, also known as Matsudaira Keiei,Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 335. or better known as Matsudaira Shungaku (春嶽) 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

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 ...

. He was head of the Fukui Domain in

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...

.Burks, Ardath W. (1985)
''The Modernizers: overseas students, foreign employees, and Meiji Japan'', p. 56
He is counted as one of the , along with

Date Munenari __NOTOC__ The Marquis was the eighth head of the Uwajima Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and a politician of the early Meiji era. Early life Munenari was born in Edo, the 4th son of the hatamoto Yamaguchi Naokatsu. Munenari, then known ...

, Yamauchi Yōdō and

Shimazu Nariakira was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain. He was renowned as an intelligent and wise lord, and was greatly interested in Western learning and technology. He was e ...

. "Yoshinaga" is his ''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, in that order. Nevertheless, when a Japanese name is written in the Roman alphabet, ever since the Meiji era, the official policy has been to cater to Western expecta ...

'' and "Shungaku" (春嶽, "Spring Mountain") is his '' gō''.

Early life

He was born in

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

as the eighth son of

Tokugawa Narimasa was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. The son of Tokugawa Harusada, head of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa house, he succeeded Tokugawa Haruaki as head of the Tayasu branch of the Tokugawa house, which had been without a ruler for some time. Hi ...

, head of the Tayasu-Tokugawa, one of the '' gosankyō'' cadet branches of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful '' daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this cl ...

. His childhood name was "Kin-no-jo" (錦之丞). He was designated to be adopted to

Matsudaira Katsuyoshi The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...

, the ''

'' of

Iyo-Matsuyama Domain 270px, Matsudaira Katsushige, 13th daimyō of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Matsuyama Cast ...

even before he was born, and it was officially announced on November 25, 1837. However, on July 27, 1838, Matsudaira Narisawa, the young ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain suddenly died without heir. His sister, Asahime (matsudaira narisawa's predecessor's widow) and his brothers, Tokugawa Nariyoshi and

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators 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, though during part of the Kamaku ...

Tokugawa Ieyoshi agreed to have Kin-no-jo became the next ''daimyō'' of Fukui. After his ''

genpuku is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD). /sup> This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participat ...

'' ceremony, he took the name of "Matsudaira Yoshinaga", having been granted a ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

'' from the name of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi. At this time, he was At that time, granted court rank of Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade and his

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

was ''Echizen-no-kami'' and ''Sakon'e-no-gonshōjō''. On April 6, 1839, he was married to Yu-hime, a daughter of

Hosokawa Narimori Hosokawa (typically ja, 細川, meaning "narrow river" or "little river") is a Japanese surname. People with the name include: *Bill Hosokawa (1915–2007), Japanese American author and journalist *Chieko Hosokawa (born 1929), a Japanese manga a ...

of Kumamoto Domain.

As a Local Ruler

In 1839, he began implementation of a fiscal austerity plan in an effort to resolve the perennial financial difficulties of Fukui Domain. He began by cutting the stipends for all of his samurai retainers in half for a three-year period, and also his own expenses for five years. In January 1840, with the discharge of Matsudaira Shume reformists such as Nakane Yukie, Yuri Kimimasa and Hashimoto Sanai took a leading role in domain politics. Yoshinaga performed innovative work such as establishment of a translation bureau "Yoshō-shūgaku-sho" to acquire ''

rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of West ...

'' knowledge and spur military modernisation. He built a modern armaments factory, and the ''Meidōkan''

han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of '' daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hanga ...

was nationally recognised. A ''bussan-shokaijō,'' or cooperative venture been the domain and rich merchants also contributed to the domain's economic recovery. In 1851, he was promoted to ''Sakon'e-no-gonchūjō'' and Senior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade.

Participation to the National Affairs

In 1853, in the aftermath of the

Perry Expedition The Perry Expedition ( ja, 黒船来航, , "Arrival of the Black Ships") was a diplomatic and military expedition during 1853–1854 to the Tokugawa Shogunate involving two separate voyages by warships of the United States Navy. The goals of thi ...

to demand an end to Japan's national isolation policy, at first Yoshinaga joined anti-foreigner party led by Tokugawa Nariaki ( ''daimyō'' of

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Shimazu Nariakira was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain. He was renowned as an intelligent and wise lord, and was greatly interested in Western learning and technology. He was e ...

