Ankokuji Ekei

Ankokuji Ekei (安國寺惠瓊) (1539 - 1600) was a daimyo of Aki Province in Japan, as well as a Rinzai Buddhist monk following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 16th century. He went with Toyotomi Hideyoshi on his invasion of Korea, was named abbot of Tofuku-ji in Kyoto Prefecture, and was given a fiefdom of 60,000 koku in Iyo Province. When he fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), he was taken prisoner and later decapitated in Kyoto, along with Mitsunari Ishida and Konishi Yukinaga.

Ekei also served under Mori Motonari, being one of his favorite retainers, always calling him by the name of "little monk". Also known to be a master of tea, and the head priest of the Ankoku-ji.

Popular culture

Ekei appears in Onimusha 2 and Onimusha Blade Warriors as a monk who enjoys liquor and women. It's explained in the game that his wife and daughter were burned alive when soldiers ignited the building they were in, leaving Ekei in despair with one wish: To put an end to things such as soldiers and wars by becoming a daimyo, and he's willing to do anything to make that wish come true... Even allying with Nobunaga Oda, the game's main antagonist.

ee also

*Buddhism in Japan
*List of Rinzai Buddhists