Tokugawa Yoshimune

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Tokugawa Yoshimune (徳川 吉宗 Tokugawa Yoshimune, November 27, 1684-July 12, 1751 was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada and the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, making him the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Yoshimune's Lineage

Before discussing Yoshimune's life, we should first look at his lineage, as he was not the son of any former shogun as it will be assumed. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa bakufu, realized that his descendants might die out, leaving the Tokugawa family at risk of extinction. Ieyasu was well aware of the extinction of the Minamoto line in 1219 after the assassination of Minamoto no Sanetomo and the circumstances surrounding it. Thus, while his eldest son, Tokugawa Hidetada, had become the second shogun, his other sons established the Go-sanke, or hereditary houses which would provide a shogun if a shogun did not provide an heir. There were three direct Go-sanke, the Kii, the Owari, and the Mito branches. The Kofu Tokugawa are often mistaken as a cadet line, but they are direct descendants of the shoguns of the main line.

Yoshimune was from the branch of Kii. One of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons, Tokugawa Yorinobu was appointed daimyo of Kii and created a cadet line which would provide a shogun if the direct line became extinct. Yorinobu's son, Tokugawa Mitsusada, succeeded him. Tokugawa Yoshimune was Mitsusada's fourth son, and became daimyo of Kii after two of his older brothers died in that office. Later, he became shogun.

Tokugawa Yorinobu was the brother of second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, while Yoshimune's father, Tokugawa Mitsusada, was a first cousin of third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. Yoshimune thus was a second cousin to the fourth and fifth shoguns (both brothers) Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, as well as a second cousin to Tokugawa Tsunashige, whose son became Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu.

Early Life (1684-1716)

Tokugawa Yoshimune was born in 1684 in the rich region of Kii, a region which was then ruled by his father, Tokugawa Mitsusada. Yoshimune's childhood name was Tokugawa Genroku, signifying that he was born in the Genroku era. At that time, his second cousin, Shogun Tsunayoshi, was ruling in Edo as shogun. Kii was a rich region of over 500,000 koku, but it was still in debt. Even during Mitsusada's time, Kii was in deep debt and had a lot to pay back to the bakufu.

In 1697, Genroku had his rites of passage and took the name Tokugawa Shinnosuke. Nonetheless, in 1705, when Shinnosuke was just 21 years old, his father Mitsusada died. Thus, Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu in Edo appointed him Daimyo of Kii. He took the name Tokugawa Yoritaka and began to administer the province. Nonetheless, he was still in great financial debt to the bakufu, which had been around since his father's and even grandfather's time. What made things worse was that in 1707, a tidal wave destroyed and killed many in the coastal areas of Kii Province. Yoritaka did his best to try to stabilize things in Kii, but relied on leadership from Edo.

In 1713, Shogun Ienobu died, and was succeeded by his son, the boy-shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu. Now, Yoritaka decided that he could not rely on the conservative Confucianists like Arai Hakuseki in Edo and must do his best to stabilize things in Kii. But before he could plan things in effect, Shogun Ietsugu died in early 1716 in Edo. He was a minor, only nine years old, and did not leave behind an heir. The other children of the late Shogun Ienobu were too young to rule, thus it was decided by the bakufu to select the next shogun from one of the cadet lines. The Kii branch seemed to be the line which was most direct to Ieyasu, and Tokugawa Yoritaka was the head of it.

NOTE from Hiroshi66: (Am working on article. I am leaving the existing article up, and will finish this as soon as possible.)

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Tokugawa Yoshimune (徳川 吉宗 Tokugawa Yoshimune, November 27 1684–July 12 1751) was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, known for his financial reform. He is best known for dismissing his conservative adviser Arai Hakuseki and instigating the Kyōhō reforms. He is often considered the politically most able Tokugawa shogun after the line's founder Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Yoshimune was born to the Kishu (Kii) branch of the Tokugawa clan. His great-grandfather Tokugawa Ieyasu, when he established the shogunate, had recognized that at some time his main line of descendants might die out. He ordered that in the absence of a descendant from the main line, a successor should be selected from the Owari, Kishu or Mito branch (these three houses were known as the Gosanke 御三家). Yoshimune assumed the position of daimyo of Kishu after two older brothers, who had both held that position in turn, died.

He succeeded the post of the shogun in 1716, given that the main lineage lacked a legimate heir. In 1745, he retired, leaving his post to his oldest son.

Yoshimune established the Gosankyo (御三卿) to augment (or perhaps to replace) the Gosanke. Two of his sons, together with the second son of his successor Ieshige, became the founders of the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi and Shimizu lines. Unlike the Gosanke, they did not rule domains. Still, they remained prominent until the end of Tokugawa rule, and some later shoguns were chosen from the Hitotsubashi line.

At birth, Yoshimune was given the name Genroku (源六: he was born before the beginning of the Genroku 元禄 era). He later took the names Shinnosuke and Matsudaira Yorikata before assuming his adult name.

Yoshimune in Fiction

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the central character of the television series Abarembo Shogun. This jidaigeki included a few factual aspects of the career of Yoshimune, although the program was mostly fiction.

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