Matsudaira Sadanobu
Encyclopedia
Japanese daimyo
of the mid-Edo period
, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain
, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief senior councilor
(rōju shuza; 老中首座) of the Tokugawa Shogunate
, from 1787 to 1793.
house. The Tayasu was one of the gosankyō
, the seniormost of the lesser cadet branches of the Shogun's family, which still bore the name Tokugawa (instead of the cadet branches which had the Matsudaira surname).
His father was Tayasu Munetake, the son of the reform-minded eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune
. The Tayasu house stood apart from the other cadet branches resident in Edo Castle, living a more austere lifestyle, following the example set by Yoshimune—in Munetake's words, the praise of manly spirit (masuraoburi) as opposed to feminine spirit (taoyameburi). It also set itself apart from the other branches due to its history of thwarted political ambition—the founder, Munetake, had hoped to become his father's heir but was passed over for Yoshimune's eldest son, Ieshige. As a result, Sadanobu was brought up from a very young age with the hopes of being placed as the next shogunal heir. His education was very thorough, being done along Confucian lines, and by his teens Sadanobu had already read and memorized much of the Confucian canon. As he matured, there was a further onus on Sadanobu for success as several members of the Tayasu house began to die young. Further attempts were made by the family to place Sadanobu as the next shogunal heir, but they were thwarted by the political clique of Tanuma Okitsugu
, who was then in power as the chief rōjū.
with an assessment of 110,000 koku
), succeeding to headship in late 1783 following his stepfather's protracted illness. He was immediately faced with his domain's economically disastrous position: of 110,000 koku that it was supposed to be able to produce, 108,600 had been reported "lost". Sadanobu worked ceaselessly to fix the economic situation in Shirakawa, finally saving it and bringing its finances and agriculture back to stability. These reforms, coupled with Sadanobu's continued political maneuvering, brought him fame, and he was named chief councilor of the Shogunate in the summer of 1787, and regent to the 11th shogun Tokugawa Ienari
early the following year.
This period of Sadanobu's strengthening of the already faltering Tokugawa regime is known as the Kansei Reforms
. His policies could as well be construed as a reactionary response to the execesses of his predecessor under Shogun Ieharu. He recovered the finances of the Shogunate to some extent, and had some success in rescuing its reputation. However, following the Title Incident and the visit of Adam Laxman, Sadanobu's credibility and popularity in the Tokugawa bureaucracy became overtaxed, and true to the suggestion in his autobiography that "one should retire before discontent sets in," he resigned.
, which Sadanobu officially opposed.
, whom he had personally installed in that position. During these last few years of his rule in Shirakawa, he was also involved in matters of national defense, taking up security duties on the Boso Peninsula
in 1810 together with Matsudaira Katahiro
of Aizu
. In domainal matters, Sadanobu continued to devote himself to the reforms he had established, as well as to education. He retired from the family headship in 1819, and was succeeded by his son Sadanaga. Sadanobu died in 1829, and according to his will, his son petitioned the Yoshida family in Kyoto to grant him the deified title of Shukoku-daimyōjin. This was granted in three stages, in 1833, 1834, and 1855. Sadanobu was enshrined together with the Hisamatsu founder Sadatsuna, Sugawara no Michizane
, and two other figures, in the Chinkoku-Shukoku shrine. This shrine has branches both in Kuwana, where Sadanaga was transferred, and in Sadanobu's former fief of Shirakawa, where the shrine was built in 1918.
One of Sadanaga's sons, Itakura Katsukiyo
, became almost as famous as his grandfather in the late Edo era, due to his attempted reforms of the Shogunate.
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 mid-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....
, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain
Shirakawa Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Mutsu Province. Its most famous ruler was Matsudaira Sadanobu, the architect of the Kansei Reforms.Shirakawa was also the scene of one of the battles of the Boshin War.-List of lords:...
, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief senior councilor
Roju
The ', usually translated as Elder, was one of the highest-ranking government posts in Tokugawa Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council as a whole; under the first two shoguns, there were only two Rōjū...
(rōju shuza; 老中首座) of the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
, from 1787 to 1793.
Early life
Sadanobu was born in Edo Castle on January 15, 1759, into the Tayasu branch of the TokugawaTokugawa clan
The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...
house. The Tayasu was one of the gosankyō
Gosankyo
The ' were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan. They were descended from the eighth of the fifteen Tokugawa shoguns, Yoshimune . Yoshimune established the Gosankyo to augment the Gosanke, the heads of the powerful han of Owari, Kishū, and Mito...
, the seniormost of the lesser cadet branches of the Shogun's family, which still bore the name Tokugawa (instead of the cadet branches which had the Matsudaira surname).
His father was Tayasu Munetake, the son of the reform-minded eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...
