Numata Sukemitsu (沼田祐光)
Sukemitsu NUMATA (? - 1612?) was a busho (Japanese military commander) from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the Edo period. He was a vassal of the Tsugaru clan, a daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) of Mutsu Province. He was Menshosai NUMATA.
He is said to have been flourished as the strategist for Tamenobu TSUGARU, but details of his achievements are not so certain.
His origin
He was a member of the Ueno Numata clan, and possessed Kumagawa in Wakasa Province from the period of MINAMOTO no Yoritomo, and later belonged to the Wakasa Takeda clan. His father Mitsukane (Munekane?) NUMATA constructed Komogai-jo Castle during the Eiroku era. However, he was attacked by Genbanojo MATSUMIYA, hikan (low-level bureaucrat) of the Takeda clan in 1569, and the Numata family escaped to Omi; as a result, Komogai-jo Castle became a subsidiary castle of the Matsumiya clan.
Records and Remains
He is said to have been familiar with Onmyodo (way of Yin and Yang; occult divination system based on the Taoist theory of the five elements), Ekigaku (art of divination), and astronomy, and the stories handed down so far includes traditions in which he made full use of Ekigaku and astronomy (such as telling fortune of the lands in selecting the land for construction of Hirosaki-jo Castle). Anyway, due to the limited materials available today, his career before an officer of the Tsugaru clan including a place of his origin and detailed achievements after starting to serve for the Tsugaru clan are not clear. In addition, there is a grave that is said to be for Menshosai at Seigan-ji Temple in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture.