Oeyo

[3] Following the fall of the Council of Five Elders, Oeyo and her sisters were key figures in maintaining a diplomatic relationship between the two most powerful clans of their time, Toyotomi and Tokugawa.

Due to her great contributions to politics at the beginning of the Edo period she was posthumously inducted into the Junior First Rank of the Imperial Court, the second highest honor that could be conferred by the Emperor of Japan.

Surviving record books from merchants of luxury goods provide insight into patterns of patronage and taste amongst the privileged class of women like Oeyo and her sisters.

However, a document believed to be authored by Kasuga no Tsubone in the possession of Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto uses the reading "Sōgen'in-sama."

In the case of Sugoin-in, a formal given name "Michiko" was bestowed posthumously, as recorded in the "Chūin Tsūmura Nikki" from 1626.

Sugoin-in had several titles throughout her life, including "Kitano Kata," "Oshinzo," "Go-Shinzo," and "O-Go-Shinzo," each reflecting her changing circumstances and roles.

Sugoin-in was born in Odani, Omi Province (present-day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture), as the third daughter of Asai Nagamasa, a powerful regional daimyo.

The exact year of her birth is a subject of debate, with some sources suggesting 1570, based on her age at death, while others propose 1573.

In September 1573, Odani Castle, her family's stronghold, was attacked and taken by Oda Nobunaga, leading to the downfall of the Asai clan.

In 1600, during the 5th year of the Keicho era, Toyotomi Hideyoshi expanded the hall of Sennyu-ji Temple and built a shrine dedicated to Oda Nobunaga on the former site of Azuchi Castle.

Subsequently, after Hideyoshi's death, she instructed Niwa Nagashige to rebuild the shrine in the ashes of Azuchi Castle.

When Yogen-in, the temple founded by Yodo-dono in memory of their father, Azai Nagamasa, was destroyed by fire in 1619, she petitioned the Tokugawa shogunate to rebuild it.

In summary, her life was marked by her marriages to prominent figures of the time, her involvement in the reconstruction of religious sites, and her contributions to the Tokugawa family.

After Hidetada resigned the government to his eldest son in 1623, Oeyo took a Buddhist name, Sūgen'in (崇源院) or Sogenin.

[8] NHK's 2011 Taiga drama, Gō: Himetachi no Sengoku, is based on the life of Oeyo who is played by the actress Juri Ueno.

It is speculated that her son, Iemitsu, was the last direct male descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, thus ending the patrilineality of the shogunate for the third generation.

Mausoleum of Sugenin taken in Meiji Era