Marquis was a Japanese daimyo

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 late Edo period

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....

. He first ruled the Itoigawa Domain, before being adopted by Matsudaira Yoshinaga

Matsudaira Yoshinaga

, also known as Matsudaira Keiei, was the 14th head of Fukui Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and politician of the Meiji era. "Yoshinaga" is his imina and "Shungaku" is his gō...

 as his successor for the position of ruler of the Fukui Domain

Fukui Domain

The was a feudal domain in Echizen Province of Japan during the Edo period. It is also sometimes called '. The family name of the heads of the domain is "Matsudaira".- List of heads :# Hideyasu# Tadanao...

. Because domainal politics was largely run by the domain's karō

KARO

KARO is a radio station licensed to serve Nyssa, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format as part of the Air 1 network.-History:...

and other retainers, Mochiaki was largely a figurehead.

Mochiaki was made a member of the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

 as a count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

, and promoted to marquis

Marquis

Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...

in 1888.