The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 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 character ...

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 n ...

under 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 ...

(1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' were subordinates to the '' rōjū'' in status, but they ranked above the '' jisha-bugyō''. The served for a month at a time on a rotating basis and were selected from the ranks of the '' fudai daimyō''. There were periods when the number of ''wakadoshiyori'' rose to 6 or 7 at one time.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 330. The ''wakadoshiyori'' were tasked with supervising the direct vassals of the ''

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 Kamaku ...

'', namely the ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...

'' and '' gokenin'' using reports provided by the '' metsuke''. They also oversaw the activities of artisans and physicians, organised and supervised

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

projects and were in change of the ''shōgun's'' personal guards. In the event of war, the ''wakadoshiyori'' were theoretically to lead the ''hatamoto'' in battle.

List of ''Wakadoshiyori''

Under
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, w ...
(1623–1651)

*Matsudaira Nobutsuna (1633–1635) *

Abe Tadaaki was a high-ranking government official in Japan under Tokugawa Iemitsu and Ietsuna, the third and fourth Tokugawa Shōgun. As the ''daimyō'' of the Oshi Domain in modern-day Saitama Prefecture, with an income of 80,000 ''koku'' (earlier 50, ...

(1633–1635) * Hotta Masamori (1633–1635) *Abe Shigetsugu (1633–1638) *Ōta Sukemune (1633–1638) *Miura Masatsugu (1633–1639) *Dōi Toshitaka (1635–1638) *Sakai Tadatomo (1635–1638) *Kutsuki Tanetsuna (1635–1649)

Under
Tokugawa Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. E ...
(1651–1680)

*Kuze Hiroyuki (1662–1663) *Tsuchiya Kazunao (1662–1665) *Doi Toshifusa (1663–1679) *Nagai Naotsune (1665–1670) * Hotta Masatoshi (1670–1679) *Matsudaira Nobuoki (1679–1682) *Ishikawa Norimasa (1679–1682)

Under Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1680–1709)

*Hotta Masahide (1681–1685) *Inaba Masayasu (1682–1684) *Akimoto Takatomo (1682–1699) *Naitō Shigeyori (1684–1685) *Matsudaira Tadachika (1685) *Ōta Sukenao (1685–1686) *Inagaki Shigesada (1685–1689) *Ōkubo Tadamasu (1687–1688) *Miura Akihiro (1689) *Yamauchi Toyoakira (1689) *Matsudaira Nobutaka (1689–1690) *Naitō Masachika (1690–1694) *Katō Akihide (1690–1711) *Matsudaira Masahisa (1694–1696) *Yonekura Masatada (1696–1699) *Honda Masanaga (1696–1704) *Inoue Masamine (1699–1705) *Inagaki Shigetomi (1699–1709) *

Nagai Naohiro was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled the Akō Domain following its confiscation from Asano Naganori. Naohiro was the eldest son of Nagai Naotsune, and assumed family headship after his father's death. Upon the confiscation o ...

(1704–1711) *Kuze Shigeyuki (1705–1713) *Ōkubo Norihiro (1706–1723)

Under Tokugawa Ienobu (1709–1712) and Tokugawa Ietsugu (1713–1716)

*Torii Tadateru (1711–1716) * Mizuno Tadayuki (1711–1714) *Ōkubo Tsuneharu (1713–1728) *Morikawa Toshitane (1714–1717)

Under
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 Yoshi ...
(1716–1745)

*Ishikawa Fusashige (1717–1725) *Matsudaira Norikata (1723–1735) *Mizuno Tadasada (1723–1748) * Honda Tadamune (1725–1750) * Ōta Sukeharu (1728–1734) *Koide Hidesada (1732–1744) * Nishio Tadanao (1734–1745) *

Itakura Katsukiyo was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period. Famed for his tenure as rōjū, Itakura later became a Shinto priest. Biography Itakura, born to the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira of the Kuwana Domain, was adopted by Itakura Katsutsune, the lord of ...

