Oeyo

Who was Oeyo?

Oeyo, Gō, Ogō or Satoko : 1573 – September 15, 1626 was a prominently-placed female figure in late-Sengoku period. She married three times, first to Saji Kazunari, her cousin, then to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew Toyotomi Hidekatsu. She had a daughter named Sada with Hidekatsu, but he died due to an illness during the Korean War. Her third and last husband Tokugawa Hidetada became the second Tokugawa shogun. She was also the mother of his successor Iemitsu, the third shogun. She had Senhime, Tamahime, Katsuhime, Hatsuhime, Takechiyo, and Tadanaga. Hatsuhime was adopted by Oeyo's sister Ohatsu, who is the wife of Kyogoku Takatsugu.

Hidetada's changing fortunes affected Oeyo's life as well. 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.