was a Japanese noble lady and politician from a prominent Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

s. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of

Saitō Toshimitsu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was a castle commander of Kuroi Castle. He was a retainer of Inaba Ittetsu, but later joined Akechi Mitsuhide. Oda Nobunaga was not pleased that Toshimitsu chose to work under Mitsuhide, and i ...

(who was a retainer of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

). She was the

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

of the third Tokugawa

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...

Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, w ...

. Lady Kasuga was one of the best politicians in the Edo period. She stood in front of negotiations with the Imperial Court and contributed to the stabilization of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. Kasuga was one of the most powerful figures in the Ōoku (the quarters in

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

where the women related to the Shogun family resided) . She is counted alongside Matsudaira Nobutsuna and Yagyu Muneyori as one of the Three Tripod Legs, who supported and propped up Iemitsu.

Early career

Saitō Fuku was from the

Saitō clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that ruled Mino province in the Sengoku period. The clan appropriated the name of a defunct samurai clan named "Saitō" that had previously hailed from Echizen province and claimed descent from Fujiwara Toshih ...

, a prominent samurai house that had served for generations as deputy military governors of

Mino province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

. She was born in Kuroi Castle of

Tanba province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō sys ...

(comprising modern-day Hyogo and Kyoto Prefectures), which is where her father's territory was then located. Tanba Province was under the overlordship of

, and her father,

, as his retainer, was enfeoffed on that territory by Mitsuhide. Her mother's father was Inaba Yoshimichi. Fuku's father joined Akechi Mitsuhide's rebellion to kill

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

during the

Honnō-ji Incident The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by ...

. After Nobunaga was assassinated by Mitsuhide, the Saito and

Akechi clan The is a branch of the Toki clan, which is descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Akechi became the head, soryo of the Toki after the Toki fell to the Saitō c ...

were defeated by

Hashiba Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

during the

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, Akechi Mitsuhide, ...

. Then Fuku's father, Toshimitsu, retired to his castle; later he was caught in Omi province, near

Sakamoto Castle was a lakeside castle in the Sengoku period, located in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Akechi Mitsuhide was the commander of the castle. History After the Siege of Mount Hiei, Sakamoto was given to Akechi Mitsuhide who built Sakamoto Castle u ...

, and was executed. It is thought that his various brothers, having become defeated and hunted warriors, wandered from place to place trying to escape the enemy. One theory holds that after the Battle of Yamazaki, she had relied on Chosokabe Motochika, her uncle, for help, and had spent some time at Oko Castle in

Tosa province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

Because Fuku was a woman, she was spared execution and was raised by her maternal relative, aristocrat Sanjonishi Kinkuni. After being adopted, she received the highest education as an aristocrat of the privileged class. She learned the arts considered essential for the nobles of the Imperial court, including the arts of calligraphy,

waka poetry is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two differ ...

and mixing incense. She was later adopted by her uncle, Inaba Shigemichi, and became the wife of

Inaba Masanari , also known as Inaba Masashige and sometimes known as ''Mino-no-kami'', was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. He served the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans, and became a ''daimyō'' in the early Edo p ...

, a retainer of Kobayakawa Hidekai During the marriage she had three sons, including Inaba Masakatsu, and an adopted son,

Hotta Masatoshi was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in Shimōsa Province, and top government advisor and official in the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He served as '' rōjū'' (chief advisor) to ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ietsuna from 1679–80, and as ''Tairō'' (head of ...

Joining the Tokugawa clan

In 1600, during the

Sekigahara campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked ...

, Fuku's husband, Inaba Masanari, served Kobayakawa Hideaki in the Western army led by

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the ...

. Due to the tensions Hideaki had with Mitsunari and the progression of the war being favorable to the Eastern army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, it is said that Fuku and Masanari achieved the great feat of making Hideaki change sides and join the Eastern army. After Hideaki joined Ieyasu, Mitsunari's army was defeated, as a result of which the Fuku family obtained a large amount of spoils of war. After that, she took the step of divorcing her husband Masanari to become a wet nurse in the shogunal family and, in 1604, was formally appointed as the wet nurse of Takechiyo (the childhood name of

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, w ...

