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was the fifth ''
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 ...
'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son 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, ...
, the grandson of
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 ...
, and the great-grandson of
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 fel ...
.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tokugawa, Tsunayoshi''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
.
Tsunayoshi is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dog ''shōgun''". He had a dog named Takemaru.


Early years (1646–1680)

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was born on February 23, 1646, in Edo. He was the son 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, ...
by one of his concubines, named Otama, later known as Keishōin 桂昌院 (1627–1705). Tsunayoshi had an elder brother already five years old, who would become the next shogun after Iemitsu's death, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Tsunayoshi was born in
Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
and after his birth moved in with his mother to her own private apartments in Edo Castle. "The younger son (Tsunayoshi) apparently distinguished himself by his precociousness and liveliness at an early age, and the father, the third shogun, Iemitsu, became fearful that he might usurp the position of his duller elder brothers ndthus he ordered that the boy (Tsunayoshi) not to be brought up as a samurai/warrior, as was becoming for his station, but be trained as a scholar." His childhood name was Tokumatsu (徳松). While his father was ''shōgun'', his mother was an adopted daughter of the Honjō family, led by
Honjō Munemasa Honjō or Honjo may refer to: Places * Honjō, Akita * Honjō, Nagano * Honjō, Ōita * Honjō, Saitama * Honjo, Tokyo * Honjo Stadium * Honjo, Yutaro People * , Japanese samurai * , Japanese general *, Japanese immunologist Fictional characters ...
(1580–1639) in Kyoto. His mother's natural parents were merchants in Kyoto. This remarkable woman was very close with Tsunayoshi in his young years, and while his older brother Ietsuna began to rely on regents for much of his reign, Tsunayoshi did exactly the opposite, relying on his remarkable mother for advice until her death. In 1651, ''shōgun'' Iemitsu died when Tsunayoshi was only five years old. His older brother, Tokugawa Ietsuna, became shogun. For the most part, Tsunayoshi's life during the reign of his brother ''shōgun'' Ietsuna is unknown, but he never advised his brother.


Family

* Father:
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, ...
(徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) * Mother: Otama no Kata (1627–1705) later Keishoin (桂昌院), Honjo Sonsei's daughter (本庄宗正) * Wife: Takatsukasa Nobuko (1651–1709) later Jokoin, daughter of court noble Takatsukasa Norihira * Concubines: ** Oden no Kata (1658–1738) later Zuishun-in ** Yasuko no Kata (d. 1681) later Seichōin ** Lady Emonosuke (d. 1705) ** Lady Osuke (d. 1714) later Jukoin ** Lady Shinsuke later Sheishin-in * Children: ** Tsuruhime (1677–1704) by Oden, married Tokugawa Tsunanori of Kii Domain ** Tokugawa Tokumatsu (1679–1683), Tatebayashi Domain by Oden ** Tokugawa Chomatsu (1681–1683) by Yasuko * Adopted: ** Tokugawa Ienobu ** Kichihime (1697–1701) signed as Midaidokoro's daughter ** Yaehime (1689–1746) daughter of Takatsukasa Sukenobu, married Tokugawa Yoshizane of Mito Family later Yousen-in had 1 daughter, Miyohime married Tokugawa Munetaka signed as Midaidokoro's daughter ** Matsuhime daughter of Tokugawa Tsunanari married Maeda Yoshinori signed as Midaidokoro's daughter ** Takehime (1705–1772), daughter of Hirosada Seikan'in and adopted by Tokugawa Yoshimune and married Shimazu Tsugutoyo of
Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshim ...
and known as Joganin had 1 daughter, Kikuhime (1733–1808) signed as Midaidokoro's daughter and signed as Okume no Kata's daughter when she became adopted daughter of Yoshimune


Disputed succession (1680)

In 1680, ''shōgun'' Ietsuna died at the premature age of 38. * June 4, 1680 ('' Enpō 8, 8th day of the 5th month''): Shogun Ietsuna's death leads to the accession of Tsunayoshi as head of the shogunate.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon,'' p. 414. * 1680–81 (''Enpō 8''): Gokoku-ji in Edo is founded in honor of Tsunayoshi's mother. * 1681 ('' Tenna 1''): Tsunayoshi's investiture as ''shōgun''. A power struggle ensued, and for a time, the succession remained an open question. Sakai Tadakiyo, one of Ietsuna's most favored advisors, suggested that the succession not pass to someone of the Tokugawa line, but rather to the blood royal, favoring one of the sons of
Emperor Go-Sai , also known as , was the 111th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後西天皇 (111)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 116. Go-Sa ...
to become the next ''shōgun'' (as during the
Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yo ...
) but Tadakiyo was dismissed soon after. Hotta Masatoshi, one of the most brilliant advisors of ''shōgun'' Ietsuna's rule, was the first person to suggest that Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, as the brother of the former ''shōgun'' and the son of the third, become the next ''shōgun''. Finally, in 1681 (''Tenna 1''), Tsunayoshi's elevation was confirmed; and he was installed as the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.


