Sakai Tadakatsu | |
|---|---|
| 酒井 忠勝 | |
 Sakai Tadakatsu | |
| Born | (1587-07-21)July 21, 1587 |
| Died | August 25, 1662(1662-08-25) (aged 75) |
| Burial place | Obama, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Father | Sakai Tadatoshi |
| Daimyō ofFukaya Domain | |
| In office 1626–1627 | |
| Preceded by | Matsudaira Tadateru |
| Daimyō ofKawagoe Domain | |
| In office 1627–1634 | |
| Preceded by | Sakai Tadatoshi |
| Succeeded by | Hotta Masamori |
| Daimyō ofObama Domain | |
| In office 1634–1656 | |
| Preceded by | Kyōgoku Tadataka |
| Succeeded by | Sakai Tadanao |
Sakai Tadakatsu (酒井 忠勝, July 21, 1587 – August 25, 1662) was aSengoku periodJapanesesamurai, and earlyEdo perioddaimyō and served in several important positions within the administration of theTokugawa shogunate.[1][2]
Tadakatsu was born inNishio,Mikawa Province as the son ofSakai Tadatoshi, a hereditary retainer ofTokugawa Ieyasu and futuredaimyō ofKawagoe Domain. In 1591, he was awarded a 3000koku fief inShimōsa Province. In 1600, he was assigned to the train ofTokugawa Hidetada in theBattle of Sekigahara and participated in Hidetada's failed attempt to defeat theSanada clan at theSiege of Ueda. He was awarded the court rank of Lower 5th, Junior Grade and thecourtesy title ofSanuki-no-kami in 1607.[3] In 1620,Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada assigned Tadatoshi to the court of his son,Tokugawa Iemitsu and gained him additional estates with akokudaka of 7,000koku in Fukaya,Musashi Province in 1622. This enabled him to resurrectFukaya Domain and to style himself as adaimyō.
In 1624, when Iemitsu became Shōgun, Tadakatsu was awarded with an additional 20,000koku in holdings scattered throughout the provinces ofKazusa, Shimōsa and Musashi. The same year, together withDoi Toshikatsu, he was promoted to the office ofrōjū.
On the death of his father, Sakai Tadatoshi in 1627, Tadakatsu inherited theKawagoe Domain. He added an additional 20,000koku to the domain's holdings in Musashi Province in 1632 and his court rank was increased to Lower 4th, Junior Grade, with the additional courtesy title ofJijū added to his honorifics. In 1634, he was transferred toObama Domain, whose holdings covered all ofWakasa Province, with additional holdings inEchizen,Ōmi andAwa. This brought his totalkokudaka to 123,500koku.
In 1638 (together with Doi Toshikatsu), he retired from the post ofrōjū, with permission to return for important issues. This dispensation later evolved into the official title oftairō.[4]
In 1643, he was promoted to Upper 4th, Junior Grade court rank and added the courtesy title ofSakonoe-gon-shōshō.
Also in 1643, he was involved in the "Nanbu Incident", when ten sailors (including the captain) of the Dutch ShipBreskens were taken into custody by local Japanese officials.[5] after theBreskens had sailed unannounced into the Bay of Yamada in NorthernHonshu.[6] The Dutch ship had visited the bay once before seeking to resupply after a heavy storm, and quickly left after trading with the locals for two days.[7] However, when theBreskens returned in July the ship and its crew were seized by local authorities for its violation of Japan'snational isolation policy.[8] This sparked an international incident, and at the time therōjū serving the shogunate were Sakai Tadakatsu,Matsudaira Nobutsuna, andInoue Masashige.[9] The Shogunal government went to great lengths to use the Nambu incident to pressure the Dutch into sending an embassy toEdo, by which it attempted to use the incident as means of securing domestic legitimacy. What was for the Dutch merely a cynical gesture aimed at preserving their trade relations with Japan was for the shogunate an opportunity to parade twenty-two Dutchmen in red and white striped uniforms through the streets of Edo, impressing upon a domestic audience the fiction that the shogunate's authority was recognized throughout the world.[10]
In 1652, Tadatoshi sponsored the publication of theNihon Ōdai Ichiran in Kyoto.[11] This book was brought from Japan to Europe byIsaac Titsingh in 1796, who translated the text from Japanese and Chinese; and his work was then supplemented for posthumous publication byJulius Klaproth in 1834.[12] In supporting this work, Tadakatsu's motivations appear to spread across a range anticipated consequences; and it becomes likely that his several intentions in seeing that this specific work fell into the hands of an empathetic Western translator were similarly multi-faceted.[13]
In 1656, Sakai Tadatoshi retired from public life. He died in 1662 and his grave is at the clan temple of Kuin-ji in Obama.
TheLion dance (Shishi-mai) is a popular folk dance imported to Obama from Kawagoe by Sakai Tadakatsu. Three lions move to the accompaniment of music played onJapanese flutes.[14] The traditional dance continues to be performed regularly during theHoze Matsuri and theOsiro Matsuri.
| Preceded by |  Daimyō of Fukaya1622–1627 | Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by | Daimyō of Kawagoe 1627–1634 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daimyō of Obama 1634–1656 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
