Hotta Masamori (堀田 正盛; January 16, 1606 – June 8, 1651) was a Japanesedaimyō of the earlyEdo period who was a key figure in the early decades of theTokugawa shogunate.
Hotta Masamori rose through the ranks of the Tokugawa shogunate; his family had a very short history with the Tokugawa family prior to his father Masayoshi's generation. Masayoshi was granted a 700koku stipend and his house instituted as ahatamoto family, following his and his ancestors' service with a variety of other clans, among them theOda,Toyotomi,Maeda, andKobayakawa. Thanks to his distinction at theOsaka Winter Campaign, Masayoshi was granted an increase in stipend to 1000koku, and the family was at this level of income when Masamori succeeded his father as the family head.
The early period of Masamori's rise in the ranks can be ascribed to his relation toLady Kasuga, the ShōgunIemitsu's wetnurse. Because of this connection, he was close to the Shōgun, and this was to open the doors wide for his future success. In 1626 (Kan'ei-3), he received his first post as a captain of the page corps (koshōgumi-bangashira). His income subsequently rose to the range of 5000koku, and an additional 5000koku was granted that year. He entered the ranks of thefudai daimyōs with the income of 10,000koku.
On the 23rd day of the 3rd month ofKan'ei 10 (1633), he was appointed a member of therokunin-shu (what became thewakadoshiyori council) together with Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and was granted another 5000koku, together with the rank that came with being a castle lord. Masamori was subsequently shown great favor by Iemitsu, who promoted him toRōjū on the 1st day of the 3rd month of Kan'ei 12 (1635). His income rose to 1,000,000 koku, and he was granted the fief ofMatsumoto Domain, inShinano Province. In 1642 he was moved toSakura Domain inShimotsuke Province, where his family remained enfeoffed at 110,000koku for the remainder of the Edo period. Masamori committedjunshi (suicide after the death of one's lord) in 1651, at the age of 44.
| Preceded by | Daimyō of Kawagoe 1635–1638 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daimyō of Matsumoto 1638–1642 | Succeeded by Mizuno Tadakiyo |
| Preceded by | Daimyō of Sakura 1642–1651 | Succeeded by |