Tokugawa (Mito)

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Tokugawa coat of arms
Mito residence in Edo
Mito secondary residence in Edo

The Mito-Tokugawa ( Japanese 水 戸 徳 川 家 , Mito Tokugawa-ke ) were a family of the Japanese sword nobility ( Buke ), and one of the three families ( Gosanke ), who descended from the youngest sons of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasus and thus to the Shinpan- Daimyō belonged. With an income of 250,000 koku , they were the smallest of the three branch families, but produced two influential princes in Mitsukuni and Nariaki.

The family's art treasures and documents are now in the Shōkōkan Tokugawa Hakubutsukan Museum ( 彰 考 館 徳 川 博物館 ) in Mito , in the former retirement home of Tokugawa Mitsukuni Seisansō ( 西山 荘 ) in Hitachi-Ōta and in the Tōkyō Reference Room in Setagaya . The family's possessions are managed by the Tokugawa Museum ( 徳 川 ミ ュ ー ジ ア ム ), formerly Seifu Meitokukai ( 水 府 明 徳 会 ) foundation , the chairman of which is the head of the Mito-Tokugawa.

Main line

  • Yorifusa ( 頼 房 , 1603–1661), the ninth and youngest son of Ieyasu, was appointed head of one of the three families that were to ensure the succession of the Tokugawa in the event that the Tokugawa residing in Edo should remain without descendants. Yorifusa initially received Shimotsuma ( Hitachi Province ) with 100,000 koku, but was then transferred to Mito (Hitachi) with 350,000 koku. He and his descendants resided there until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
  • Mitsukuni ( 光 圀 , 1628–1701) was the third son of Yorifusa, but was determined to succeed his father because of his intelligence. He cultivated literature and history with a focus on antiquity and the Middle Ages and gathered scholars to work with him. From 1657 he was busy with the publication of the history of Greater Japan ( 大 日本史 ). When his father died, he held off some vassals who wanted to follow him into death ( junshi ) and made requests to Bakufu to forbid this custom.
    When Mitsukuni heard of the arrival of the learned Chinese Zhu Shunshui , he invited him and made him co-editor of his historical work. At the same time he distanced himself from China, preferred native literature to Chinese, was for Shinto and against excessive religious and ethical influence of China. So he had thousands of Buddhist temples destroyed in his domain and only left out a few old temples.
    He emphasized the exemplary loyalty of Kusunoki Masashige (1294–1336) and his son Masatsura (1326–1348) to the emperor. Since he did not find it right to have become daimyo in place of his older brother, he determined his son Tsunaeda as his successor. He left the daimyat to him in 1675 and devoted himself exclusively to his studies. A large part of the historical work was published in 1697, but it was not finished until 1715.
    Mitsukuni built the convertible garden created by his ancestors with the name Kōrakuen , which is quite well preserved , within his residence in Edo . Mitsukuni is also known by his nicknames Mito Kōmon , Gikō Seizan and others.
  • Nariaki ( 斉 昭 , 1800–1860) is known as a proponent of a strong empire and thus stood in opposition to Bakufu. During this time when Japan was threatened by western foreign countries, Nariaki promoted military training in the Kōdōkan school he founded in 1841 , which aroused the suspicion of Bakufu. So in 1844 his arrest and that of his colleague Fujita Tōko took place. It was only when Perry appeared in 1853 that he was released and charged with the coastal defense. He organized the construction of the forts in the bay in front of Shinagawa and the construction of arsenals in Edo and Osaka, while remaining a staunch opponent of Ii Naosuke , who took an accommodating attitude towards foreigners. Nariaki tried in 1858 to get his son Keiki to succeed the Shogun Tokugawa Iesada , but failed: Naosuke got his candidate, Tokugawa Iemochi from the Tokugawa-Kii house, through. Nariaki saw the assassination of Naosuke, but never saw his son become a shogun.
  • Akitake ( 昭武 , 1853-1910) was the last daimyo in Mito. After 1868 prince.

Branch lines (Matsudaira)

Coat of arms of the Mito branch lines

1st branch line

  • Matsudaira Yorishige ( 松 平 頼 重 , 1622–1695), the eldest son of Yorifusa, received Shimodate ( 下 館 ; Hitachi) with 30,000 koku in 1639 . He was transferred to Takamatsu ( Sanuki Province ) in 1642 , where he and his descendants resided with 120,000 koku until 1868. After 1868 Vice Count.

2nd branch line

  • Matsudaira Yorimoto ( 松 平 頼 元 , 1619-1693), son of Yorishiges, was raised in 1662 to daimyo.
    • Yorisada ( 頼 貞 , 1664-1744) received 1700 Moriyama ( 守 山 ; Mutsu ) with 20,000 koku. After 1868 Vice Count.

3rd branch line

  • Matsudaira Yoritaka ( 松 平 頼 隆 , 1630–1707), son of Yorifusa, resided from 1700 in a permanent house ( jinya ) in Fuchū ( 府中 ; Hitachi) with 10,000 koku. After 1868 Vice Count.

4th branch line

  • Matsudaira Yorio ( 松 平 頼 雄 , 1630–1697), son of Yorifusa, resided from 1682 in a permanent house in Shishido ( 宍 戸 ; Hitachi) with 10,000 koku. After 1868 Vice Count.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Today a district of Chikusei .
  2. ↑ Today district of Kōriyama .
  3. ↑ Today district of Ishioka .
  4. ↑ Today district of Kasama .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Furusawa, Tsunetoshi: Kamon daichō . Kin'ensha, n.d., ISBN 4-321-31720-7 , p. 184.
  2. ↑ a b Excerpt from the "Hongo" district map from around 1850.
  3. ^ The Tokugawa Museum. (No longer available online.) Tokugawa Museum, archived from the original on February 21, 2015 ; Retrieved March 7, 2015 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / tokugawa.gr.jp

literature

  • Papinot, Edmond: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprinted by Tuttle, 1972 edition of 1910 edition. ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .
  • Miura, Masayuki (Ed.): Shiro to jinya. Tokoku-hen. Gakken, 2006. ISBN 978-4-05-604378-5 .
  • Miura, Masayuki (Ed.): Shiro to jinya. Saikoku-hen. Gakken, 2006. ISBN 978-4-05-604379-2 .
  • Miyaji, Saichiro (Ed.): Bakumatsu shoshu saigo-no hanshu-tachi. Higashinihon-hen. Jinbunsha, 1997. ISBN 978-4-7959-1905-1 .
  • Miyaji, Saichiro (Ed.): Bakumatsu shoshu saigo-no hanshu-tachi. Nishinihon-hen. Jinbunsha, 1997. ISBN 978-4-7959-1906-8 .

Web links