Newsfrom Japan

Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, July 7 (Jiji Press)—A rare letter that Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–98) wrote to his concubine Chacha, or Yodo-dono, has been found in Toyooka, Hyōgo Prefecture.

The letter shows Hideyoshi's concern for Chacha, who had run a high temperature, said researchers from the Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History, located in Himeji, and the University of Tokyo's Historiographical Institute.

Of some already found 100 letters written by Hideyoshi himself, only 5 were addressed to Chacha, so the new finding is valuable, they noted.

According to the announcement, the letter was written between 1593 and 1596, although it is unknown where Hideyoshi wrote it.

In the letter, Hideyoshi, one of the main historical figures who unified Japan after a lengthy period of turbulence, wrote that he was "very pleased" that Chacha had received moxa treatment, which she hated, and that he was planning for her to watch the Japanese traditional performing art of nō. He also encouraged her to eat sanma, or Pacific sauries, which he sent with the letter.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]