Date Munemura

 was an mid-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 6th "daimyō" of Sendai Domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, and the 22nd hereditary chieftain of the Date clan.
Biography.
Munemura was the fourth son of Date Yoshimura. Two of his older brothers died young, and the third (Date Murakaze) formed a separate "hatamoto" household, so he was appointed heir. His childhood name was ; however, when he was received in formal audience by "Shōgun" Tokugawa Yoshimune, he received one "kanji" from the "shōgun"s name, and the thus became Date Munemura. He was also betrothed to the daughter of Tokugawa Munenao, the "daimyō" of Kii Domain at that time. He became "daimyō" in 1743 upon the retirement of his father. He was noted as a man of many talents. As was his father, he was noted for his literary achievements, and he was also proficient in horsemanship, swordsmanship, use of the spear, military strategy and "hōjutsu" (gunnery).
In 1747, Hosokawa Munetaka, "daimyō" of Kumamoto Domain was cut down by a "hatamoto", Itakura Katsukane, while en route to a ceremony at Edo Castle. Katsukane had a vendetta against Itakura Katsukiyo of Annaka Domain, but as the Hosokawa and Itakura family crests are so similar, he killed the wrong man. This placed the Hosokawa clan in danger of attainder, as Munetake was without heir. Date Munemura, who happened to be nearby when the incident occurred, knelt by the corpse of Hosotake Munetake and loudly declared "he still lives!" and ordered his retainers to take the body to the Hosokawa clan residence before the Shogun's "metsuke" inspectors could arrive at the scene. This allowed the Hosokawa clan to make a formal announcement that Munetaka had formally adopted his younger brother as heir, and the report on the death of Munetaka was delayed until the following day.
In 1752, Sendai Domain was struck by a severe famine. While touring a stricken village in what is now Watari District, Miyagi on his way back from "sankin-kōtai" in Edo, he was directly petitioned by the headman of Nakaizumi village, Kitahara Kanehira, for a reduction in the village's taxes. As was the common punishment for such an action, the headman's house and fields were confiscated and he was crucified as punishment,
Munemura died in 1756, and was succeeded by his son, Date Shigemura. His grave is at the Date clan mausoleum at Dainenjiyama in Sendai.