was a high-ranking government official in Japan under

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

and Ietsuna, the third and fourth Tokugawa Shōgun. As the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of the

Oshi Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Oshi Castle in what is now part of the city of Gyōda, Saitama. History Oshi Castle ...

in modern-day Saitama Prefecture, with an income of 80,000 '' koku'' (earlier 50,000), Abe was appointed ''

wakadoshiyori The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in the Edo period Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' we ...

'' (junior councillor) in 1633,Though Frederic gives 1663 as the date for this event, Sansom gives 1633, which seems more likely given the context and the other events and actions of his life. and ''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''shō ...

'' (Elder Councillor) shortly afterwards. Iemitsu died in 1651 and was succeeded by his ten-year-old son Ietsuna. In accordance with the custom of ''

junshi refers to the medieval Japanese act of vassals committing seppuku (a voluntary suicide) for the death of their lord. Originally it was only performed when the lord was slain in battle or murdered. Background The practice is described by Chines ...

'', a number of Iemitsu's closest retainers and advisors committed suicide so as to follow their lord in death; Abe did not engage in this practice, and was left, along with a handful of other high-ranking officials and advisors, to handle the affairs of government. Especially remembered for his integrity, high morals, and practical sense of good government, Abe Tadaaki is known for his attempts to find employment for a number of samurai who became ''

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...

'' in the wake of the

Keian Uprising The was a failed coup d'état attempt carried out against the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan in 1651, by a number of ''rōnin''. Though it failed, the event is historically significant as an indication of a wider problem of disgruntled rōnin through ...

, a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' which failed to be executed that same year, just after Iemitsu's death. While other government ministers reacted to the uprising with the instinctive desire to expel all ''rōnin'' from Edo (the shogunal capital; today

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

), Abe thought it more pertinent to take a somewhat softer tack, aiding the rōnin in seeking legitimate employment, and thus drastically reducing the number who would have reason to take up arms against the shogunate. Several years before Tadaaki's death in 1671,

Sakai Tadakiyo , also known as Uta-no-kami, Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. (1999) ''Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed,'' p. 442./ref> was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in Kōzuke Province, and a high-ranking government advisor and official in the Tokugawa shogu ...

was appointed head of the council of ''rōjū''; Tadaaki constantly rebuked Sakai for his poor sense of proper policy, and his laidback nature. He accused Sakai of taking bribes, and of handling situations on a case-by-case basis, without any sense of overall policy or progress towards a goal. Nevertheless, after thirty-eight years of loyal service to the shogunate, Tadaaki died at the old age of 69, leaving the government in the hands of the likes of those whose policies (or dire lack thereof) would lead over the course of several decades to the

Genroku was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from the ninth month of 1688 to the third month of 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415. The period w ...

period (1688–1704), which saw a peak in corruption, hedonism, and wastefulness.

Notes

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. *Sansom, George (1963). ''A History of Japan: 1615–1867''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Tadaaki Rōjū Daimyo 1602 births 1671 deaths People from Tokyo