Kōzōsu

Kōzōsu (孝蔵主) was a Japanese noble lady, aristocrat and retainer of the Toyotomi clan. She was the daughter of Kawazoe Katsuhige, a retainer of the Gamō clan. She was an elite female officer under Nene's command and chief secretary to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

During the Toyotomi administration she possessed such authority that it was said that while Asano Nagamasa may run matters outside, Kōzōsu ran matters inside. She accompanied the Toyotomi clan in Japan's unification campaigns.[1]

Life

After Hideyoshi's death, she left Ōsaka castle with Nene and went to live in the capital. In 1606 with the help of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nene established a Buddhist temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, and assumed the dharma name of Kōdai-in. After that, Kōzōsu returned to Osaka. It is said that she helped defend the Toyotomi clan at the Siege of Osaka.[2] In 1615 when the Osaka castle was engulfed in flames, Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono killed themselves, Kōzōsu saved Senhime in the rear pavilion and escaped the castle with others, including Kaihime. When Kōzōsu survived the battle of Osaka castle, she was hired by the Tokugawa Hidetada and put in charge of training Ooku ladies.[3] She died on May 9, 1626.

References
  1. 篠田達明 (May 2005). 徳川将軍家十五代のカルテ (in Japanese). 新潮社. ISBN 9784106101199.
  2. Turnbull, Stephen (2012-06-20). Osaka 1615: The last battle of the samurai. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781782000099.
  3. Seigle, Cecilia Segawa; Chance, Linda H. (2014-03-28). Ooku, the Secret World of the Shogun's Women. Cambria Press. ISBN 9781604978728.


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