Date Masamune

Who was Date Masamune?

Date Masamune was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye, and Date was often called dokuganryū, or the "one-eyed dragon".

As a legendary warrior and leader, Masamune is a character in a number of Japanese period dramas. He was played by Ken Watanabe in the popular 1987 NHK series Dokuganryu Masamune.