Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川家重 (January 28, 1712 – July 13, 1761) was the ninth ''

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 Kamak ...

'' 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 ...

of Japan. The first son of

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 Yoshimu ...

, his mother was the daughter of Ōkubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata. His mother died in 1713 when he was only 2 years old, so he was raised by Yoshimune's concubine, Okon no Kata; Okon later gave birth to

Tokugawa Munetake was a Japanese samurai of the mid-Edo period, also known as Tayasu Munetake (田安宗武). The first head of the Tayasu branch of the Tokugawa clan, he held daimyō-level income, but was not a daimyō himself, instead having his residence insi ...

, so he was raised by another of Yoshimune's concubines, Okume no Kata, as her biological son. His childhood name was Nagatomi-maru (長福丸). 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 ...

'' coming-of-age ceremony in 1725. His first wife, Nami-no-miya, was the daughter of Prince

Fushimi-no-miya The is the oldest of the four shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. The Fushimi-no-miya was founded by Prince Yoshihito, t ...

Kuninaga (伏見宮邦永親王). In 1733, Nami-no-Miya Masuko had a miscarriage and died. His second wife, Okō, was the daughter of one of the courtiers who had followed his first wife from the Imperial Court to the Shogunal Court in Edo. This famously good-natured second wife was the mother of Ieharu, who would become Ieshige's heir. In ''Enkyō'' 2 or 1745, Ieshige was made shogun.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du Japon'', p. 418. Ieshige suffered from chronic ill health and a severe speech defect which rendered his speaking nearly incomprehensible. Yoshimune's choice of Ieshige as his heir created considerable controversy within the shogunate as his younger brothers

and

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 ...

appeared to be far more suitable candidates. Yoshimune continued to insist on his decision, favoring the Confucian principle of primogeniture; and Ieshige continued in the role of formal head of the shogunate. Yoshimune directed affairs after his official retirement in 1745. This attention was designed to ensure that Ieshige was secure in his office. Ieshige remained shogun until 1760. Uninterested in government affairs, Ieshige left all decisions in the hands of his

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

Ōoka Tadamitsu may refer to: Location * * Surname * (1677–1752), Japanese judge, known in English juvenile literature as "Ooka the Wise" or "Solomon in Kimono" * (1909–1988), an author * (1931–2017), a poet See also * Oka (disambiguation) ...

(1709–1760). He officially retired in 1760 and assumed the title of ''Ōgosho,'' appointed his first son

Tokugawa Ieharu Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川家治) (June 20, 1737 – September 17, 1786) was the tenth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1760 to 1786. His childhood name was Takechiyo (竹千代). Ieharu died in 1786 and given t ...

as the 10th ''shōgun'', and died the following year. Ieshige's second son

Tokugawa Shigeyoshi was a Japanese samurai of the mid-Edo period who was the founder of the Shimizu-Tokugawa family, one of the Gosankyō, the three lesser branches of the Tokugawa family. He was the second son of Tokugawa Ieshige, the ninth shōgun. His child-hood ...

became the founder of the Shimizu Tokugawa clan, which together with the Tayasu and Hitotsubashi (established by Ieshige's younger brothers) became 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'' ...

'', three

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

es of the Tokugawa family from which future shoguns might be selected if the main line were to die out. They joined the existing three cadet branches, the ''

gosanke The , also called simply , or even , were the most noble three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan: Owari, Kii, and Mito, all of which were descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu, and Yorifusa ...

'', to which Ieshige's father Yoshimune had been born. Ieshige's reign was beset by corruption, natural disasters, periods of famine and the emergence of the mercantile class, and his clumsiness in dealing with these issues greatly weakened the rule of Tokugawa. TokugawaIeshige grave

Ieshige died in 1761. His

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

is ''Junshin-in;'' and his grave is at the Tokugawa family mausoleum at

Zōjō-ji is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan. It is the main temple of the Jōdo-shū ("Pure Land") Chinzei sect of Buddhism in the Kantō region,. Its mountain name is San'en-zan (三縁山). Zōjō-ji is notable for its relationship wit ...

in Shiba. His remains were disinterred and underwent scientific investigation from 1958 to 1960. It was discovered that his teeth were crooked and badly deformed, confirming historical references to his speech defect.

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Osuma no Kata (1688–1713) * Adopted Mother: Okume no Kata later Kakuju-in (1697–1777) * Wife: Nami-no-Miya Masuko (1711–1733) later Somnyoin and buried in

Kan'ei-ji (also spelled Kan'eiji or Kaneiji) is a Tendai Buddhism, Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1625 during the Kan'ei era by Tenkai, in an attempt to emulate the powerful religious center Enryaku-ji, in Kyoto. The main object of worship is ...

* Concubines: ** Oko no Kata later Shinshin'in (d. 1748) ** Oitsu no Kata (1721–1789) later Anshoin ** Oshizu no Kata ** Oyu no Kata (1721–1789) later Anjo-in * Children: **

born by Oko no Kata **

born by Oitsu no Kata

Eras during Ieshige's rule

The years in which Ieshige was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

or ''

nengō The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

''. * '' Enkyō'' (1744–1748) * ''

Kan'en was a after and before . This period spanned the years from July 1748 to October 1751. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 418./ref> Change of era * 1748 : The era name was changed to (me ...

'' (1748–1751) * ''

Hōreki , also known as Horyaku, was a after '' Kan'en'' and before ''Meiwa''. The period spanned the years from October 1751 through June 1764. The reigning emperor and empress were and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834 ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 41 ...

'' (1751–1764)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Screech, Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.'' 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 ...

. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1822). ''Illustrations of Japan.'' London: Ackerman. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). iyun-sai_Rin-siyo/Hayashi_Gahō,_1652.html" ;"title="Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. *Totman, Conrad. (1967). ''Politics in the Tokugawa bakufu, 1600–1843''. Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Ieshige 1712 births 1761 deaths 18th-century shōguns Kishū-Tokugawa clan Tokugawa shōguns Tokugawa clan