Ōta Tokitoshi (太田時敏, 16 January 1839 – 20 January 1915) was a samurai of Morioka and a Sanbongi Shinden Goyogakari (new rice field affairs official in Sanbongi) of the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. He was

Nitobe Inazō was a Japanese agronomist, diplomat, political scientist, politician, and writer. He studied at Sapporo Agricultural College under the influence of its first president William S. Clark and later went to the United States to study agricultural ...

's uncle. He was named Renhachiro (練八郎) in his youth.Iwate Historical Biography Committee.�
岩手県姓氏歴史人物大辞典
��1998, pp. 971-974.

Life

Ōta Tokitoshi was born on January 16, 1839. His father was Tsutō (傳), a chief retainer of Shichinohe Domain. His paternal grandfather was Koretami (維民), atactician. He was adopted by Ota Kingoro (太田金五郎), a chief retainer of Morioka Domain. In 1863, he was appointed Sanbongi Shinden Goyogakari (new rice field affairs official in Sanbongi). In 1868, he participated in the Boshin War as the shogunate side.Ōdate-shi 1978, pp. 372-383. After that, he adopted

. He managed a clothing store called “Tokitoshido（時敏堂）” in Tokyo. Inazō used his uncle Tokitoshi as a model for his book “Bushidō”, and the book's door had a dedication from Inazō to Tokitoshi. He also served as the Metropolitan Police Department.He also served as the decree for the Nanbu (南部) family. On January 18, 1915, he became ill and some came to visit him. He died on January 20, 1915.

Family

Depending upon the source, Ōta Tokitoshi and the entire Nitobe clan are descendants of either the Minamoto clan or the Taira clan (specifically, 's branch). Tsunetane's grandson, (常秀, Tsunetane's son Tanemasa(胤正)'s son) took over Nitobe in

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

. Tsunehide continued inheritance with Tsunechika (常親), Yasutane (泰胤), Tsunesato (常邑), Tsunesada (常貞)、Sadatsuna (貞綱), Sadahiro (貞広), Hiromori (広盛), Tsunemochi (常望) Tsunetada (常忠), Tsunenobu (常信), and Nobumori (信盛) from generation to generation. Sadatsuna lived in Nitobe and died in 1309. During the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

, Sadahiro and his son Hiromori both fought on the

Southern Court The were a set of four emperors ( Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitivel ...

side. Sadahiro died in 1337. Hiromori died in Shinano in 1351 during the war. Tsunetada and his son Tsunenobu both served

Ashikaga Mitsukane (1378–1409) was a Nanboku-chō period warrior, and the Kamakura-fu's third Kantō kubō, (''Shōgun'' Deputy). Being the eldest son, he succeeded his father Ujimitsu in 1398 at the age of 21 when he died during an epidemic. Like his father ...

and Mochiuji of the Kantō kubō. After Tsunenobu's death, his son Nobumori returned to Nitobe. Nobumori's daughter was Moriyori(盛頼)'s wife. As for the inheritor, Nobumori welcomed the clan, Motoyoshi Narizumi(元良成澄)'s child, Moriyori (盛頼) as an adopted child, and became Nitobe for the first time. Moriyori continued inheritance with Yoritane (頼胤), Yoshitane (良胤), Tanemochi (胤望), Yorinaga (頼長), Taneshige (胤重), and Tokiharu (春治) from generation to generation. Tokiharu's third son Tsunetsuna (常綱, popular name was Densuke(伝助)) split up and became a Hanamaki Kyūjin (upper class retainers). Before Tsunetsuna became Kyūjin, Tsunetsuna served Nanbu Masanao. After Tsunetsuna's death, Tsunetsuna's second son Sadaaki (貞紹, popular name was Denzō(伝蔵)) inherited. After Sadaaki, Yoshiaki (義紹, popular names were Kyūsuke(九助), Densuke(伝助), and Heizo(平蔵)) inherited. After Yoshiaki's death, Yoshiaki's nephew (Yoshiaki's brother Tsunekatsu(常佸)'s son) Tsunemochi (常以) inherited. After Tsunemochi's death, Tsunemochi's brother Tsunetoki (常言, popular name was Denzō(伝蔵)) inherited. After Tsunetoki, Tsuneyoshi (常贇, popular name was Densuke(伝助)) inherited. Tsuneyoshi was Tokitoshi's Great-grandfather. Tsuneyoshi married Tokitoshi's great-grandmother Oei (おゑい, daughter of Ōta Hidenori (太田秀典) of Hanamaki). Tsuneyoshi Died in 1803. Tokitoshi's grandfather was Koretami (維民, Inheritance to the reign of

Nanbu Toshitaka was a mid-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 10th ''daimyō'' of Morioka Domain in northern Japan. He was the 36th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. His courtesy title was ''Daizen-no-daifu'', and his Court rank was Junior 4th Rank, Lowe ...

.) Tokitoshi's father was Tsunezumi (常澄, Nitobe Tsutō). Tokitoshi's brother was Tsunenori (常訓, Jūjirō), and Tokitoshi's nephew were Shichirō (七郎) and Inanosuke (稲之助, Inazō).

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ota Tokitoshi Japanese police officers People of the Boshin War People from Iwate Prefecture 1839 births 1915 deaths