Tokugawa Tsunayoshi | |
|---|---|
徳川 綱吉 | |
 Tokugawa Tsunayoshi | |
| Shōgun | |
| In office 12 August 1680 – 19 February 1709 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Preceded by | Tokugawa Ietsuna |
| Succeeded by | Tokugawa Ienobu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1646-02-23)23 February 1646 |
| Died | 19 February 1709(1709-02-19) (aged 62) Edo, Tokugawa shogunate |
| Spouse | Takatsukasa Nobuko [ja] |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) | Tokugawa Iemitsu Keishouin |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | The Dog Shogun[1][2] |
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (徳川 綱吉; 23 February 1646 – 19 February 1709) was the fifthshōgun of theTokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother ofTokugawa Ietsuna, the son ofTokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson ofTokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson ofTokugawa Ieyasu.[3]
Tsunayoshi is known for institutinganimal welfare laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dogShogun" (Inu-Kubō 犬公方:Inu=Dog,Kubō=formal title of Shogun).[3]
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was born on 23 February 1646, in Edo. He was the son ofTokugawa Iemitsu by one of his concubines, named Otama, later known as Keishōin 桂昌院 (1627–1705). Tsunayoshi had an elder brother already five years old, who would become the next shogun after Iemitsu's death,Tokugawa Ietsuna. Tsunayoshi was born inEdo and after his birth moved in with his mother to her own private apartments inEdo Castle. "The younger son (Tsunayoshi) apparently distinguished himself by his precociousness and liveliness at an early age, and the father, the third shogun, Iemitsu, became fearful that he might usurp the position of his duller elder brothers [and] thus he ordered that the boy (Tsunayoshi) not to be brought up as a samurai/warrior, as was becoming for his station, but be trained as a scholar."[attribution needed][4] His childhood name was Tokumatsu (徳松).
While his father wasshōgun, his mother was an adopted daughter of theHonjō family, led byHonjō Munemasa (1580–1639) in Kyoto. His mother's natural parents were merchants in Kyoto. This remarkable woman was very close with Tsunayoshi in his young years, and while his older brother Ietsuna began to rely on regents for much of his reign, Tsunayoshi did exactly the opposite, relying on his remarkable mother for advice until her death.
In 1651,shōgun Iemitsu died when Tsunayoshi was only five years old. His older brother, Tokugawa Ietsuna, became shogun. For the most part, Tsunayoshi's life during the reign of his brothershōgun Ietsuna is unknown, but he never advised his brother.
Consorts and their issue(s)
In 1680,shōgun Ietsuna died at the premature age of 38.
A power struggle ensued, and for a time, the succession remained an open question.Sakai Tadakiyo, one of Ietsuna's most favored advisors, suggested that the succession not pass to someone of the Tokugawa line, but rather to the blood royal, favoring one of the sons ofEmperor Go-Sai to become the nextshōgun (as during theKamakura shogunate) but Tadakiyo was dismissed soon after.
Hotta Masatoshi, one of the most brilliant advisors ofshōgun Ietsuna's rule, was the first person to suggest that Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, as the brother of the formershōgun and the son of the third, become the nextshōgun. Finally, in 1681 (Tenna 1), Tsunayoshi's elevation was confirmed; and he was installed as the fifthshōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Immediately after becomingshōgun, Tsunayoshi gaveHotta Masatoshi the title ofTairō, in a way thanking him for ensuring his succession. Almost immediately after he became shogun, he ordered a vassal of theTakata to commit suicide because of misgovernment, showing his strict approach to the samurai code. He then confiscated his fief of 250,000koku. During his reign, he confiscated a total of 1,400,000koku.
In 1682,shōgun Tsunayoshi ordered his censors and police to raise the living standard of the people. Soon, prostitution was banned, waitresses could not be employed in tea houses, and rare and expensive fabrics were banned. Most probably, smuggling began as a practice in Japan soon after Tsunayoshi's authoritarian laws came into effect. In 1684, Tsunayoshi also decreased the power of thetairō after the assassination of Masatoshi by a cousin in that same year.
Nonetheless, due again to maternal advice, Tsunayoshi became very religious, promoting theNeo-Confucianism ofZhu Xi. In 1682, he read to thedaimyōs an exposition of the "Great Learning", which became an annual tradition at theshōgun's court. He soon began to lecture even more, and in 1690 lectured about Neo-Confucian work toShinto andBuddhistdaimyōs, and even to envoys from the court of EmperorHigashiyama inKyoto. He also was interested in several Chinese works, namelyThe Great Learning (Da Xue) andThe Classic of Filial Piety (Xiao Jing). Tsunayoshi also loved art andNoh theater.
