,Keene, Donald. (2002) ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912'', p. 43. /ref> also known as Sakai Tadayoshi,Meyer, Eva-Mari Universität Tübingen (in German); Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 339. was a Japanese ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
'' of the
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, and he was a prominent shogunal official. He was also known as by his
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
s of ''Shūri-daibu'' (1834; and again in 1850); as ''Wakasa-no-kami'' (1841); and ''Ukyō-daibu'' (1862). He was Obama's last ''daimyō'', holding this position until the feudal domains were abolished in 1871.
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
of ''Wakasa-no-kami'' and Lower 4th, Junior grade court rank. In 1842, was appointed a '' sōshaban'' and '' jisha-bugyō'' simultaneously. The following year was appointed the 48th '' Kyoto Shoshidai'', and added the title of ''Jijū'' to his honorifics. Owing to his opposition of the candidacy of Tokugawa Yoshitomi (the later shōgun Iemochi) for the position of ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
'', he angered the political faction within the government which supported Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu. This was one of the causes of Ii Naosuke's Ansei Purge, and Tadaaki was forced to resign as ''Kyoto Shoshidai'' in 1850.
Tadaaki was reappointed as the 52nd ''Kyoto Shoshidai'' from August 5, 1858, through July 26, 1862. Many of the events which occurred in Kyoto during the tumultuous Bakumatsu period occurred while he was at Kyoto. During this period, he served as chief intermediary between the shogunate in Edo and
Emperor Kōmei
Osahito (22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei, was the 121st emperor of Japan, according to the List of Emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 ...
during a period of extensive negotiations, delays, and political maneuvering which accompanied plans for the eventual marriage of Komei's sister, Princess Kazunomiya, and
Tokugawa Iemochi
(17 July 1846 – 29 August 1866) was the 14th '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866.
During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. I ...
in March 1862.Keene pp.52 ��62.
He resigned again in 1862, this time also from the position of ''daimyō'', adopting Sakai Tadauji, the son of a ''
hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...
'' as his heir, and went into retirement. At this time, he also changed his name to Tadatoshi (忠禄). However, with the start of the
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...
, following the defeat of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
forces at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he resumed the post of ''daimyō'' and defected to the Imperial side. In 1869, he was appointed imperial governor of Wakasa under the new
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...
. He died in 1873.
Notes
References
* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888) ''Ancien Japon.'' Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha.
* Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868''. London:
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