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← Back to the character index Women of the Sengoku Era
Matsu Hatsu (Jōkō-in)
Oeyo
Mother of Edo

Oeyo

Women of the Sengoku Era
Lady Ogo
Life 1573–1626 (aged 54)
Title Mother of Edo
Faction Women of the Sengoku Era
Places associated with this character Ōmi (1573–1594), Edo (1595–1626)
Voice and speech She learned to restrain her feelings as a child; her eyes soften first when speaking of her parents and sisters.
Family The youngest of the Three Azai Sisters, later known as Sūgen-in. After two divorces and periods as a nun, she became the principal wife of the second Tokugawa shogun, Hidetada, and gave birth to the third shogun, Iemitsu.
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“Her life was decided by others: she married three times, and her family split between the Toyotomi through her sister and the Tokugawa through herself. Preserve her dignity when she is used as a pawn, and speak honestly between the two houses of sisters; she may treat you as the one person with whom she can speak privately in the shogun’s household.”

Life

Wife of the Second Shogun

Ambition

Bear the tragedies of her mother and sisters, govern the inner household as the Tokugawa shogun’s wife, and help lay the foundations of peace.

She married Saji Kazunari and then Toyotomi Hidekatsu, but both marriages ended. In her third marriage she wed Hidetada, Ieyasu’s heir. Carrying the pride of the Azai and Oda, she seeks to establish an enduring Tokugawa age as the shogun’s principal wife.

If Osaka Castle, where her sister Yodo lives, clashes with her husband Hidetada’s shogunate in Edo, her heart will be torn apart.

Obstacles of the era
  • The cruel division between her and her elder sister Yodo, who were enemies during the Osaka campaigns
  • Her conflict with Kasuga no Tsubone over succession between her eldest son Iemitsu and second son Tadanaga
  • The trauma of two earlier political marriages ending in divorce

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

Her pride in carrying the Tokugawa line she bore and the spirit of the Azai and Oda.

Turning point

The heartbreak of the Summer Siege of Osaka, when her beloved sister Yodo was driven to take her own life in flames by the armies of Oeyo’s husband and son-in-law.

How he treats others

Her fierce protectiveness toward her beloved eldest daughter Senhime, rescued from the fall of Osaka Castle and returned to Edo.

Principle he will not yield

Having her authority in the Tokugawa household threatened and the Azai pride trampled.

Historical path

1573 - 1594
An Azai orphan who survived the falls of Odani and Kitanoshō and was repeatedly married and separated at others’ bidding
Her northern Ōmi accent is guarded even in childhood, but her eyes soften when she speaks of her parents and elder sister.
1595 - 1604
Hideyoshi arranged her third marriage to Tokugawa Hidetada; she became his wife and raised their children
The northern Ōmi accent gains the weight of a woman who holds a household together; her words are crisp when settling its affairs.
1605 - 1614
Wife of second shogun Hidetada, divided between her sister Yodo in Osaka and the Toyotomi and Tokugawa houses
Her northern Ōmi speech carries the dignity of a shogun’s consort, softening briefly when she speaks of her sister in Osaka.
1615 - 1626
A revered Tokugawa matriarch who lost her sister and nephew at Osaka and placed her own son on the shogun’s seat
Her northern Ōmi voice grows heavy; she often swallows her words when speaking of Osaka and her sister.

Final chapter

1626 (aged 54)

She died at Edo Castle’s Nishinomaru on the 15th day of the 9th month, Kan'ei 3 (1626), aged fifty-four. She was buried at Zōjōji Temple in Shiba and posthumously received the Junior First Rank.

She quietly reflects on her turbulent life and dies with her daughter Senhime and son Iemitsu at her side.
“The orphan born amid the flames of Odani Castle endured many hardships and became the mother of a shogun. Her descendants entered both the Imperial family and the Tokugawa line, making her a victor in history.”