( ''daimyō'' of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, l ...

). However, later he changed his position to opening the country to foreign trading party after contact with ''

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 ...

'' Abe Masahiro. When the succession problem of 14th Shōgun arose, he delegated his retainer Hashimoto Sanai to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

in support

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

, the lord of Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family. However, with the accession of

Ii Naosuke was ''daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the ...

to the position of ''

Tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...

'', Yoshinobu's faction was defeated and

Tokugawa Iemochi (July 17, 1846 – August 29, 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. ...

(of the Kishu-Tokugawa family) became Shōgun. The

Ii clan is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naom ...

Hikone Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in eastern Ōmi Province, in the Kansai region of central Honshu. The domain was centered at Hikone Castle, located in what is now the city of ...

and the Echizen-Matsudaira clan of Fukui Domain had a strong enmity for several generations, and relations between the ''Tairō'' worsened further after Ii pushed through the ratification of Treaty of Amity and Commerce between US and Japan without acceptance by

Emperor Kōmei was the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...

. Infuriated, Yoshinaga intruded to Edo castle with Tokugawa Nariaki to protest against Naosuke's actions. On 5 July 1858, he was forced to resign as ''daimyō'' of the Fukui Domain as part of the

Ansei purge was a multi-year event in Japanese history of the Edo period between 1858 and 1860, during which the Tokugawa shogunate imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge was undertaken by ...

. At this time, he took the name of "Shungaku".

In the End of Tokugawa Shogunate

The assassination of Ii Naosuke in the Sakuradamon Incident changed the Shogunate's policy, allowing Matsudaira Shungaku to return to politics in April 1862. he strongly supported the '' kōbu gattai'' movement to strength the relations between the shogunate and the Imperial court. He was appointed to the newly-created post of ''Seiji sōsaishoku'', a high-ranking government oversight position and worked with

Matsudaira Katamori Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He i ...

( ''daimyō'' of

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in ...

), who was appointed Military Commissioner of Kyoto, who was in charge of security for the Emperor. In 1862, Shungaku formed the Rōshigumi, a group of ''

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' ...

'' organised as a paramilitary militia to help guard Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi on his 1863 trip to Kyoto. He also invited Yokoi Shōnan from Kumamoto Domain as a political consultant, and planned at Shogun

Tokugawa Ieshige Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川家重 (January 28, 1712 – July 13, 1761) was the ninth '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The first son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, his mother was the daughter of Ōkubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata ...

relocate to Kyoto. These actions were known as the Bunkyū Renovation after the

Japanese era name The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

. In 1863, the Rōshigumi were transformed into the

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time w ...

. Matsudaira Shungaku moved to Kyoto the same year, but the increasing strength of the ''

Sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement s ...

'' movement led by the

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

forced him into increasingly unfavourable compromises, and he was forced to resign as ''Seiji sōsaishoku'' in disappointment. Shungaku returned to Fukui, and from June 1863, began preparation on a plan to raise an army consisting of all of the samurai of Fukui Domain, which would march on Kyoto and would be led by

Matsudaira Mochiaki was a Bakumatsu period ''daimyō'' under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was the 7th ''daimyō'' of Itoigawa Domain in Echigo Province and later the 17th (and final) ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province.Burks, Ardat ...

. Although

, Kumamoto Domain and

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

amenable to the idea and there was no immediate opposition from Emperor Kōmei, his appeals to other domains went unanswered and the shogunate was not supportive, so the proposed coup never took place. Instead, there were increasing acts of assassination against members of the Tokugawa clan by pro-''

'' ''rōnin''. After purge of Chōshū Domain by Aizu Domain and Satsuma Domain (The coup of 18 August) and

Kinmon Incident The , also known as the , was a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan that took place on August 20 unar calendar: 19th day, 7th month 1864, near the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. History Starting with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1 ...

