Ankokuji Ekei

In this Japanese name, the surname is Ankokuji.

Ankokuji Ekei (安国寺 恵瓊, 1539 – November 6, 1600) was a descendant of the Takeda clan of Aki province. Although it is certain that he was from the Aki Takeda clan, there are various theories about his birth year and father, and the former is said to have been in 1537 or 1539.

Ankokuji Ekei and Toyotomi Hideyoshi

There are two theories about the father : one says that Takeda Nobushige († 1541) was his father, and the other says that Takeda Shigekiyo (†1541), the father of Nobushige, was his father. In 1541, when the Aki Takeda were destroyed by Mori Motonari, he was taken away by faithful vassals and put in a safe place in Ankokuji Temple in Aki Province. He became a Rinzai Buddhist monk, and a diplomat of Mōri clan.

In 1585 he was praised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his negotiation when the Mori clan formally served Hideyoshi, and as a close adviser of Hideyoshi, was given a fiefdom of 23,000 koku in Iyo Province as a reward after the Invasion of Shikoku (1585). In 1586, after the Kyushu Campaign, his holdings were expanded to 60,000 koku. He participated in the siege of Shimoda 1590. He participated in the Imjin War, and lost the Battle of Uiryong to Gwak Jae-u.

At the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), he fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was later taken prisoner and condemned to death in Kyoto, along with Ishida Mitsunari and Konishi Yukinaga.

Ankokuji Ekei Banner and Battle Standard

See also

• Buddhism in Japan
• List of Rinzai Buddhists