Gracia Hosokawa

Tama Hosokawa (, or Garasha ガラシャ) (1563 - July 17th 1600) of noble birth was a Japanese , being the third girl of Mitsuhide Akechi. She married Tadaoki Hosokawa at the fifteen years age and had two children. She became famous to be herself converted with the Christianisme under the name of Gracia .

Life

In June 1582, Akechi betrays and kills its lord, Nobunaga Oda. After that, Tama becomes known as a " girl of the traître". Not wanting to divorce but refusing to support his/her father-in-law, Tadaoki takes along Tama in a manor in the mountains in what is today Kyōtango, in the Préfecture of Kyōto, where it is locked up until in 1584, year or Hideyoshi Toyotomi authorizes it to turn over to Ōsaka. Tadaoki then takes along Tama to the Hosokawa residence to Ōsaka, where it remains confined.

During its containment, Tama becomes the friend of the Christian girl of a important Samurai. With the assistance of a catholic missionary of Osaka, it is baptized in 1587 and receives the Christian first name of Gracia. Tadaoki learns its conversion and, mad, he takes several times that it gives up its religion. He obtains even from Hideyoshi Toyotomi that it orders to him to do it, but Gracia refuses.

The death of Hideyoshi leaves a vacuum in the capacity involving the formation of two rival factions: Ieyasu Tokugawa in the East of the country and Mitsunari Ishida in the west. Ishida, controlling the Château of Ōsaka in which many families of generals lie then, conceives a plan to retain these families as an hostage, thus forcing the rival generals to be combined with him, or all at least not to attack it.

However, when Ishida tries to take Gracia as an hostage, Shosai Ogasawara, the vassal main thing of the clan, kills it in accordance with the orders of Tadaoki, before making the Seppuku with the remainder of the household. The insult caused by its death was so extremely that Ishida was forced to give up its plan.

A catholic priest recovers then the remainders of Gracia in the ruins and buries them in a cemetery with Sakai. Later, Tadaoki moves the remainders with the temple Sozenji in Ōsaka.

Gracia will be canonized by the Catholic church in 1862.

Gracia Hosokawa in the popular culture

In the Video game Kessen, there is a scene showing heroically dying Gracia, because its Christian religion prohibits to him to commit suicide.

Gracia was used as model with James Clavell for the character of Mariko in his novel Shogun .

References

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