In 1691,Engelbert Kaempfer visited Edo as part of the annualDutch embassy fromDejima inNagasaki. He journeyed from Nagasaki toOsaka, toKyoto, and there toEdo. Kaempfer gives us information on Japan during the early reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. As the Dutch embassy entered Edo in 1692, they asked to have an audience with Shogun Tsunayoshi. While they were waiting for approval, a fire destroyed six hundred houses in Edo, and the audience was postponed. Tsunayoshi and several of the ladies of the court sat behind reed screens, while the Dutch embassy sat in front of them. Tsunayoshi took an interest in Western matters, and apparently asked them to talk and sing with one another for him to see how Westerners behaved. Tsunayoshi later put on a Noh drama for them.
Owing to religious fundamentalism, Tsunayoshi sought protection for living beings in the later parts of his rule. In the 1690s and first decade of the 1700s, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, thought he should take several measures concerning dogs. A collection of edicts released daily, known as theEdicts on Compassion for Living Things (生類憐みの令,Shōruiawareminorei), told the populace, among other things, to protect dogs, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city. Therefore, he earned the pejorative titleInu-Kubō (犬公方:Inu=Dog,Kubō=formal title of Shogun).[3]
In 1695, there were so many dogs that Edo began to smell horribly. An apprentice was even executed because he wounded a dog. Finally, the issue was taken to an extreme, as over 50,000 dogs were deported to kennels in the suburbs of the city where they would be housed. They were apparently fed rice and fish at the expense of the taxpaying citizens of Edo.
For the latter part of Tsunayoshi's reign, he was advised byYanagisawa Yoshiyasu.[3] It was a golden era of classic Japanese art, known as theGenroku era.
In 1701,Asano Naganori, thedaimyō ofAkō han, having been allegedly insulted byKira Yoshinaka inEdo Castle, attempted to kill him. Asano was executed, but Kira went unpunished. Asano'sforty-sevenrōnin avenged his death by killing Kira and became a legend that influenced many plays and stories of the era. The most successful of them was abunraku play calledKanadehon Chūshingura (now simply calledChūshingura, or "Treasury of Loyal Retainers"), written in 1748 byTakeda Izumo and two associates; it was later adapted into akabuki play, which is still one of Japan's most popular. The earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in 1822 inIsaac Titsingh's book,Illustrations of Japan.[8]
Tsunayoshi's first son Tokugawa Tokumatsu (1679–1683) died at the age of 4 due to illness.
In 1704, Tsunayoshi's only surviving child, Tsuruhime died following a miscarriage and a few months after her[whose?] husband, his son-in-law, Tokugawa Tsunanori ofKii Domain also died. Therefore, Tsunayoshi appointed his nephew,Tokugawa Ienobu, heir apparent in the winter of 1704. Ienobu was the son of his other brother,Tokugawa Tsunashige, the former Lord ofKōfu, which was a title Ienobu held himself before becomingshōgun. Ienobu moved into the official residence of Shogunal heir apparent at theWestern Perimeter of Edo Castle.
In 1706, Edo was hit by a typhoon, andMount Fuji erupted the following year.
It was insinuated that Tsunayoshi was stabbed by his consort after he tried to proclaim an illegitimate child as his heir; this concept, stemming from theSanno Gaiki, is refuted in contemporary records which explain that Tsunayoshi had the measles at the end of his life and died on 19 February 1709, in the presence of his entourage.[9] His death was just four days short of his 63rd birthday. He was given the Buddhist name Joken'in (常憲院) and buried inKan'ei-ji.
The years in which Tsunayoshi was shogun are more specifically identified by more than oneera name ornengō.[10]
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Media related toTokugawa Tsunayoshi at Wikimedia Commons| Royal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Lord of Tatebayashi: Tokugawa Tsunayoshi 1661–1680 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shōgun: Tokugawa Tsunayoshi 1680–1709 | Succeeded by |
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All Tokugawashōguns share descent fromIeyasu, who is recognized as the dynasty's founder. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Timeline and paternities of theTokugawa Shogunate | ||
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 | Lifespan Reign | |
