“A table of the descent of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.”
This is the beginning of the New Testament, and the genealogical table
of Jesus extends for over half a page. When the present author read the
New Testament for the first time, he had to confess that he felt it boring
because it was nothing but the enumeration of names to him. However,
he has recently noticed how important this description of Jesus’ genealogy
is because the genealogy written by Matthew was probably intended to
prove that Jesus was the Messiah.
     Although it cannot be compared with the New Testament, the Murais,
which is the author’s family name, has a scroll-typed family tree that has
been passed down from generation to generation. The scroll ranges over
3.6 meters. The genealogical table begins in 1582 and ends in 1715. The
Murais have been keeping the genealogical table from destruction,
although they have no records after 1715.
     When the writer was a junior high student, his mother as well as his
grandmother often said to him, “Your forefather is Murai Sadakatsu,
a military commander of position, and he is worshiped in Shunchoji Temple
in Kyoto City.” Also, they said, “We should not visit the temple because we
may be required to donate a lot of money to the temple.” That is why he was
not interested in his roots while he was young.
     However, a TV drama greatly woke up the writer’s interest in Murai
Sadakatsu, for he and his daughter Haru appeared in a NHK long drama,
“Toshiie To Matsu,” which was broadcast in 2002. Murai Sadakatsu was
played by Shunsuke Kariya, a Japanese actor, and Haru was played by
Yuki Amami, a famous Japanese actress, a graduate of Takarazuka Music
School. In particular, Haru often appeared in the TV drama as semi-leading
parts together with Hashiba Hideyoshi’s (1536-98) wife One (Nene) and
Maeda Toshie’s (1538-99) wife Matsu. The TV drama “Toshiie To Matsu”
was popular and achieved high audience ratings. Thanks to its popularity,
the author became interested in Haru as well as Sadakatsu.
     The present author’s interest in Haru and Sadakatsu through the TV
drama might be a side issue to readers. In order to keep the objectivity to
ensure the credibility of his family roots, all the members of the Murais in
the genealogical table should be written clearly. The first name written in it
is Murai Sadakatsu (the 1^st generation), Murai Shinzaemon (2nd),
Murai Seijiro (3rd), Murai Sakuemon (4^th), Murai Kyuichiro (5^th),
Murai Rokubei (6^th), Murai Sakuzaemon (7^th), Murai Kyuzaemon (8^th),
Murai Jusaburo (9^th), Murai Asanoshin (10^th), Murai Kyusuke (11^th),
Murai Jiroemon (12^th), Murai Nanasuke (13^th), Murai Goro (14^th),
Murai Kyuichiro (15^th), Murai Daisuke (16^th), Murai Magojuro (17^th),
Murai Gonkuro (18^th), Murai Einoshin (19^th), and Murai Kuroemon (20^th).
Probably, the readers might not be so interested in the enumeration of
the names like the first part of the gospel according to Matthew. However,
it is greatly important so as to prove that the Murais are a descendant of
Murai Sadakatsu.
     Furthermore, there are three pieces of evidence which can show that
the Murais are directly concerned with the genealogy of Murai Sadakatsu.
The first evidence is the fact that the scroll-typed genealogy exists even
now. (The readers can have a look at its pictures.) In addition, the Murais
have some pictures of Murai Sadakatsu’s grave which have been passed
down. They are a kind of material evidence to prove that the Murais are
related to Murai Sadakatsu and his family temple Shunchoji. The next is
the name of a place which appears in the genealogy, “Bushu, Usuki,
Kaizoe.” (Now, Bushu corresponds to Ohita Prefecture; Usuki, Usuki City,
and Kaizoe, a small area in the city.) The genealogy reads, “Murai
Jiroemon (the 12^th generation) was born in Kaizoe, Usuki, Bushu in
January 12, 1649.” This is the very place where the author’s cousin is
living even now. The description of the concrete place name has proved
that the genealogy of the Murais is reliable and that they have something
to do with Murai Sadakatsu. Finally, not only the writer’s grandmother but
also his mother often said to him, “Your forefather is Murai Sadakatsu, a
great warrior who worked under Oda Nobunaga (1534-82), one of the most
famous Japanese warriors in the Age of Civil Wars, and Sadakatsu is
worshiped in Shunchoji Temple at Shijo-Dori in Kyoto City.” Also, they
said, “We should not visit the temple because we might be required to
donate a lot of money. On account of their words, the author was not
interested in his ancestor very much while he was young.