(1735–1760) *Toda Ujifusa (1744–1758)

Under
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 ...
(1745–1760)

* Kanō Hisamichi (1745–1748) *Hori Naohisa (1745–1748) *Miura Yoshisato (1745–1749) *Hotta Masanobu (1745–1751) *Akimoto Suketomo (1747) *Kobori Masamine (1748–1751, 1756–1760) *Koide Fusayoshi (1748–1767) *Matsudaira Tadatsune (1748–1768) *Sakai Tadayoshi (1749–1761, 1761–1787) *Ōoka Tadamitsu (1754–1756) *Honda Tadahide (1758) *Mizuno Tadachika (1758–1775)

Under Tokugawa Ieharu (1760–1786)

Under Tokugawa Ienari (1787–1837)

Under Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1837–1853)

Under Tokugawa Iesada (1853–1858) and
Tokugawa Iemochi (July 17, 1846 – August 29, 1866) was the 14th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. ...
(1858–1866)

* Sakai Tadasuke (1853–1862, 1863, 1864–1866) *

Andō Nobumasa was a late- Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 5th '' daimyō'' of Iwakitaira Domain in the Tōhoku region of Japan, and the 10th hereditary chieftain of the Andō clan._He_was_the_eldest_son_of_Andō_Nobuyori.html" ;"title="DF 6 of 80/nowik ...

(1858–1860) *

Mizuno Tadakiyo was a ''daimyō'' during Bakumatsu period Japan, who served as chief senior councilor (''Rōjū'') in service to the Tokugawa shogunate. Biography Mizuno Tadakiyo was the eldest son of Mizuno Tadakuni, the ''daimyō'' of Hamamatsu Domain and c ...

(1861–1862) * Ogasawara Nagamichi (1862)Beasley, p. 338.

Under
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...
(1867–1868)

Hoshina Masaari Viscount (March 22, 1833 – January 23, 1888) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period who was the last ruler of the Iino Domain (Kazusa Province; 20,000 ''koku''). Though lord of a minor domain, his family was a branch of the Matsudair ...

(1866–1867) *Ōkōchi Masatada (1866–1867) *Kyōgoku Takatomi (1866–1868) * Asano Ujisuke (1867)Totman, Conrad D. (1980)
''The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu: 1862–1868'', p. 338
*Kawakatsu Kōun (1867) *

Nagai Naoyuki , also known as or , was a Japanese hatamoto under the Tokugawa of Bakumatsu period Japan. His great-great-grandchild was Yukio Mishima. Naoyuki's adopted son, Iwanojō Nagai, was the father of Natsu, who was Mishima's grandmother. Iwanojō's r ...

(1867–1868) *

Matsudaira Chikayoshi ; (January 10, 1829 – November 11, 1886) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who served as daimyō of the Funai Domain (Bungo Province, 21,000 koku). Served in a variety of positions in the Tokugawa Shogunate, including that of wak ...

(1867–1868) *

Takenaka Shigekata was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, later a figure in efforts to colonize Hokkaido. He is also known by his court title, ''Tango no kami'' (丹後守). Takenaka Shigekata was born in 1828 in the town of Iwate, in Mino Province, the ...

(1867–1868) * Hori Naotora (1867–1868) *Tsukahara Masayoshi (1867–1868) *

Katsu Kaishū Count , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku ) by Sakuma Shōzan. H ...

(1868) * Ōkubo Ichiō (1868) *Hattori Tsunezumi (1868) * Imagawa Norinobu (1868) * Atobe Yoshisuke (1868) * Kawatsu Sukekuni, also known as Kawazu Sukekune (1868). *Mukōyama Ippaku (1868) * Kondō Isami (1868)

''Wakadoshiyori-kaku''

The ''wakadoshiyori-kaku'' were bakufu officials ranking as ''wakadoshiyori,'' but not actually appointed as such.Beasley, pp. 327, 330. List of ''wakadoshiyori-kaku'' * Nagai Naomune (1867–1868).

Notes

References

* Beasley, William G. (1955)
Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868''.
London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

; reprinted by

RoutledgeCurzon 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, ...

, London, 2001. (cloth) * Sansom, George Bailey. (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615–1867". Stanford:

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

. {{Tokugawa officials Officials of the Tokugawa shogunate Government of feudal Japan