Tokugawa Ienari
Encyclopedia
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.
daimyo
of Satsuma Domain on the island of Kyūshū
. The significance of this alliance was dramatically enhanced when, in 1781, the young Toyochiyo was adopted by the childless shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu
. This meant that when Toyochiyo became Shogun Ienari in 1786, Shigehide was set to become the father-in-law of the shogun. The marriage was completed in 1789, after which Tadako became formally known as Midaidokoro
Sadako, or "first wife" Sadako. Protocol required that she be adopted into a court family, and the Konoe clan agreed to take her in but this was a mere formality.
of 900 women and fathered over 75 children (in the Nemuri Kyoshiro film series starring Ichikawa Raizo, many of these adult offspring, both male and female, are the villains of the stories).
Many of Ienari's myriad children were adopted into various daimyo
houses throughout Japan, and some played important roles in the history of the Bakumatsu and Boshin War
. Some of the more famous among them included: Hachisuka Narihiro
(Tokushima han), Matsudaira Naritami
(Tsuyama han), Tokugawa Narikatsu (first to the Shimizu-Tokugawa, then to the Wakayama domain
), Matsudaira Narisawa
(Fukui han), and others.
His time in office was marked by an era of pleasure, excess, and corruption, which ended in the disastrous Tenpō
Famine of 1832-1837, in which thousands are known to have perished.
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
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...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
who held office from 1787 to 1837.
First wife
In 1778, the four-year-old Hitotsubashi Toyochiyo, a minor figure in the Tokugawa clan hierarchy, was betrothed to Shimazu no Shige-hime or Tadako-hime, the four-year-old daughter of Shimazu Shigehide, the tozamaTozama
A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...
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 Satsuma Domain on the island of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. The significance of this alliance was dramatically enhanced when, in 1781, the young Toyochiyo was adopted by the childless shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu
Tokugawa Ieharu
Tokugawa Ieharu Tokugawa Ieharu Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川家治 (June 20, 1737 – September 17, 1786) was the tenth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1760 to 1786.Ieharu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Ieshige, the ninth shogun.-Events of the Ieharu's bakufu:...
. This meant that when Toyochiyo became Shogun Ienari in 1786, Shigehide was set to become the father-in-law of the shogun. The marriage was completed in 1789, after which Tadako became formally known as Midaidokoro
Midaidokoro
The midaidokoro was the official wife of the Shogun. During the Edo period, she resided in the Ōoku of Edo Castle and sometimes wielded considerable political power behind the scenes....
Sadako, or "first wife" Sadako. Protocol required that she be adopted into a court family, and the Konoe clan agreed to take her in but this was a mere formality.
Other relationships
Ienari was known as a degenerate who kept a haremHarem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
of 900 women and fathered over 75 children (in the Nemuri Kyoshiro film series starring Ichikawa Raizo, many of these adult offspring, both male and female, are the villains of the stories).
Many of Ienari's myriad children were adopted into various 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...
houses throughout Japan, and some played important roles in the history of the Bakumatsu and Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
. Some of the more famous among them included: Hachisuka Narihiro
Hachisuka Narihiro
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period, who ruled the Tokushima Domain. He was a son of the twelfth shogun, Tokugawa Ienari.-Biography:As stated above, Narihiro was a son of the 12th shogun, Ienari. Ienari had many children, who were given in adoption to various daimyo families throughout the...
(Tokushima han), Matsudaira Naritami
Matsudaira Naritami
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period who ruled the Tsuyama Domain of Mimasaka Province.Born Tokugawa Ginnosuke, the 16th son of the shogun Tokugawa Ienari, Naritami was adopted by Matsudaira Naritaka of Tsuyama. Naritami succeeded him in late 1831, continuing as daimyo of Tsuyama until 1855...
(Tsuyama han), Tokugawa Narikatsu (first to the Shimizu-Tokugawa, then to 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...
), Matsudaira Narisawa
Matsudaira Narisawa
was a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Fukui Domain. He was the 22nd son of Tokugawa Ienari....
(Fukui han), and others.
Events of Ienari's bakufu
- 1787 (Tenmei 7): Ienari becomes the 11th shogunShogunA was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
of the bakufuTokugawa shogunateThe 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...
government. - 1788 (Tenmei 7): Riots in rice shops in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
and OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. - March 6–11, 1788 (Tenmei 8, 29th day of the 1st month–4th day of the second month): Great Fire of KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. A fire in the city, which began at 3 o'clock in the morning of the of March 6), continued to burn uncontrolled until the 1st day of the second month (March 8); and embers smoldered until they were extinguished by heavy rain on the 4th day of the second month (March 11). The emperor and his court fled the fire, and the Imperial Palace was destroyed. No other re-construction was permitted until a new palace was completed. This fire was considered a major event. The Dutch VOCDutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
OpperhoofdOpperhoofdOpperhoofd is a Dutch word which literally means 'supreme head'.The Danish equivalent Overhoved, which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch word, is also treated here....
in DejimaDejimawas a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
noted in his official record book that "people are considering it to be a great and extraordinary heavenly portent."
- February 28, 1793 (Kansei 5, on the 18th day of the 1st month): Collapse of the peak of Mt. Unzen.
- March 17, 1793 (Kansei 5, on the 6th day of the 2nd month): Eruption of Mt. Biwas-no-kubi
- April 15, 1793 (Kansei 5, on the 1st day of the 3rd month): The ShimabaraShimabaraShimabara can refer to any of the following:* Shimabara, Nagasaki, a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan* Shimabara Peninsula, the geographic feature that hosts Shimabara, Nagasaki* Shimabara Castle, in Shimabara, Nagasaki...
earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. - May 10, 1793 (Kansei 5, on the 1st day of the 4th month): Eruption of Mt. Miyama.
- September 1817, the Shogun orders the expulsion of Titia BergsmaTitia BergsmaTitia Bergsma was a Dutch woman who visited Dejima, Japan in August 1817 with her husband, Jan Cock Blomhoff....
, the first European woman to visit Japan - 1837 (Tenpō 7): Tokugawa IeyoshiTokugawa IeyoshiTokugawa Ieyoshi was the 12th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.He was the second son of the 11th shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, and appointed Mizuno Tadakuni to conduct the Tenpo reform....
becomes the 12th shogunShogunA was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
of the bakufuTokugawa shogunateThe 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...
government.
His time in office was marked by an era of pleasure, excess, and corruption, which ended in the disastrous Tenpō
Tenpo
was a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
Famine of 1832-1837, in which thousands are known to have perished.
Eras of Ienari's bakufu
The years in which Ienari was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.- TenmeiTenmeiwas a Japanese era name , also known as Temmei, after An'ei and before Kansei. This period spanned the years from April 1781 through January 1789. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1781–1789) - KanseiKanseiwas a after Tenmei and before Kyōwa. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1789–1801) - KyōwaKyowawas a after Kansei and before Bunka. This period spanned the years from February 1801 through February 1804. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1801–1804) - BunkaBunkawas a after Kyōwa and before Bunsei. The period spanned the years from January 1804 to April 1818. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
(1804–1818) - BunseiBunseiwas a after Bunka and before Tenpō. This period spanned the years from April 1818 through December 1830. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1818–1830) - TenpōTenpowas a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
(1830–1844)