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 inside the Tayasu gate (''Tayasu-mon'' 田安門) of Edo Castle. His child-hood name was Kojiro (小次郎). When his mother, Okon died in 1722, he was raised by Okume no Kata, one of Yoshimune's concubines.

Biography

He was the second son of the eighth shōgun

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 ...

with his concubine, Okon no Kata. Munetake was considered by some as the logical choice for heir, as he was both physically fit and also well-educated. However, Yoshimune preferred the route of primogeniture, instead selecting his son Ieshige as heir. Munetake subsequently turned his attention to writing and scholarship, and set the Tayasu house apart from the other two

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'' ...

houses by keeping it spartan. He had several sons who were brought up in this spartan environment, one of whom was the famed reformer

Matsudaira Sadanobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief of the Tokugawa shogunate, from 1787 to 1793. Early life Mat ...

. His wife was Morihime, daughter of

Konoe Iehisa Konoe (written: 近衛 or 近衞) is a Japanese surname. It is sometimes spelled "Konoye" based on historical kana usage. Notable people with the surname include: *, the 76th emperor of Japan *, Japanese politician and journalist *, Japanese politi ...

. As a scholar, Munetake was a student of ''

kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label= Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to r ...

''. He studied under Kada Arimaro and Kamō Mabuchi, eventually producing the ''kokugaku'' texts ''Kokka hachiron yogen'' (国歌八論余言) and ''Tenkō-gon'' (天降言). He was also an accomplished poet. As head of the prestigious Tayasu-Tokugawa house, Munetake held the court title of ''gon-chūnagon'' (権中納言) and the junior 3rd court rank (''jusanmi'' 従三).

Family

*Father:

*Mother: Okon no Kata (d.1723) later Hontokuin *Adopted Mother: Okume no Kata later Kakuju-in (1697-1777) *Wife, concubine, children: **Wife: Konoe Moriko (1721-1786) later Horen-in *** Keijiro (1745-1753) *** Tokugawa Haruaki *** Makotohime (1741-1759) Date Shigemura's fiancée *** Yuhime (1743-1743) *** Tetsunosuke (1747-1752) *** Nakahime (1751-1779) married Ikeda Shigehiro *** Setsuhime (1756-1815) married Mori Haruchika ** Concubine: Oyama no Kata later Kaisen-in *** Shukuhime (1744-1815) married Nabeshima Shigeharu ***

*** Matsudaira Sadakuni (1757-1804) inherited

Iyo-Matsuyama Domain 270px, Matsudaira Katsushige, 13th daimyō of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Matsuyama Cast ...

*** Mikuzumi (1747-1753) *** Tanehime (1765-1794) married Tokugawa Harutomi *** Sadahime (1767-1813) married Matsudaira Haruyoshi ** Concubine: Omori no Kata *** Otogiku (1752-1753) ** Concubine: Hayashi no Kata *** Osamuhime (1756-1820) married Sakai Tadanori

References

Concise biographical data (in Japanese)
1716 births 1771 deaths Samurai Tokugawa clan {{Samurai-stub