was ''

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

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 ...

during mid-

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Biography

Tokugawa Tsugutomo was the 11th son of the 3rd ''

'' of

Tokugawa Tsunanari was ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain during early-Edo period Japan. Biography Tokugawa Tsunanari was the son of the second ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Mitsutomo by his official wife, Chiyohime later Reisen-in, the daughter of ''shōgun'' T ...

by a concubine, who was a commoner, his childhood name was Hachisaburo (八三郎). He became 6th Tokugawa daimyō of Owari Domain on the unexpected death of his brother

Tokugawa Yoshimichi was ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain during early-Edo period Japan. Biography Tokugawa Yoshimichi was the 10th son of the 3rd ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Tsunanari by a concubine, Hōju-in, who was believed to have been a commoner. His chi ...

, and Yoshimichi's son

Tokugawa Gorōta was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain. Biography Tokugawa Gorōta was the eldest son of the 4th ''daimyō'' of the Owari Domain, Tokugawa Yoshimichi, by his official wife, Zuishō-in, the daughter of the cour ...

in 1713. He was severely reprimanded by the domain's senior retainer, Takenokoshi Masatake, for having thrown a celebratory party immediately on his succession, ignoring the customary mourning period. Tsugutomo was awarded lower 4th Court Rank and the ceremonial position of Captain of the Left Guards on January 11, 1713, and was promoted to 3rd Court Rank and was given a ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' from the name of Shōgun

Tokugawa Ietsugu Tokugawa Ietsugu; 徳川家継 (August 8, 1709 – June 19, 1716) was the seventh ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1713 until his death in 1716. He was the son of Tokugawa Ienobu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Tsun ...

. He advanced to the ceremonial post of ''

Chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

'' on December 26, 1715. Whereas his predecessor, Yoshimichi, had enjoyed the high regard of the 6th shōgun

Tokugawa Ienobu (June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' 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 Iemi ...

, Tsugutomo was viewed with suspicion by senior shogunal retainers

Manabe Akifusa was a close person confidant and loverCrompton, Louis, ''Homosexuality and Civilization'', Harvard University, 2003. Page 442 of Shōgun Tokugawa Ienobu and held numerous important posts within the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was ...

and

Arai Hakuseki was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo period, who advised the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi (君美). Hakuseki (白� ...

, as Tsugutomo had the closest claim by direct descent to the position of shōgun, and the 7th shōgun Tokugawa Ietsugu had no heirs. Tsugutomo's position was also bolstered by the fact that his official wife was the daughter of the '' kampaku''

Konoe Iehiro , son of regent Motohiro, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1707 to 1709 and from 1709 to 1712. Family Parents *Father: Konoe Motohiro (近衛基熈, 28 April 16 ...

, with ties to the powerful faction led by Tenei-in within the ''

Ōoku The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term. History The ''Ōok ...

'' of

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 ...

. Despite his blood ties and political connections, Tsugutomo was bypassed by the shogunal succession, and

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 ...

from

Kii Domain Kii can refer to: History * Kii House, a branch family of the Tokugawa clan that ruled Japan during the Edo era Company * Kii Corporation, a mobile cloud services company (MBaaS) Geography * Kii Channel, a separating Honshū and Shikoku isl ...

was selected to become 8th shōgun instead. Tsugutomo was noted for his fiscal acuity from an early age, and reformed the finances of Owari Domain. He also supported Yoshimune's

Kyōhō Reforms The were an array of economic and cultural policies introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate between 1722–1730 during the Edo period to improve its political and social status. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa ''shōgun'' of Ja ...

, which left the domain with a very considerable fiscal surplus. The castle town of

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

prospered under his administration, increasing in population, and attracting merchants such as

Echigoya is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain. History It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , sell ...

from Edo. Tsugutomo died on January 5, 1731, without an heir (his only son, by a concubine, having died in infancy). The leadership of the domain passed to his younger half-brother, the 19th son of Tokugawa Tsunanari,

Tokugawa Muneharu was a ''daimyō'' in Japan during the Edo period. He was the seventh Tokugawa lord of the Owari Domain, and one of the ''gosanke''. Biography Muneharu was the 20th son

. Tsugutomo's grave is at the Owari Tokugawa clan temple of

Kenchū-ji Kenchū-ji (建中寺) is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Tsutsui, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, central Japan. Starting in the Edo period, the mausoleums of the lords of the Owari Domain were located there, making it the '' Bodaiji'' of the Owari Tokuga ...

in Nagoya.

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Izumi later Senkoin * Wife: Konoe Yasuko * Concubine: Ukyo no Kata * Son: Hachisaburo by Ukyo

References

* Nakai, Kate Widman. ''Shogunal politics: Arai Hakuseki and the premises of Tokugawa rule''. Harvard University Asia Center (1988). * Papinot, Edmond. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)
* ''The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Tsugutomo 1692 births 1731 deaths Lords of Owari