samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
retainer of the
Mito Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Hirata school of ''
kokugaku
was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Edo period. scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of ...
''. His ''kokugaku'' pen name was .
Biography
He was born the eldest son of , a Mito retainer, under the name Yamakuni Tomoaki. His younger brother was . He later adopted the name "Hyōbu".
In 1809, Yamakuni succeeded as head of the Yamakuni family and was assigned to the Mito guard division. Thereafter, he served as a strategist within the and in 1823 assumed the post of .
In 1830, he was recognized by
Tokugawa Nariaki
Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川 斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration.
Biography
Clan leader ...
and became a
metsuke
were the censors or the inspectors of Tokugawa shogunate. They were ''bakufu'' officials ranking somewhat lower than the ''bugyō.'' The ''metsuke'' were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministratio ...
. At that time Yamakuni was involved in the military reform of the Mito Domain. In 1838, Yamakuni was placed under house arrest for unclear reasons, but was quickly released and reappointed as a military officer in 1840.
In 1846, when Nariaki was sentenced to house arrest by the
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...
, Yamakuni too was arrested due to his political affiliation with him. In 1849, he was pardoned.
In 1853, in the aftermath of the arrival of the United States, Nariaki was summoned by the shogunate to
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
in order to serve as an advisor on matters of naval defense. Yamakuni accompanied him to the capital as a military attaché, and became well known for his outspoken advocacy for a network of
coastal fortifications
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
to deter a European or American invasion. He also advocated a strategy of luring future Western invasion forces into the mountainous interior of Honshū, the topography of which the Western powers were mostly unfamiliar with at that time, where they would become surrounded and could be overwhelmed by smaller Japanese domainal armies.
Emperor Kōmei
Osahito (22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei, was the 121st emperor of Japan, according to the List of Emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 ...
was outraged by the Shogunate's acquiescence to the United States' demands, and in 1858 issued a secret missive to the Mito authorities to "reorganize" the Shogunate. This became known as the . However, the Shogunate detected this and its conspirators, including Yamakuni, were arrested. Yamakuni was released after Nariaki's death in 1860.
By 1862, Yamakuni had returned to his post as metsuke. The following year, he accompanied the return of to the capital.
In 1864, during the
Mito Rebellion
The , also called the Kantō Insurrection or the , was a civil war that occurred in the area of Mito Domain in Japan from May 2, 1864 to January 14, 1865. It involved an uprising and terrorist actions against the central power of the Shogunate in ...
, he was ordered to pacify the Tengutō encamped on Mount Taiheizan under the command of Takeda Kōunsai. Yamakuni sympathized with the rebels, and advised them to relocate to a more defensible position on
Mount Tsukuba
is an mountain located at the northern-end of Tsukuba, Japan. It is one of the most famous mountains in Japan, particularly well known for its double peaks, and . Many people climb the so-called "purple mountain" every year for the panorami ...
. Upon his return, he was imprisoned once again for his disobedience. However, when Yamakuni became aware that Matsudaira Yorinori, lord of the
Shishido Domain
was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shishido Jin'ya in what is now part of the city of Kasama, Ibaraki. It was ...
, joined Takeda's force in the rebellion, he broke himself out of prison and joined Yorinori's division. After Yorinori committed
seppuku
, also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...
, Yamakuni was incorporated into the Tengutō remnants led by Takeda. Yamakuni's tactical guidance was responsible for several of the Tengutō's rapid victories against more numerous Shogunal forces, including at the on December 18. Takeda and Yamakuni intended to proceed to
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
in order to make a direct appeal to the Imperial Court, but the remnants were captured in Tsuruga, Echizen Province, and both were sentenced to death along with the other leaders of the uprising in 1865. Yamakuni's entire family was punished as well; his sons were executed and his daughters were condemned to life imprisonment.
The jisei of Yamakuni Hyōbu is recorded as follows,