Tokugawa Yoshimune
Encyclopedia
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
.
of the Tokugawa clan
. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, well aware of the extinction of the Minamoto
line in 1219, had realized that his direct descendants might die out, leaving the Tokugawa family at risk of extinction. Thus, while his son Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun, he selected three other sons to establish the gosanke
, hereditary houses which would provide a shogun if there were no male heir. The three gosanke
were the Owari
, Kii
, and Mito
branches.
Yoshimune was from the branch of Kii. The founder of the Kii house was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons, Tokugawa Yorinobu
. Ieyasu appointed him daimyo
of Kii. Yorinobu's son, Tokugawa Mitsusada
, succeeded him. Two of Mitsusada's sons succeeded him, and when they died, Tokugawa Yoshimune, Mitsusada's fourth son, became daimyo of Kii in 1705. Later, he became shogun.
Yoshimune was closely related to the Tokugawa shoguns. His grandfather, Tokugawa Yorinobu, was a brother of second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada
, while Yoshimune's father, Tokugawa Mitsusada, was a first cousin of third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu
. Yoshimune thus was a second cousin to the fourth and fifth shoguns (both brothers) Tokugawa Ietsuna
and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
, as well as a second cousin to Tokugawa Tsunashige, whose son became Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu
.
was ruling in Edo as shogun. Kii was a rich region of over 500,000 koku
, but it was still in debt. Even during Mitsusada's time, Kii was in deep debt and had a lot to pay back to the shogunate.
In 1697, Genroku underwent the rites of passage and took the name Tokugawa Shinnosuke. In 1705, when Shinnosuke was just 21 years old, his father Mitsusada and two older brothers died. Thus, the ruling shogun Tokugawa Ienobu
appointed him daimyo of Kii. He took the name Tokugawa Yorikata and began to administer the province. Nonetheless, great financial debt which the domain had owed to the shogunate since his father's and even grandfather's time continued to burden the finances. What made things worse was that in 1707, a tsunami
destroyed and killed many in the coastal areas of Kii Province. Yorikata did his best to try to stabilize things in Kii, but relied on leadership from Edo.
In 1712, Shogun Ienobu died, and was succeeded by his son, the boy-shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu
. Now, Yorikata decided that he could not rely on the conservative Confucianists like Arai Hakuseki
in Edo and must do his best to stabilize things in Kii. But before he could plan things in effect, Shogun Ietsugu died in early 1716. He was only seven years old, and died without an heir. The other children of the late Shogun Ienobu were too young to rule, thus it was decided by the shogunate to select the next shogun from one of the cadet lines.
Yoshimune is considered the best of the Tokugawa shoguns per Screech. Others, such as George Sansom, feel that Ieyasu and Hidetada were the best generals and administrators.
Yoshimune established the gosankyo
to augment (or perhaps to replace) the gosanke
. Two of his sons, together with the second son of his successor Ieshige, became the founders of the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi and Shimizu lines. Unlike the gosanke, they did not rule domains. Still, they remained prominent until the end of Tokugawa rule, and some later shoguns were chosen from the Hitotsubashi line.
Yoshimune is known for his financial reforms. He dismissed the conservative adviser Arai Hakuseki
and he began what would come to be known as the Kyōhō Reforms
.
Although foreign books had been strictly forbidden since 1640, Yoshimune relaxed the rules in 1720, starting an influx of foreign books and their translations into Japan, and initiating the development of Western studies, or rangaku
.
In 1745, Yoshimune retired, taking the title Ōgosho and leaving his public post to his oldest son. The title is the one that Tokugawa Ieyasu had taken on retiring in favor of his son Hidetada, who in turn took the same title on retirement.
Yoshimune died in on the 20th day of the 5th month of the year Kan'en 4.
. This jidaigeki
included a few factual aspects of the career of Yoshimune, although the program was mostly fiction. The actor who portrayed him reprise his role in Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals
.
The 1995 Taiga drama
Hachidai Shogun Yoshimune portrayed the life of Yoshimune in the NHK
Sunday prime time
slot. Toshiyuki Nishida
portrayed the adult Yoshimune in the James Miki series.
On January 2, 2008, the annual TV Tokyo
jidaigeki spectacular Tokugawa Fūun-roku chronicles events in the life of Yoshimune.
Yoshimune was also a minor character in the manga, Red Hot Chili Samurai by Yoshitsugu Katagiri.
