Tokugawa Ietsugu; 徳川家継 (August 8, 1709 – June 19, 1716) was the seventh ''

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 ...

'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1713 until his death in 1716. He was the son of Tokugawa Ienobu, thus making him the grandson of

Tokugawa Tsunashige was the third son of Tokugawa Iemitsu. His mother was Iemitsu's concubine Onatsu no Kata. His childhood name was Chomatsu (長松). When Iemitsu died in 1651, he was only 8 years old. After he was given Kofu Domain, he remained there until hi ...

, ''

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 Kofu, great-grandson of

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, w ...

, great-great grandson of

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

, and finally the great-great-great grandson of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

Early life (1709–1713)

Tokugawa Ietsugu was born in 1709 in Edo, being the eldest son of ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu and concubine, Gekkōin. At that time, his father was ''shōgun'', and was being advised by his long-time Confucian advisor, Arai Hakuseki, who held considerable influence in the ''shōgun''s court at Edo. At the time Ietsugu was born, his father, Ienobu, was 48. His childhood name was Nabematsu (鍋松). Arai had traced the Tokugawa family's bloodline back to the Minamoto family, the founders of the first shogunate. Thus, Ietsuga also was called Minamoto no Ietsugu. He was only three years old when his father died, upon which he became ''shōgun'' Ietsugu. He married Yoshiko no Miya (1714–1758) in 1715, daughter of

Emperor Reigen was the 112th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 霊元天皇 (112)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 117. Reigen's reign spanned t ...

at that time he was only 4 years and Yoshiko no Miya was only one year old.

Family

* Father: Tokugawa Ienobu * Mother: Gekkōin (1685–1752) * Wife: Yasonomiya Yoshiko (1714–1758)

''Shōgun'' (1713–1716)

Although ''shōgun'' Ietsugu assumed the role as formal head of the ''bakufu'',Titsingh, I. (1834). ''Annales du empereurs du Japon'', p. 416. he was still a toddler. As he was not old or able enough to rule, he was put under the protection and advice of Confucian scholar Arai Hakuseki. Two problems were addressed during Ietsugu's reign: currency reform and foreign trade in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

. Ietsugu did not take much care of the country's matters; and his advisors, namely Arai Hakuseki, addressed them. In 1715, he married Yoshiko-no-miya, daughter of

. He was 5 years old, she was 1 years old. In 1713, prices were rising. Thus, after various proposals (most after the death of Ienobu) submitted to Shogun Ietsugu and Arai, it was decided to create a new currency. In 1714, the new metallic currency was introduced. While rice had increased during the rule of Ienobu, after the currency was introduced during the rule of Ietsugu, it fell to a lower level. The currency reform was closely linked to foreign trade. In 1716, only Dutch and Chinese merchant ships could trade from

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. Reform of the currency system also led to reform of trade rules as well. In 1716, a document was addressed saying that the ''bakufu'' would appoint two commissioners of Foreign Trade 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 Nagasaki, and that 30 Chinese ships and 2 Dutch ships be allowed to enter the country each year. Nonetheless, Japan still remained very isolated.

Death

In ''Shōtoku'' 6, on the 30th day of the 4th month (1716), Shogun Ietsugu died of complications of a cold, at the age of six.Screech, p. 98. He had not done much to rule—but was thought of as a playful and mischievous character. Since he had no children the direct descendant of

came to an end. Nonetheless, there were still collateral lineal branches descended from Ieyasu through one of his many children, and the new ''shōgun'',

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshi ...

, was chosen from one of these lineal Tokugawa branches. His Buddhist name was Yushoin and buried in Zōjō-ji.

Eras of Ietsugu's ''bakufu''

The years in which Ietsugu was ''shōgun'' are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

or ''

nengō 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 ...

''. * '' Shōtoku'' (1711–1716) * ''

Kyōhō , also pronounced Kyōho, was a after '' Shōtoku'' and before '' Gembun.'' This period spanned the years from July 1716 through April 1736. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1716 : The era name of ''Kyōhō'' (meaning "Underg ...

'' (1716–1736)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Screech, Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''. London:

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, ...

. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1822). ''Illustrations of Japan''. London: Ackerman. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). iyun-sai_Rin-siyo/Hayashi_Gahō,_1652.html" ;"title="Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon''. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
* Totman, Conrad. (1967). ''Politics in the Tokugawa bakufu, 1600–1843''. Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Ietsugu 1709 births 1716 deaths 18th-century shōguns Tokugawa shōguns Tokugawa clan Rulers who died as children Child rulers from Asia