Letter of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Ankokuji Ekei, Kuroda Yoshitaka and Miyagi Katayoshi

【Important cultural property】
Aiming to conquer the Kyushu region in 1586, the large army of the Shimazu clan, which held power over the south of Kyushu, went up north. They attacked Tachibana castle in Chikuzen province, the northern part of Kyushu which Tachibana Muneshige (1567-1642) defended. Muneshige would defend the castle by all means because he was granted the honor of using the name of the castle as his surname. He said to the enemy that he had plenty of firearms sent by the great unifier Toyotomi Hdeyoshi, and his support army led by the Mori clan was coming there soon. At this, the Shimazu army began to withdraw at last. Upon confirming the enemy’s retreat, Muneshige led his army to the Takatorii castle which the Shimazu army defended. After the fierce battle, he conquered the castle.

This is a letter from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Ankokuji Ekei, Kuroda Yoshitaka (Kageyu) and Miyagi Katayoshi (Nyudō). In the letter, Hideyoshi praised Muneshige’s activity in the battle by saying, “He is the real warrior unrivaled in Kyushu.” The letter was kept by the Kuroda family. Twenty or thirty years after Muneshige’s death, it was given to the Tachibana family.