,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 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 ...
, 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 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 ...
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.
Biography
Tadaaki was fifth son of
Sakai Tadayuki
was the 10th ''daimyō'' of Obama Domain in mid- to late Edo period Japan.Meyer, Eva-Mari"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit". University of Tübingen (in German).
Biography
Tadayuki was the seventh son of Sakai Tadaka of Tsuruga Domain an ...
, and became ''daimyō'' in 1834 on the retirement of Sakai Tadayori without an heir. His wife was a daughter of Matsudaira Terunobu of
Takasaki Domain
270px, Surviving yagura of Takasaki Castle, headquarters of Takasaki Domain
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Takasaki C ...
. In 1840, he was given the
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 ...
of ''Wakasa-no-kami'' and Lower 4th, Junior grade court rank. In 1842, was appointed a ''
sōshaban
were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Conventional interpretations have construed this Japanese title as "master of ceremonies"
Created in 1632, this '' bakufu'' title identified an official selected from the ranks of the ...
'' and '' jisha-bugyō'' simultaneously. The following year was appointed the 48th ''
Kyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the Tokugawa shogunate. The office was the personal representative of the military dictators Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Kyoto, the seat of the Japanese Emperor, and was adop ...
'', and added the title of ''Jijū'' to his honorifics. Owing to his opposition of the candidacy of
Tokugawa Yoshitomi
(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. ...
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 ...
'', he angered the political faction within the government which supported Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu. This was one of the causes 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 ...
's
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 ...
, 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
was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...
occurred while he was at Kyoto. During this period, he served as chief intermediary between the shogunate in
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
and
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 ...
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
(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. ...
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 shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...
'' 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 clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
, following the defeat 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 ...
forces at the
Battle of Toba-Fushimi
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
, 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:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
; reprinted by
RoutledgeCurzon
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, ...
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fie ...
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...