In 1660, the daimyō (feudal lord) of the Sendai Domain, and clan head, Date Tsunamune was arrested in Edo, for drunkenness and debauchery.
These vassals and kinsmen appealed to the Council of Elders in Edo that Tsunamune was not fit to rule, and that his son Date Tsunamura, great-grandson of Masamune, should become the daimyō.
Ten years of violence and conflict followed in the domain, reaching a climax in 1671 when Aki Muneshige, a powerful relative of the Date, complained to the shogunate of the mismanagement of the fief under Tsunamura and his uncles.
One retainer in particular, a supporter of Tsunamura and his uncles, by the name of Harada Kai Munesuke made a particularly poor impression in his meetings, and is said to have left the interrogation in a sour mood.
This story inspired a number of cultural productions, most notably the jōruri (puppet theater) play, later adopted into kabuki, Meiboku Sendai Hagi, by Chikamatsu.