was a Japanese ''

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 nominall ...

'' of the early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

who was a key figure in the early decades of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

Origins

Hotta Masamori rose through the ranks of the Tokugawa shogunate; his family had a very short history with the Tokugawa family prior to his father Masayoshi's generation. Masayoshi was granted a 700 ''koku'' stipend and his house instituted as a

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...

family, following his and his ancestors' service with a variety of other clans, among them the Oda,

Toyotomi The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

, Maeda, and Kobayakawa. Thanks to his distinction at the Osaka Winter Campaign, Masayoshi was granted an increase in stipend to 1000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'', and the family was at this level of income when Masamori succeeded his father as the family head.

Career

The early period of Masamori's rise in the ranks can be ascribed to his relation to

Lady Kasuga was a Japanese noble lady and politician from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu (who was a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide). She was ...

, the Shōgun

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, w ...

's wetnurse. Because of this connection, he was close to the Shōgun, and this was to open the doors wide for his future success. In 1626 (

Kan'ei was a after '' Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./ref> Chan ...

-3), he received his first post as a captain of the page corps (''koshōgumi-bangashira''). His income subsequently rose to the range of 5000 ''koku'', and an additional 5000 ''koku'' was granted that year. He entered the ranks of the ''

fudai daimyō was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admini ...

s'' with the income of 10,000 ''koku''. On the 23rd day of the 3rd month of

10 (1633), he was appointed a member of the ''rokunin-shu'' (what became the

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 ...

council) together with Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and was granted another 5000 ''koku'', together with the rank that came with being a castle lord. Masamori was subsequently shown great favor by Iemitsu, who promoted him to

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 ...

on the 1st day of the 3rd month of Kan'ei 12 (1635). His income rose to 1,000,000 koku, and he was granted the fief of

Matsumoto Domain 250px, Matsumoto Castle, administrative headquarters of Matsumoto Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Matsumoto Castle, located in ...

, in

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, w ...

. In 1642 he was moved to

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of it ...

Shimotsuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke, Hitachi, Mutsu and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was ...

, where his family remained enfeoffed at 110,000 ''koku'' for the remainder of the Edo period. Masamori committed ''

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 ...

'' (suicide after the death of one's lord) in 1651, at the age of 44.

References

Information on various members of the Hotta clan, including Masamori
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotta, Masamori Wakadoshiyori Rōjū 1606 births 1651 deaths Daimyo Suicides by seppuku