, and according to his last will
and testament, the mausoleum known as Zuihoden was built for
him here in kyogamine the following year.Zuihoden was constructed
in the very gorgeous japanese architectural style known as Momoyama
and was designated as a national treasure by the former
japanese Imperial Government in 1931. in 1945, however, the original
Zuihoden was burnt down in the war. The present building was
rebuilt in 1979 and subsequently repaired in 2001 to more closely
resemble the original mausoleum. This included fitting lion mask
sculptures to the columns and tiles and dragon heads at the four
corners of the roof. |
| KANSENDEN |
| After the death of Date Masamune, Date Tadamune(1599-1658)
became the second feudal lord of Sendai-han. He devoted
himself to establishing a lawfully ruled social system and promoting
local economy and industry through the development of rice fields,flood
control and improvement of ports and harbors,through which he
was able to stabillize his territory and solidiffy the foundation
of Sendai-han. The mausoleum named Knsenden was built
for this lord.As ornate as Zuihoden, it was designated a national
treasure in 1931 but was burnt down in 1945. In 1985, Long after
the end of World War repaired and sculptures of lion masks identical
to those that adorned the original Kansenden were attached to
its columns. |
| ZENNODEN |
| Date Tsunamune (1640-1711), Who was the third feudal lord
of Sendai-han , began to show his artistic talent as
a child . After governing the domain for two years from the age
of 19, Tsunamune was forced to retire by order of the Tokugawa
Syogunate. It is, however, said that he led a sophisticated elegant
life after retirement, showing great talent for Japanese painting
, calligraphy and lacquer work. His works, including some ink
paintings, are still highly appreciated as representative works
of the Tohoku region during in the Edo Period. the mausoleum
built for this lord and named Ｚｅｎｎｏｄｅｎ was burnt down in 1945
and rebuilt in 1985 at the same time as Kansenden. Ｉｎ archeological
surveys conducted prior to the rebuilding , many items indicative
of the lord's personality were discovered. These inculude writing
materials and items for burning incense. The mausoleum was repaired
in 2007 and is now more richly colored. |
| MYOUNKAIBYO
/OKOSAMAGOBYO |
| On the north side of Kansenden , there stands a mausoleum
named myounkaibyo, which comprises three tombs: one facing east
for the ninth feudal lord Date Chikamune, and two, both of which
face the south, for the 11th feudal lord Date Nariyoshi and his
wife. Ｉｎ front of the approach road on the right side, there
is a path leading to the Okosamagobyo cemetery, where the children
of Data Yoshimura, the fifth feudal lord of Sendai-han and
of lords after him are buried. |
| ZUIHODEN Museum |
| In the archeological surveys carried out prior to the rebuilding
of the mausoleums of the three feudal lords of Sendai-han
, their skeletons were discovered in an almost complete
form together with a range of their treasured personal belongings
such as weapons and stationery. Some of these burial accessorise
and the likenesses of the three lords , including Masamune are
on display at the museum. Ｉｎ addition, the museum shows aroughly
20-minute documen-tary of the archeological surveys. |
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