''Shōgun'' (1680–1709)

Immediately after becoming ''shōgun'', Tsunayoshi gave Hotta Masatoshi the title of '' Tairō'', in a way thanking him for ensuring his succession. Almost immediately after he became shogun, he ordered a vassal of the Takata to commit suicide because of misgovernment, showing his strict approach to the samurai code. He then confiscated his fief of 250,000 '' koku''. During his reign, he confiscated a total of 1,400,000 ''koku''. In 1682, ''shōgun'' Tsunayoshi ordered his censors and police to raise the living standard of the people. Soon, prostitution was banned, waitresses could not be employed in tea houses, and rare and expensive fabrics were banned. Most probably, smuggling began as a practice in Japan soon after Tsunayoshi's authoritarian laws came into effect. In 1684, Tsunayoshi also decreased the power of the ''tairō'' after the assassination of Masatoshi by a cousin in that same year. Nonetheless, due again to maternal advice, Tsunayoshi became very religious, promoting the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi. In 1682, he read to the ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...
s'' an exposition of the "Great Learning", which became an annual tradition at the ''shōgun''s court. He soon began to lecture even more, and in 1690 lectured about Neo-Confucian work to
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...
and
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
''daimyōs'', and even to envoys from the court of Emperor Higashiyama in
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
. He also was interested in several Chinese works, namely ''The Great Learning'' (
Da Xue The ''Great Learning'' or ''Daxue'' was one of the "Four Books" in Confucianism attributed to one of Confucius' disciples, Zengzi. The ''Great Learning'' had come from a chapter in the ''Book of Rites'' which formed one of the Five Classics. ...
) and ''The Classic of Filial Piety'' ( Xiao Jing). Tsunayoshi also loved art and Noh theater. In 1691, Engelbert Kaempfer visited Edo as part of the annual Dutch embassy from
Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, ...
in
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...
. He journeyed from Nagasaki to
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, to
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
, and there to
Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
. Kaempfer gives us information on Japan during the early reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. As the Dutch embassy entered Edo in 1692, they asked to have an audience with Shogun Tsunayoshi. While they were waiting for approval, a fire destroyed six hundred houses in Edo, and the audience was postponed. Tsunayoshi and several of the ladies of the court sat behind reed screens, while the Dutch embassy sat in front of them. Tsunayoshi took an interest in Western matters, and apparently asked them to talk and sing with one another for him to see how Westerners behaved. Tsunayoshi later put on a Noh drama for them. Owing to religious fundamentalism, Tsunayoshi sought protection for living beings in the later parts of his rule. In the 1690s and first decade of the 1700s, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, thought he should take several measures concerning dogs. A collection of edicts released daily, known as the , told the populace, among other things, to protect dogs, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city. Therefore, he earned the pejorative title ''Inu-Kubō'' (犬公方: ''Inu=''Dog, ''Kubō''=formal title of Shogun). In 1695, there were so many dogs that Edo began to smell horribly. An apprentice was even executed because he wounded a dog. Finally, the issue was taken to an extreme, as over 50,000 dogs were deported to kennels in the suburbs of the city where they would be housed. They were apparently fed rice and fish at the expense of the taxpaying citizens of Edo. For the latter part of Tsunayoshi's reign, he was advised by
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wro ...
. It was a golden era of classic Japanese art, known as the '' Genroku era''. In 1701, Asano Naganori, the ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...
'' of Akō han, having been allegedly insulted by Kira Yoshinaka in Edo Castle, attempted to kill him. Asano was executed, but Kira went unpunished. Asano's forty-seven ''rōnin'' avenged his death by killing Kira and became a legend that influenced many plays and stories of the era. The most successful of them was a
bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteer ...
play called ''Kanadehon Chūshingura'' (now simply called '' Chūshingura'', or "Treasury of Loyal Retainers"), written in 1748 by
Takeda Izumo is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files
and two associates; it was later adapted into a
kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...
play, which is still one of Japan's most popular. The earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in 1822 in
Isaac Titsingh Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...
's book, ''Illustrations of Japan''. Tsunayoshi's first son Tokugawa Tokumatsu (1679–1683) died at the age of 4 due to illness. In 1683 Tsunayoshi's official wife, Takatsukasa Nobuko, poisoned Tsunayoshi's second son Chomatsu, who was his son with his favorite concubine, Yasuko. Chosomaru died at 3 years of age. This gave rise to suspicions that she may have poisoned Tokugawa Tokumatsu as well. In 1704, Tsunayoshi's only surviving child, Tsuruhime died following a miscarriage and a few month after her husband, his son-in-law, Tokugawa Tsunanori of Kii Domain also died. Therefore, Tsunayoshi appointed his nephew, Tokugawa Ienobu, heir apparent in the winter of 1704. Ienobu was the son of his other brother, Tokugawa Tsunashige, the former Lord of Kōfu, which was a title Ienobu held himself before becoming ''shōgun''. Ienobu moved into the official residence of Shogunal heir apparent at the Western Perimeter of Edo Castle. In 1706, Edo was hit by a typhoon, and
Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highes ...
erupted the following year.


Death

It was insinuated that Tsunayoshi was stabbed by his consort after he tried to proclaim an illegitimate child as his heir; this concept, stemming from the Sanno Gaiki, is refuted in contemporary records which explain that Tsunayoshi had the measles at the end of his life and died on February 19, 1709, in the presence of his entourage. His death was just four days short of his 63rd birthday. He was given the Buddhist name Joken'in (常憲院) and buried in Kan'ei-ji.


Eras of Tsunayoshi's ''bakufu''

The years in which Tsunayoshi was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or '' nengō''.Titsingh, pp. 414–415. * '' Enpō'' (1673–1681) * '' Tenna'' (1681–1684) * '' Jōkyō'' (1684–1688) * '' Genroku'' (1688–1704) * '' Hōei'' (1704–1711)


Ancestry


Notes


References

* Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice (2006). ''The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ; ; . * Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice (1999). ''Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ; ; . * Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice (1985). ''Monumenta Nipponica'', Vol. 40, No. 2. . * Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; . * Screech, Timon (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ; 65177072. * Titsingh, Isaac (1834). '' Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon
'. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. . * Totman, Conrad (1967). ''Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600–1843''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. .


External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Tsunayoshi 1646 births 1709 deaths 17th-century shōguns 18th-century shōguns Tokugawa shōguns Dogs in human culture