     Let’s verify the character and achievements of Murai Sadakatsu. At first,
they can be examined in a historical method. Shincho Koki (The Public
Biography of Oda Nobunaga) written by Ohta Gyuichi in 1610 is helpful in
studying Sadakatsu Murai. Ohta Gyuichi was also a retainer of Oda
Nobunaga and wrote Shincho Koki  (by Ohta Gyuichi, edit., Tadachika
Kuwata, Tokyo, Shin-Jinbutsu-Orai-Sha: 1^st ed. 1997, 2^nd ed. 2002)
when he was eighty-four years old. Surprisingly, his work on Nobunaga
is highly valued even now. According to Shicho Koki, Muari Sadakatsu
is described 14 times: in the introductory, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 9^th,
11^th, 12^th, 13^th, and 15^th chapters. He is dealt with in almost all the
volumes, so that the readers will realize that Murai Sadakatsu is one of
the most valuable people amongst Nobunaga’s retainers. Ohta Gyuichi
describes the character of Murai Sadakatsu as a faithful and gentler
person in his book, Shincho Koki.
     Moreover, two important points about Murai Sadakatsu are pointed out.
One is that he was in the service of “Kyoto-Shoshidai,” which is the work
combining administration and public security. Sadakatsu safely carried
out the busy post. His work included many things; for example,
negotiation with court nobles for politics, repairs to an imperial palace,
and construction of Nobunaga’s second home in Kyoto, and the work of
judgment such as the mediation of quarrels, and so on. Although
Sadakatsu was older than Nobunaga by about twenty years, he served
him faithfully until he died.
     The next historic event is Honnoji-No-Hen, a coup d’etat caused by
Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-82), one of Nobunaga’s chief vassals, in 1582.
According to Shincho Koki, when Oda Nobunaga, who stayed in Honnoji
Temple, was suddenly attacked by Mitsuhide Akechi, Murai Sadakatsu
suggested that Oda Nobutada (1557-82), Nobunaga’s son, should take
shelter in Nijojo, a castle at Nijo-Dori in Kyoto City. Unfortunately, he
died in battle guarding Oda Nobutada at that time. Shicho Koki read
that the ancestors of the Murais were killed in Honnoji-No-Hen. That is,
Murai Sadakatsu (Murai Shunchoken) and his two sons: Murai Seijiro
(Murai Seiji) and Murai Sakuemon died in battle. The names in
parentheses are described in Shincho Koki Translated into Modern
Japanese (cf., Shincho Koki, the first and second volumes, trans., Jun
Sakakiyama, Tokyo, Newton Press, 1^st ed., 1980, 23^rd pr., 2004).
     Finally, the author was very happy to find a book which has
referred to Murai Sadakatsu more minutely than other historical
materials. The title of the book is Nobunaga-No-Shineitai (親衛隊):
The Nobunaga’s Bodyguards (Katsuhiro Taniguchi, Tokyo, Chuko
Shinsho, 1998). The book has 250 pages and refers to the achievements
of Murai Sadakatsu through 28 pages. According to the book,
Sadakatsu was an executive officer called “Riryo” (吏僚) by Katsuhiro
Taniguchi, the author of Nobunaga-No-Shineitai. The book supplies
us with enough detailed knowledge to understand some characteristic
aspects of Murai Sadakatsu.
     For instance, Murai Sadakatsu was well treated by Nobunaga
although he did not come from Owari, Aichi Prefecture, which was
Nobunaga’s territory, but from Ohmi, Shiga Prefecture (ibid., p. 58).
Taniguchi refers to Sadakatsu at the head of the most valuable
retainers of Nobunaga. (ibid., p. 111) Sadakatsu worked for Nobunaga,
who was known for his quick-tempered character, for over thirty years
in safety. Although Sadakatsu was asked to build Nobunaga’s house,
Nobunaga, to tell the truth, was reluctant to construct it because he
was persuaded to build it by a court noble. Katsuhiro Taniguchi
sympathizes with Sadakatsu, who was in such an inconvenient
situation. (ibid., p. 125) Furthermore, the book writes about the process
in which Sadakatsu took office as “Kyoto-Shoshidai” in 1573.
(ibid., p. 126) Sadakatsu’s strenuous efforts as “Kyoto-Shoshidai” are
written minutely from page 183 to 187 in Nobunaga-No-Shineitai.
As stated above, Murai Sadakatsu died an unnatural death with his
two sons guarding Nobutada Oda on the very night when Oda
Nobunaga put an end to his own life on June 2, 1582.
Fundamentally, the above examinations intend to confirm Murai
Sadakatsu is directly related to the Murais and that his achievements
had the honor of developing Japanese history. Sadakatsu is one of the
most honorable ancestors of the Murais.  The present author is proud
of him as a descendant of the Murais. Let him say in passing that he is
planning to visit Shunchoji Temple again and hoping to have a look
at it, although he visited it this year for the first time. He is looking
forward to looking at the portrait of Murai Sadakatsu, which has been
preserved for over four hundred years in Shunchoji Temple.

(The genealogy of the Murai family, which is in the Murais' possession)

Copyright (C) 2004 by Edmond N. Beard