Suwa Tadamasa 諏訪忠誠 | |
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| Born | (1821-06-21)June 21, 1821 |
| Died | February 19, 1898(1898-02-19) (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Daimyō of Suwa Domain (1840-1868) |
| Father | Suwa Tadamichi |
Suwa Tadamasa (諏訪忠誠, June 7, 1821 – February 19, 1898) was the 9thdaimyō ofSuwa Domain inShinano Province,Honshū,Japan (modern-dayNagano Prefecture) and hereditary chieftain of the Suwa clan. Hiscourtesy titles before theMeiji restoration wereInaba-no-kami andJijū, and hisCourt rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade, which was posthumously raised to Third Rank.
Suwa Tadamasa was the eldest son ofSuwa Tadamichi and becamedaimyō in 1840 on the retirement of his father. He was strongly supported by his uncle,Matsudaira Sadanobu and rose to the post ofwakadoshiyori in 1860,jisha-bugyō in 1862 andrōjū in 1864. As this was during the tumultuousBakumatsu period, during which time theTokugawa shogunate was forced to sign treaties with the Western powers to end Japan's self-imposednational isolation policy, Yorimasa played a role in the negotiations. Together with fellowrōjū,Makino Tadayuki ofNagaoka Domain, he strenuously opposed theSecond Chōshū expedition, and resigned his posts when the shogunate proceed with the punitive campaign againstChōshū Domain.[1] In 1868, he also retired asdaimyō in favor of his nephew,Suwa Tadaaya.
Suwa Domain played no role in theBoshin War, and after theMeiji restoration and theabolition of the han system in 1871, he relocated toTokyo. From 1874 to 1879, he was appointedkannushi of theShiba Tōshō-gū, aShinto Shrine dedicated to the previous Shoguns of theTokugawa clan in Tokyo. After the death of Suwa Tadaaya in 1878, he resumed his position as chieftain of the Suwa clan. He was reappointedkannushi of the Shiba Tōshō-gū from 1882 to 1889. In 1884 he became aviscount (shisaku) under thekazoku peerage system. His court rank was increased to Senior Fourth Rank in 1887. From 1891 to 1895, he returned to Suwa and became the headkannushi ofSuwa Shrine. He then returned to his post at the Shiba Tōshō-gū until his death in 1898.
His wife was a daughter ofMatsudaira Norihiro ofNishio Domain and 38thKyoto Shoshidai. After her death, he remarried to a daughter ofMatsudaira Yasutō and40th Kyoto Shoshidai. His third wife was a daughter of Kutsuki Tsuneeda of Fukuchiyama Domain. His grave is at the Suwa clan temple ofKisshō-ji inBunkyo, Tokyo.
| Preceded by | .svg) 9thDaimyo of Suwa1840-1868 | Succeeded by |