, Matsudaira Shungaku returned to Kyoto in 1867 as a member of the ''Sanyo Kagi (''参預会議), a short-lived consultative assembly consisting of

, Shimazu Hisamitsu,

, Matsudaira Katamori and Yamauchi Yōdō. This congress was aimed at diminishing the power of the Shogunate and establishing a council system of government by the Imperial Court with select major domains. Meetings were held eight times at Shungaku's residence, and discussions were held on opening of Hyogo (Kobe) Port to other nations and on how to respond to the threat posed by Chōshū Domain. The system didn't function well because of conflicts between then members, especially the personal enmity between Shimazu Hisamitsu and Tokugawa Yoshinobu. On 22 March 1864 Shungaku replaced Matsudaira Katamori as Military Commissioner of Kyoto, but he resigned on 7 April. On October 1867, Yoshinobu resigned as shōgun, returning political power to the Imperial Court, but tried to maintain Tokugawa hegemony as the most powerful of the feudal lords. In the subsequent

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 clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

, Shungaku acted as an intermediary until the final surrender of the pro-Tokugawa forces in 1869. In 1868, his court rank was elevated to Junior Second Rank, and his courtesy title to '' Gon-Chūnagon''. His court rank became Senior Second Rank in 1869.

After Meiji restoration

In 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 served in a number of cabinet-equivalent posts, including Chief Executive of Internal Affairs, but soon resigned all posts in protest of the domination of the Meiji government by members of the former Chōshū and Satsuma domains. In 1870, Shungaku invited

William Elliot Griffis William Elliot Griffis (September 17, 1843 – February 5, 1928) was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author.Brown, John Howard. (1904)."Griffis, William Elliot,"''The Twentieth Century Biographical Diction ...

to Japan as an

oyatoi gaikokujin The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the ...

to teach in Fukui. Together with Ikeda Mochimasa and

, he helped write the ''Tokugawa reiten roku'', a compilation of records of Tokugawa shogunate ritual protocol, in 1881. He was also awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...

, second class in 1881 and his court rank was promoted to Junior First Rank in 1888. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, first class in 1889. Shungaku died at age of 63 in 1890. His

death poem The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures—most prominently in Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history and Joseon Korea. They tend to offer a reflection on death—both in g ...

is "Even if I become one of countless souls, I would soar up to heaven and protect Emperor's reign for our nation (Naki-kazu-ni/Yoshiya-iru-tomo/Amakakeri/Miyo-wo-Mamoramu/Sume-kuni-no-tame)". His tomb is located at the temple Kaian-ji in

Shinagawa is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Orin no Kata (1796-1871) * Wife: Yu-hime （1834-1887, daughter of Hosokawa Narimori of Kumamoto Domain * Children: **Yasuhime (1860-1865) *Concubine: Oman *Children: **Sadahima (1865-1866) **Seihime (1867) *Concubine (name unknown) *Children **Sakihime (1872) ** Rokunosuke (1873) ** Kōtai (1875) *Concubine: Fujita (1855-1925） ** Setsuhime (1876-1936), married Matsudaira Yasutaka ** Satōhime (1878-1955), married Tokugawa Atsushi ** Masahime (1879-1940), married Mōri Gorō ** Chiyōhime (1881-1952), married Sanji Kimiyoshi **

Matsudaira Yoshitami was Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Office (now the Imperial Household Agency) (1947–1948). He was a graduate of the University of Oxford.『官報』 1942年07月11日叙任及辞令「式部長官従三位勲二等子爵松平慶� ...

(1882-1948) ** Tokugawa Yoshichika (1886-1976), head of the Owari-Tokugawa clan

Episodes

*Yoshinaga wrote letters inscribed on " Bunkyu-Eihou" coin minted at end of Shogunate. *Yoshinaga named the regnal year " Meiji". *Yoshinaga is seen as one of the "Four Wise Lords at the end of Shogunate" together with Shimazu Nariakira (Lord of Satsuma), Yamauchi Toyonobu (Lord of Tosa), and Date Munenari (Lord of Uwajima). But he himself later said "The real Wise Lord was Shimazu Nariakira only, and even Mito Lords, Yamaushi Yodo, Nabeshima Naotada and of course I cannot even come close to him." *Yoshinaga is created with planting the first western-style apples in Japan at the clan's residence in

Sugamo is a neighborhood in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is home to , a shopping street popular among the older generation, earning it the nickname "Granny's Harajuku." It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote Line and National Route 17. Availab ...

, Tokyo

References

External links

"Fukui" at Edo 300
*
越前松平氏 (Echizen Matsudaira) at ReichsArchiv.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsudaira, Yoshinaga Shinpan daimyo Japanese politicians Tokugawa clan Fukui-Matsudaira clan 1828 births 1890 deaths Meiji Restoration People of the Boshin War Deified Japanese people