), the legitimate son and heir of the second shogun,

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. She was recommended to

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

Itakura Katsushige was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi–Momoyama Period to early Edo period. He fought at the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was also an ordained Shin Buddhist priest. Katsuhige's daimyō family claimed descent ...

for the position of wet nurse for Tokugawa Iemitsu, but there is a theory that Ieyasu chose her on his own. They say that Fuku's excellent pedigree, refined and aristocratic education and the military exploits of her ex-husband Masanari were all positive factors in her selection as a wet nurse. She was chosen for the job as a payment because she helped persuade

Kobayakawa Hideaki (1577 – December 1, 1602) was the fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada and the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was gained the rank of ''Saemon no Kami'' (左衛門督) or in China ''Shikkingo'' (執金吾) at genpuku and held the court title ...

to join the Eastern Army in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

Shogun's Wet-nurse

Lady Kasuga joined the Tokugawa clan as a wet nurse to

, heir of Tokugawa Hidetada. During her lifetime she accumulated high political prestige, being responsible for numerous negotiations with the Imperial court, maintenance in the shogunate cabinet, hiring officials and stabilizing the Ooku system. According to "Kasuga no Tsubone Ryakufu", biography that was completed in 1686 after Iemitsu's death, Lady Kasuga protested against Iemitsu - who had attempted suicide out of anguish that his parents, Hidetada and Oeyo, were very fond of the younger biological brother of Iemitsu,

Tokugawa Tadanaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. The son of the second ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada, his elder brother was the third ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemitsu. Life Often called ''Suruga Dainagon'' (the major counsellor of Suruga), ...

, and in 1615 she appealed directly to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was retired living in Sunpu, asking him to confirm that the succession from the Shogunal would pass to Iemitsu. One theory holds that Lady Kasuga's direct petition to Ieyasu was rejected, and it was only after Ieyasu visited Edo Castle and saw the way Oeyo was worshiping his younger brother that he reconsidered. On the other hand, she also established the '' Ōoku,'' the women's quarters, at

; being appointed to the position of Jōrō Otoshiyori (上臈御年寄) or the senior ladyship, recommended by the first ''

Midaidokoro The ''midaidokoro'' (御台所) was the official wife of the '' shōgun''. During the Edo period, she resided in the '' Ōoku'' of Edo Castle and sometimes wielded considerable political power behind the scenes. Heian period * Miyoshi Takako, wi ...

'',

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a prominently-placed female figure in the Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during ...

, which gave her the right to decide all official business related to the Ooku, and as such her de facto power, backed by the Shogun's authority, exceeded that of the Shogun's

Rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''shō ...

(Council of Elders). In 1629, when Iemitsu was stricken with smallpox, she visited Ise Jingu Shrine to pray that he would be cured, Ofuku (Kasuga) traveled to the capital her way back where she had an audience with the

Empress Meisho An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

and

Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and was the first emperor to reign entirely during the Edo period. This 17th-century sovereign was n ...

at the Imperial Court in Kyoto. But with her pedigree as a daughter of the Saito clan, a warrior house, Ofuku was not qualified to enter the imperial court, so she tried to arrange to be adopted by Sanjonishi Kinkuni, who was both her blood relative (Ofuku was the great-great-grandchild of Sanjonishi Kineda) and had raised her when she was younger. Kinkuni had already died, however, so she had no choice but to become a sister of Kinkuni's son Sanjonishi Saneeda instead; with this she was now qualified, as a full member of the aristocratic Sanjonishi family, to visit the palace, and succeeded in having an audience with Emperor Gomizunoo and with the Empress Kazuko, and was subsequently awarded the name 'Kasuga no Tsubone' and given the Junior Third Rank at court, and moreover was honored with tempai (sake given by the Emperor). Later she was promoted to the extraordinarily high Court rank of second class; and after this time, when Lady Kasuga and Empress consort Tokugawa Masako (

and

Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

's daughter) broke a

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

by visiting the imperial court as a commoner, Emperor Go-Mizunoo abdicated, embarrassed, and Meisho became

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

. The ''shōgun,'' Iemitsu'','' was now the uncle of the sitting

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

. During her life time, she had a fortune equivalent to over 100,000 koku.Murdock, James. (1996)
''A History of Japan,'' p. 3.
/ref> After the death of Oeyo (Iemitsu's mother), Kasuga no Tsubone exerted herself to the utmost to find consorts for him, convincing a succession of women including Eikoin, the abbess of Keiko-in Temple in Ise Province, as well as Hoju-in and Junsho-in, to enter the Ooku.

Death

Kasuga no Tsubone died in October 1643 at the age of 64. The poem she wrote upon her death reads, "As it sinks into the West, the moon beckons me to transcend the law; today at last, I shall surely escape the Burning House (a Buddhist metaphor for the current world of passions and agony)." Her grave is in Rinshō-in, a temple in

Bunkyō is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived th ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

; the temple possesses a portrait of Kasuga by Kanō Tan'yū. The Kasuga neighborhood of Bunkyō takes its name from her. Another grave is in

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. Kasuga no Tsubone was of a comparable court rank position to

Hojo Masako Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...

and

Taira no Tokiko was a Japanese aristocrat from the Heian period. She was the concubine of Taira no Kiyomori, mother of Taira no Tokuko, and grandmother of Emperor Antoku. Later she took the vows to become a nun, after which she was generally referred to by her ...