. The Tayasu house stood apart from the other cadet branches resident in Edo Castle, living a more austere lifestyle, following the example set by Yoshimune—in Munetake's words, the praise of manly spirit (masuraoburi) as opposed to feminine spirit (taoyameburi). It also set itself apart from the other branches due to its history of thwarted political ambition—the founder, Munetake, had hoped to become his father's heir but was passed over for Yoshimune's eldest son, Ieshige. As a result, Sadanobu was brought up from a very young age with the hopes of being placed as the next shogunal heir. His education was very thorough, being done along Confucian lines, and by his teens Sadanobu had already read and memorized much of the Confucian canon. As he matured, there was a further onus on Sadanobu for success as several members of the Tayasu house began to die young. Further attempts were made by the family to place Sadanobu as the next shogunal heir, but they were thwarted by the political clique of Tanuma Okitsugu
Tanuma Okitsugu
' was a rōjū of the Tokugawa shogunate who introduced monetary reform. He was also a daimyo, and ruled the Sagara han. He used the title Tonomo-no-kami....
, who was then in power as the chief rōjū.
Career
Following the last failed attempt at adoption by the shogun, Sadanobu was adopted by Matsudaira Sadakuni, head of one of the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira houses (another Tokugawa cadet branch), which ruled the Shirakawa Domain in southern (Mutsu ProvinceMutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...
with an assessment of 110,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
), succeeding to headship in late 1783 following his stepfather's protracted illness. He was immediately faced with his domain's economically disastrous position: of 110,000 koku that it was supposed to be able to produce, 108,600 had been reported "lost". Sadanobu worked ceaselessly to fix the economic situation in Shirakawa, finally saving it and bringing its finances and agriculture back to stability. These reforms, coupled with Sadanobu's continued political maneuvering, brought him fame, and he was named chief councilor of the Shogunate in the summer of 1787, and regent to the 11th shogun Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari; 徳川 家斉 was the eleventh and longest serving shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.-First wife:...
early the following year.
This period of Sadanobu's strengthening of the already faltering Tokugawa regime is known as the Kansei Reforms
Kansei Reforms
The were a series of reactionary policy changes and edicts which were intended to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in mid-18th century Tokugawa Japan....
. His policies could as well be construed as a reactionary response to the execesses of his predecessor under Shogun Ieharu. He recovered the finances of the Shogunate to some extent, and had some success in rescuing its reputation. However, following the Title Incident and the visit of Adam Laxman, Sadanobu's credibility and popularity in the Tokugawa bureaucracy became overtaxed, and true to the suggestion in his autobiography that "one should retire before discontent sets in," he resigned.
Literary Skill
Aside from his political reforms, Sadanobu was also known as a writer and a moralist, working under the pen name Rakuō (楽翁). Some of his notable texts include Uge no Hitokoto, Tōzen Manpitsu, Kanko-dōri, Kagetsutei Nikki, Seigo, and Ōmu no Kotoba, among others. Some time after his passing, it was discovered that he had written a satirical text parodying daimyo life, titled Daimyō Katagi. Scholars have since been somewhat taken aback by this discovery, since the text falls into the category of gesakuGesaku
is an alternative style, genre or school of Japanese literature. In the simplest contemporary sense, any literary work of a playful, mocking, joking, silly or frivolous nature may be called Gesaku. Unlike predecessors in the literary field, Gesaku writers did not strive for beauty and perfect...
, which Sadanobu officially opposed.
Later years
Though Sadanobu resigned from his position on the senior council, he continued to keep up with political affairs, especially keeping in close touch with Matsudaira Nobuaki (his successor in the senior council), as well as the rector of the Shogunate's college, Hayashi JussaiHayashi Jussai
was a Japanese neo-Confucian scholar of the Edo period. He was an hereditary rector of Edo’s Confucian Academy, the Shōhei-kō, also known at the Yushima Seidō, which was built on land provided by the shogun...
, whom he had personally installed in that position. During these last few years of his rule in Shirakawa, he was also involved in matters of national defense, taking up security duties on the Boso Peninsula
Boso Peninsula
thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....
in 1810 together with Matsudaira Katahiro
Matsudaira Katahiro
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period, who ruled the Aizu domain. He succeeded family headship at age 4, and died at age 20. With his death, the direct line of descent from Tokugawa Hidetada came to an end.-References:...
of Aizu
Aizu
is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...
. In domainal matters, Sadanobu continued to devote himself to the reforms he had established, as well as to education. He retired from the family headship in 1819, and was succeeded by his son Sadanaga. Sadanobu died in 1829, and according to his will, his son petitioned the Yoshida family in Kyoto to grant him the deified title of Shukoku-daimyōjin. This was granted in three stages, in 1833, 1834, and 1855. Sadanobu was enshrined together with the Hisamatsu founder Sadatsuna, Sugawara no Michizane
Sugawara no Michizane
, also known as Kan Shōjō , a grandson of Sugawara no Kiyotomo , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan...
, and two other figures, in the Chinkoku-Shukoku shrine. This shrine has branches both in Kuwana, where Sadanaga was transferred, and in Sadanobu's former fief of Shirakawa, where the shrine was built in 1918.
One of Sadanaga's sons, Itakura Katsukiyo
Itakura Katsukiyo
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period. Famed for his tenure as rōjū, Itakura later became a Shinto priest.-Biography:Itakura, born to the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira of the Kuwana Domain, was adopted by Itakura Katsutsune, the lord of the Matsuyama domain...
, became almost as famous as his grandfather in the late Edo era, due to his attempted reforms of the Shogunate.