Asano Nagaakira
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese samurai of the early Edo period
who served as daimyō
of the Wakayama domain
, and was later transferred to the Hiroshima Domain
.
Born Asano Iwamatsu, he was the son of Asano Nagamasa
, who was a senior retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1594, Nagaakira was made a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and stipended at 3,000 koku. Following Tokugawa Ieyasu
six years later at the Battle of Sekigahara
, he was awarded with the 24,000 koku fief of Ashimori han. As his brother Yukinaga
died heirless in 1613, Nagaakira succeeded him, becoming daimyo of Wakayama han. At the siege of Ōsaka
, he commanded a portion of Tokugawa Ieyasu
's army. In the summer of 1615, Toyotomi Hideyori
's Western Army moved to attack Asano's castle at Wakayama. Though most of Asano's forces were at Ōsaka, sieging Toyotomi's fortress, the remaining garrison outnumbered the Western warriors, and Asano led his men in sallying forth to meet the enemy in the Battle of Kashii
.
Asano also fought in the Battle of Tennoji
, the decisive final battle in the siege of Ōsaka, where he commanded Tokugawa's rear guard. In 1619, he was granted the fief of Hiroshima, in Aki Province
, which would come to be the home of the Asano family
for many generations.
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Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
who served as daimyō
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of the Wakayama domain
Wakayama Domain
The was a han or Japanese feudal domain in Kii Province , with income of 555,000 koku. The domain was also known as or . The heads of the domain were Kishu-Tokugawa clan, one of Gosanke...
, and was later transferred to the Hiroshima Domain
Hiroshima Domain
Hiroshima Domain was a han, or feudal domain, of Edo period Japan. Based at Hiroshima castle in the city of Hiroshima, the domain encompassed Aki province and parts of neighboring Bingo province....
.
Born Asano Iwamatsu, he was the son of Asano Nagamasa
Asano Nagamasa
was the brother-in-law of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and one of his chief advisors. Asano also fought for Hideyoshi in a number of campaigns during the Sengoku period of the 16th century of Japan....
, who was a senior retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1594, Nagaakira was made a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and stipended at 3,000 koku. Following Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
six years later at the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
, he was awarded with the 24,000 koku fief of Ashimori han. As his brother Yukinaga
Asano Yukinaga
Japanese samurai and feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early Edo period. Served as one of the Go-Bugyō in the late Azuchi-Momoyama Period.-Early life and career:...
died heirless in 1613, Nagaakira succeeded him, becoming daimyo of Wakayama han. At the siege of Ōsaka
Siege of Osaka
The was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages , and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment...
, he commanded a portion of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
's army. In the summer of 1615, Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....
's Western Army moved to attack Asano's castle at Wakayama. Though most of Asano's forces were at Ōsaka, sieging Toyotomi's fortress, the remaining garrison outnumbered the Western warriors, and Asano led his men in sallying forth to meet the enemy in the Battle of Kashii
Battle of Kashii
The Battle of Kashii was the very first battle of the Summer Campaign of the 1615 Siege of Osaka. As the Shogun's Eastern Army prepared to renew the siege begun the previous winter, the Ōsaka garrison sallied forth, ambushing Tokugawa forces in a number of skirmishes and sieges...
.
Asano also fought in the Battle of Tennoji
Battle of Tennoji
The was fought in 1615 between the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the forces of Toyotomi Hideyori. Tokugawa was laying siege to Osaka, and Hideyori had planned a counterattack. Both sides were plagued by mistakes until Hideyori's side finally fell. He committed suicide. The Toyotomi army...
, the decisive final battle in the siege of Ōsaka, where he commanded Tokugawa's rear guard. In 1619, he was granted the fief of Hiroshima, in Aki Province
Aki Province
or Geishū was a province in the Chūgoku Region of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture.When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province , two temples were founded in Aki Province...
, which would come to be the home of the Asano family
Asano family
The ' was a noble samurai family in feudal Japan which controlled the han of Hiroshima centered around Hiroshima Castle for much of the Edo period....
for many generations.
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For further reading
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.