, being one of the most prominent figures of their time.

Figures Lady Kasuga Employed

* Sanjonishi Saneeda , who had created a plan by which Kasuga no Tsubone could visit the Imperial Palace, was appointed to the position of Buke tenso (the official in charge of communications between the shogunate and the Imperial Court) by the Court, and in the end rose to the position of Minister of the Right. * Kasuga's descendant Maeda Harunaga was welcomed by the shogunate as a member of an elite family (a 'Koke'). From then on, he referred to himself as a member of the Maeda clan, with whom they had a connection. * Eiko-in, whom Kasuga no Tsubone had fervently wanted to join the Ooku, was a daughter of the Rokujo clan, a family of waka poets who were associated with the Sanjonishi family. * Kasuga's younger brother was also welcomed by the shogunate as a member of an elite family, so he began referring to himself as a member of the Toda clan, with whom they had a connection. * Kasuga also endeavored to revive the fortunes of the Inaba clan, even arranging for her ex-husband Masanari Inaba, who had become a ronin (masterless samurai), to be adopted as a Karo (chief retainers) of Matsudaira Tadamasa; subsequently, he was promoted to the status of daimyo. *Many of Iemitsu's pageboys managed to rise in rank as far as the rank of Roju (member of the Shogun's council of elders), and among this group many were relatives of Kasuga. Particularly famous is the case of her biological son Inaba Masakatsu and the case of Hotta Masamori, her grandson by marriage. * When her niece Soshinni and her husband, Machino Yukikazu, became ronin as a result of the Kaieki (demotion) of his overlords, the Gamo clan, Kasuga no Tsubone employed Soshin-ni as her aide and arranged to have Soshinni's granddaughter (from a daughter who had married into another family) Jisho-in enter the O-oku. Ofuri became a concubine of Iemitsu and gave birth to Chiyohime. Yukikazu was also able to serve as a direct retainer of the shogun. *

Okaji no Kata (December 7, 1578September 17, 1642) or Lady Okaji, was a Japanese noble lady and aristocrat who lived during the Sengoku period and at the beginning of Edo period. She was the founder of Eishō-ji temple in Kamakura and was also a concubine o ...

(Ieyasu's trusted concubine) was employed by Kasuga after Ieyasu's death to raise children related to the Tokugawa clan.

Honours

* Japanese Court Upper Rank:

Junior Second Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the poli ...

(''従二位'', 1629)

Popular Culture

* ''Jotei Kasuga no Tsubon''e (1990, directed by

Sadao Nakajima is a Japanese film director and screenwriter (born 8 August, 1934) known for his work in yakuza films and jidaigeki. Career Born in Chiba Prefecture, he attended Hibiya High School and then the University of Tokyo before joining the Tōei studi ...

) * ''Kasuga no Tsubone'' (1989 NHK taiga drama) played by Reiko Ōhara. * '' Ōoku'' (2004) portrayed by Yuki Matsushita * '' Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' (2005 anime and manga) voiced by

Kimiko Saitō is a Japanese voice actress and narrator from Nagano Prefecture. She is affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of her major roles are Rem in ''Death Note'', Sister in '' Eden of the East'', Chieko in ''Princess Jellyfish'', Hiroko in ''Blue Drop'' ...

. * '' Nioh'' (2017 video game) under her birth name Fuku, where she is an

onmyōji was one of the official positions belonging to the of the Ministry of the Center under the ritsuryō system in ancient Japan, and was assigned as a technical officer in charge of divination and geomorphology based on the theory of the yin-an ...

apprenticed under Tenkai * '' Fate/Grand Order'' (2015 video game) appeared in the in-game event Tokugawa Kaiten Meikyū - Ōoku as a major supporting character, she is fused with the Indian goddess Pārvatī and accompanied the player and their allies to navigate the fictionalize version of Ōoku that had been transformed into a labyrinth.

Notes

References

* Murdock, James. (1996)
''A History of Japan.''
London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

External links

Jotei: Kasuga no tsubone
at IMDB {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasuga, Lady 1579 births 1643 deaths 16th-century Japanese women 17th-century Japanese women Inaba clan People of Sengoku-period Japan Samurai Saitō clan Wet nurses 16th-century women politicians 17th-century women politicians People of Edo-period Japan