The site of Eri Nobutaka’s seppuku (ritual suicide).
In 1587 a large rock on the north side of Akizuki played host to a bloody suicide and is today know as “Seppuku Rock.”
It was here that Eri Nobutaka (the vassal of Akizuki Tanezane) killed himself, his wife, two daughters and a vassal in an act of ritual suicide on April 21, 1587. Nobutake was 38 years old.
This unfortunate ending came from a conflict between Akizuki Tanezane and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the preparations for battle, Nobutaka was sent by Tanezane to spy on Hideyoshi’s camp. There, Nobutaka was told the Akizuki clan should surrender to Hideyoshi and forsake their alliance with the Shimazu clan. In return, the Akizuki clan would receive the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo.
Nobutaka returned with the message for Akizuki Tanezane, along with a warning of the strength of Hideyoshi’s army. However Akizuki refused to give up his seven generation alliance with the Shimazu clan. Nobutaka was ridiculed for suggesting surrender and he and his family committed seppuku (ritual suicide) upon the rock. The monument that stands above the rock was built in 1938 by descendants of Nobutaka.
After Nobutaka’s advice was ignored, Toyotomi Hideyoshi swept to victory and entered Akizuki. It is said that when Kuroda Nagaoki arrived in the town, he was so impressed by Nobutaka’s loyalty that he constructed the Temple above Nobutaka’s gravestone.
The site can be found on the road leading to Narutokannon Temple. The most northerly one is “Seppuku Rock.”
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