Andō Nobumasa | |
|---|---|
| 安藤 信正 | |
 Portrait of Andō Nobumasa | |
| Born | (1819-01-10)January 10, 1819 |
| Died | November 20, 1871(1871-11-20) (aged 52) Edo,Empire of Japan |
| Predecessor | Andō Nobuyori |
| Successor | Andō Nobutami |
| Father | Andō Nobuyori |
| Daimyō ofIwakitaira Domain | |
| In office 1847–1862 | |
Andō Nobumasa (安藤 信正; January 10, 1819 – November 20, 1871) was a late-Edo periodJapanesesamurai, and the 5thdaimyō ofIwakitaira Domain in theTōhoku region of Japan, and the 10th hereditary chieftain of theAndō clan. He was the eldest son ofAndō Nobuyori and his mother was a daughter ofMatsudaira Nobuakira ofYoshida Domain. His childhood names were Kinnoshin and Kinnosuke and he was known most of his life asAndō Nobuyuki, taking the name of Nobumasa only after he became arōjū.
Nobumasa was born at the domain's Edo residence, and was received in formal audience byShōgunTokugawa Ienari in 1835. He became daimyō in 1847 on the death of his father. In 1848, he was promoted to the post ofsōshaban within the shogunal administration. In 1858, he rose to the post ofjisha-bugyō, and subsequently was appointed awakadoshiyori under theTairōIi Naosuke. In 1860 he was appointed arōjū, and placed in charge of foreign affairs. Ii Naosuke was assassinated in theSakuradamon Incident in 1860 and Andō Nobumasa became a leading councilor of state together withKuze Hirochika.[1] Among the many problems he faced in foreign affairs during thisBakumatsu period, was them the conclusion of acommercial treaty with Prussia, the assassination ofHenry Heusken, and the appearance of a Russian warship claimingTsushima Island for theRussian Empire.
Andō was also a supporter of thekobu-gattai policy to strengthen relations between theimperial court and the shogunate. He was instrumental in arranging forKazunomiya, the younger sister ofEmperor Kōmei, to marryShōgunTokugawa Iemochi. All of these actions aroused the enmity of pro-Sonnō jōi samurai, and Andō himself was the target of an assassination attempt in 1862 by six formerMito Domain samurai outside the Sakashita Gate ofEdo Castle also called theSakashita Gate Incident. Britishcounsul-generalRutherford Alcock remarked on meeting the heavily-bandaged Andō shortly afterwards and was favourably impressed with his fortitude, stating that his injuries lent credence to claims by the shogunate that the opening of the country to foreign trade had to proceed slowly due to strong domestic opposition. However, Andō was forced from office soon afterwards by his political enemies, who accused him of improper conduct in arranging for an heir to succeed Ii Naosuke and due to allegations that he had accepted bribes from American consulTownsend Harris. Thekokudaka of Iwakitaira Domain was also reduced by 20,000koku. He officially retired in 1863; however as his son and heirAndō Nobutami was still underage, he continued to rule the domain from behind-the-scenes. Andō Nobutami died in 1863 and was replaced by an adopted heir,Andō Nobutake. In 1868, during theBoshin War, Nobumasa took the domain into theŌuetsu Reppan Dōmei over the objections of Nobutake. The domain was overrun andIwakitaira Castle was burned during theBattle of Iwakitaira, and the victoriousMeiji government placed Nobumasa under permanenthouse arrest in 1868. He was released in 1869 and died in 1871 at the age of 52 years.
| Preceded by |  5th (Andō)daimyō of Iwakitaira1847–1862 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