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...
, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada
Tokugawa Mitsusada
was a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period . He was the son and heir of Tokugawa Yorinobu and a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu; among his sons was the eighth Tokugawa shogun Yoshimune. A daughter of his married Ichijō Kaneteru....
, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu
Tokugawa Yorinobu
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.Born under the name Nagafukumaru, he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Oman-no-kata. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 200,000 koku, as his fief. Mito had formerly belonged to his older brother,...
, and the great-grandson 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...
.
Lineage
Yoshimune was not the son of any former shogun. Rather, he was a member of a cadet branchCadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
of the Tokugawa clan
Tokugawa 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:...
. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, well aware of the extinction of the Minamoto
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
line in 1219, had realized that his direct descendants might die out, leaving the Tokugawa family at risk of extinction. Thus, while his son Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...
was the second shogun, he selected three other sons to establish the gosanke
Gosanke
The , also called simply Gosanke or even Sanke, were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu and Yorifusa and allowed to provide a shogun in case of need. The three houses were called Owari House of Tokugawa,...
, hereditary houses which would provide a shogun if there were no male heir. The three gosanke
Gosanke
The , also called simply Gosanke or even Sanke, were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu and Yorifusa and allowed to provide a shogun in case of need. The three houses were called Owari House of Tokugawa,...
were the Owari
Owari Domain
The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at 619,500 koku, and was the largest holding of the...
, Kii
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 Mito
Mito Domain
was a prominent feudal domain in Japan during the Edo period. Its capital was the city of Mito, and it covered much of present-day Ibaraki Prefecture. Beginning with the appointment of Tokugawa Yorifusa by his father, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in 1608, the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan...
branches.
Yoshimune was from the branch of Kii. The founder of the Kii house was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons, Tokugawa Yorinobu
Tokugawa Yorinobu
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.Born under the name Nagafukumaru, he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Oman-no-kata. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 200,000 koku, as his fief. Mito had formerly belonged to his older brother,...
. Ieyasu appointed him 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 Kii. Yorinobu's son, Tokugawa Mitsusada
Tokugawa Mitsusada
was a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period . He was the son and heir of Tokugawa Yorinobu and a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu; among his sons was the eighth Tokugawa shogun Yoshimune. A daughter of his married Ichijō Kaneteru....
, succeeded him. Two of Mitsusada's sons succeeded him, and when they died, Tokugawa Yoshimune, Mitsusada's fourth son, became daimyo of Kii in 1705. Later, he became shogun.
Yoshimune was closely related to the Tokugawa shoguns. His grandfather, Tokugawa Yorinobu, was a brother of second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...
, while Yoshimune's father, Tokugawa Mitsusada, was a first cousin of third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...
. Yoshimune thus was a second cousin to the fourth and fifth shoguns (both brothers) Tokugawa Ietsuna
Tokugawa Ietsuna
was the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Early Life :...
and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
, as well as a second cousin to Tokugawa Tsunashige, whose son became Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu
Tokugawa Ienobu
was the sixth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great grandson of Tokugawa...
.
Early life (1684–1716)
Tokugawa Yoshimune was born in 1684 in the rich region of Kii, a region which was then ruled by his father, Tokugawa Mitsusada. Yoshimune's childhood name was Tokugawa Genroku. At that time, his second cousin Tokugawa TsunayoshiTokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
was ruling in Edo as shogun. Kii was a rich region of over 500,000 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...
, but it was still in debt. Even during Mitsusada's time, Kii was in deep debt and had a lot to pay back to the shogunate.
In 1697, Genroku underwent the rites of passage and took the name Tokugawa Shinnosuke. In 1705, when Shinnosuke was just 21 years old, his father Mitsusada and two older brothers died. Thus, the ruling shogun Tokugawa Ienobu
Tokugawa Ienobu
was the sixth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great grandson of Tokugawa...
appointed him daimyo of Kii. He took the name Tokugawa Yorikata and began to administer the province. Nonetheless, great financial debt which the domain had owed to the shogunate since his father's and even grandfather's time continued to burden the finances. What made things worse was that in 1707, a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
destroyed and killed many in the coastal areas of Kii Province. Yorikata did his best to try to stabilize things in Kii, but relied on leadership from Edo.
In 1712, Shogun Ienobu died, and was succeeded by his son, the boy-shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu
Tokugawa Ietsugu
Tokugawa Ietsugu; 徳川 家継 was the seventh shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty, who ruled from 1713 until his death in 1716...
