Minami no tsubone (南の局)

Minami no tsubone (c.1566 - the year of death unknown) was a daughter of Toyokuni YAMANA, the lord of Tottori-jo Castle. She was one of Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI's concubines. Her name was Akane.

On July 17, 1580, Hideyoshi pretended to attack Tottori-jo Castle and actually attacked Shikano-jo Castle, which its defense was weak.

At that time, Toyokuni YAMANA was subordinated to the Mori clan, and Toyokuni's wife and a daughter Akane, and other vassals including senior vassals, Michihiro MORISHITA and Harutsugu NAKAMURA, more than 20 others were detained as hostages of the Mori clan in Shikano-jo Castle. Hideyoshi easily made Shikano-jo Castle to surrender,then took hostages and besieged Tottori-jo Castle. Hideyoshi forced the capitulation in exchange for sparing the hostages' lives, however, Toyokuni didn't accept Hideyoshi's requirement, therefore, Hideyoshi crucified the famies of vassals then started to execute one by one as a warning. Toyokuni still didn't accept the request to surrender, even though the families of his vassals started to be executed one after the other. However, when his daughter Akane was crucified, he finally capitulated. Although Hideyoshi spared the life of Akane, he broke his promise of approval of Toyokuni as a landowner of Inaba Province on the grounds that Toyokuni took so long to surrender. After that, Toyokuni was exiled from Tottori-jo Castle by his vassals.

Akane became a concubine of Hideyoshi. Toyokuni came to obey Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, and joined the second Siege of Tottori-jo Castle in 1581.

[Original Japanese]