was the 11th ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Fukui Domain under the

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 characteriz ...

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 ...

. in

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

.Burks, Ardath W. (1985)
''The Modernizers: overseas students, foreign employees, and Meiji Japan'', p. 47
Shigemasa was born 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 the ...

as the eldest son of

Tokugawa Munetada was a Japanese samurai of the mid-Edo period who was the founder of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family, one of the Gosankyō, the three lesser branches of the Tokugawa family. He was the fourth son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shōgun with his ...

, founder of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family, one of the ''

Gosankyō The were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan. They were descended from the eighth of the fifteen Tokugawa shōguns, Yoshimune (1684–1751). Yoshimune established the ''Gosankyo'' to augment (or perhaps to replace) the ''Gosanke'' ...

'', the three lesser branches of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. His mother was a daughter of the ''kampaku''

Ichijō Kaneka , son of regent Takatsukasa Fusasuke and adopted son of regent Kaneteru, was a ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the Edo period (1603–1868) of Japan. He held a regents position kampaku from 1737 to 1746. He married a daughter of Asano Tsunanaga, four ...

. His childhood name was Ogimaru (於義丸) given by his grandfather, ''

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 Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' 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. Lineage Yoshimune ...

. In 1747, on the order of his uncle, ''Shōgun''

Tokugawa Ieshige Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川家重 (January 28, 1712 – July 13, 1761) was the ninth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The first son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, his mother was the daughter of Ōkubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata. ...

, he became the adopted son and heir of

Matsudaira Munenori was the 10th ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate in Echizen Province. Biography Munenori was the younger son of Matsudaira Chikakiyo, who was the fourth son of Matsudaira Naonori of Shirakawa Domain. Naonori w ...

of Fukui Domain. He became ''daimyō'' two years later on Muninori's death. At the time, he was called by his youth name of Matsudaira Kogorō; however, in 1751 he underwent the ''

genpuku is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD). /sup> This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participat ...

'' ceremony and received a character from Tokugawa Ieshige's name to become Matsudaira Shigemasa. In 1755, his court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade and his

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

was ''Sakon'e-gon-shōjō'' and ''Echizen-no-kami''. Due to his youth, he played little role in domain affairs, which were handled by his senior retainers. The ''

tenryō 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 ...

'' territories previously administered by the domain reverted to direct shogunal control, resulting in a severe loss of revenue. This problem was made worse by poor harvests and flooding in certain areas of the domain. Although betrothed to the sixth daughter of

Tokugawa Munekatsu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled the Takasu Domain and then the Owari Domain. As lord of Takasu he used the name . His childhood name was Daigoro (代五郎). Family * Father: Matsudaira Tomoaki (1678-1728), son of Tokugaw ...

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 ...

, Shigemasa died in 1758 before his marriage and without heir. His graves are at the clan temple of Kaian-ji in

Shinagawa is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

Tokyo and Unshō-ji in Fukui.

External links

"Fukui" at Edo 300
*
越前松平氏 (Echizen Matsudaira) at ReichsArchiv.jp

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsdaira Shigemasa 1743 births 1758 deaths Shinpan daimyo Fukui-Matsudaira clan Tokugawa clan People of Edo-period Japan