. Now, Yorikata decided that he could not rely on the conservative Confucianists like Arai Hakuseki
Arai Hakuseki
was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
in Edo and must do his best to stabilize things in Kii. But before he could plan things in effect, Shogun Ietsugu died in early 1716. He was only seven years old, and died without an heir. The other children of the late Shogun Ienobu were too young to rule, thus it was decided by the shogunate to select the next shogun from one of the cadet lines.
Shogun Yoshimune (1716-1745)
Yoshimune succeeded to the post of the shogun in Shōtoku 1 (1716). His term of his shogunate would last for 30 years.Yoshimune is considered the best of the Tokugawa shoguns per Screech. Others, such as George Sansom, feel that Ieyasu and Hidetada were the best generals and administrators.
Yoshimune established the gosankyo
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...
to augment (or perhaps to replace) the gosanke
Gosanke
The , also called simply Gosanke or even Sanke, were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu and Yorifusa and allowed to provide a shogun in case of need. The three houses were called Owari House of Tokugawa,...
. Two of his sons, together with the second son of his successor Ieshige, became the founders of the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi and Shimizu lines. Unlike the gosanke, they did not rule domains. Still, they remained prominent until the end of Tokugawa rule, and some later shoguns were chosen from the Hitotsubashi line.
Yoshimune is known for his financial reforms. He dismissed the conservative adviser Arai Hakuseki
Arai Hakuseki
was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
and he began what would come to be known as the Kyōhō Reforms
Kyoho Reforms
The were an array of economic policies introduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1736 Japan. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Yoshimune, encompassing the first twenty years of his shogunate....
.
Although foreign books had been strictly forbidden since 1640, Yoshimune relaxed the rules in 1720, starting an influx of foreign books and their translations into Japan, and initiating the development of Western studies, or rangaku
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
.
In 1745, Yoshimune retired, taking the title Ōgosho and leaving his public post to his oldest son. The title is the one that Tokugawa Ieyasu had taken on retiring in favor of his son Hidetada, who in turn took the same title on retirement.
Yoshimune died in on the 20th day of the 5th month of the year Kan'en 4.
Eras of Yoshimune's rule
The years in which Yoshimune was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.- ShōtokuShotoku (era)was a after Hōei and before Kyōhō. This period spanned the years from April 1711 through June 1716. The reigning emperor was .-Change of Era:...
(1711–1716) - KyōhōKyohowas a after Shōtoku and before Gembun. This period spanned the years from July 1716 through April 1736. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
(1716–1736) - GenbunGenbunwas a , also Gembun, after Kyōhō and before Kanpō. This period spanned the years from April 1736 through February 1741. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1736–1741) - KanpōKanpowas a , also known as Kampō, after Genbun and before Enkyō. This period spanned the years from February 1741 through February 1744. The reigning emperor was .-Change of Era:...
(1741–1744) - Enkyō (1744–1748)
In popular media
Tokugawa Yoshimune was the central character of the long-running television series Abarenbo ShogunAbarenbo Shogun
is a Japanese television program on the TV Asahi network. Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun. The program started in 1978 under the title Yoshimune Hyōbanki: Abarenbō Shōgun...
. This jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
included a few factual aspects of the career of Yoshimune, although the program was mostly fiction. The actor who portrayed him reprise his role in Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals
Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals
is the film adaptation of the 2010 & 2011 Kamen Rider Series drama Kamen Rider OOO. The film was released on August 6, 2011, alongside the film for Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger the Movie: The Flying Ghost Ship...
.
The 1995 Taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...
Hachidai Shogun Yoshimune portrayed the life of Yoshimune in the NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
Sunday prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
slot. Toshiyuki Nishida
Toshiyuki Nishida
is a Japanese actor. Outside of Japan, Nishida is best known for his portrayal of Pigsy in the TV series Monkey.Toshiyuki Nishida has received ten Japanese Academy Award nominations, winning twice, for Dun-Huang in 1988 and Gakko and Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 in 1993...
portrayed the adult Yoshimune in the James Miki series.
On January 2, 2008, the annual TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
jidaigeki spectacular Tokugawa Fūun-roku chronicles events in the life of Yoshimune.
Yoshimune was also a minor character in the manga, Red Hot Chili Samurai by Yoshitsugu Katagiri.