was an early to mid-

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 ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, and ''

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 ...

''. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Matsudaira" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 30
retrieved 2013-4-9.

Biography

Tadamasa was born in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

as the second son of

Yūki Hideyasu was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province, Echizen. Early life Hideyasu was born as in 1574, the second son of To ...

. His childhood name was Toramatsu (虎松) later become Toranosuke (虎之助). In 1607, he was received in audience by his grandfather,

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

and uncle

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. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May ...

. Hidetada took a liking to the boy, and ordered that he be raised in the Tokugawa household by Eishō-in together with

Tokugawa Yorinobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Born under the name Nagatomimaru (長福丸), he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Kageyama-dono. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 2 ...

. In the same year, he was assigned a fief of 10,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'', and became ''daimyō'' of Kazusa-Anegasaki Domain. He was noted for his skill in the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

, and accompanied Hidetada during the

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, where he was frustrated that he would not be allowed to participate in the battle due to his youth. He strongly petitioned Hidetada to perform his ''

genpuku is a public holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday of January under the Happy Monday System. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have already reached the age of maturity between April 2 of the previou ...

'' ceremony before the start of the Osaka summer campaign, and Hidetada agreed, granting him a ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

'' from his name and Court rank of Senior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade and the

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 ...

was ''Iyo-no-kami''. He subsequently distinguished himself in combat with his prowess with the spear, which later became an heirloom of the Echizen-Matsudaira clan. As a reward for his actions in battle, he was transferred to

Shimotsuma Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimotsuma ''Jin'ya'' in what is now the city of Shimotsuma, Ibaraki. It wa ...

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

(30,000 ''koku'') in 1615, but the following year he replaced the disgraced Matsudaira Tadateru at

Matsushiro Domain file:松代城(海津城) Matsushiro castle 2011.1.1 - panoramio (2).jpg, 300px, Matsushiro Castle file:Ryukoji05.JPG, Part of the Matsushiro domain's Edo estate, relocated to Kamakura and used as a hall at Ryuko-ji Temple was a Han (Japan), feud ...

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

(120,000 ''koku''). In 1619 he was transferred again, this time to Takada Domain in

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

(250,000 ''koku''). In 1623, he replaced his elder brother Matsudaira Tadanao as ''daimyō'' of

Fukui Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003). The ...

(500,000 ''koku'') In 1626 his court rank was raised to Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. In 1634, he accompanied Shōgun

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

to Kyoto, and Fukui Domain reached its peak ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 5 ...

'' of 505,600 ''koku''. In 1637, he was disappointed that no order came to lead his troops during the

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an rebellion, uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpo ...

, so he visited the battle in a private capacity with only twelve retainers. In 1643, he ordered the rebuilding of Mikuni Harbor as the main port of Fukui Domain. He died in 1648 at the domain's residence in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

. On his death, seven of his senior retainers also committed ''

junshi refers to the medieval Japanese act of vassals committing suicide for the death of their lord. Background The practice is described by Chinese chronicles, describing the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago, going as far back as the thi ...

''. His grave is at the temple of

Eihei-ji file:Plan Eihei-ji.svg, 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). The other is Sōji-ji in Yokohama. Eihei-ji is loc ...

in Fukui. He had a magnificent upper residence (''kamiyashiki'') constructed outside

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 th ...

Family

* Father: Yuki Hideyasu * Mother: Seiryō-in, daughter Nakagawa Kazushige * Wives: ** Asano Hanahime, daughter of

Asano Yoshinaga was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. His father served as one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' in the late Azuchi–Momoyama period. Asano Yoshinaga was born at Odani, in the Asai district of Ōmi Province, in ...

Wakayama Domain Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) file:Wakayama city hall03nt3200.jpg, Wakayama City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had ...

** Ichihime, daughter of ''

kuge The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th ce ...

'' Hirohashi Kuroishi * Concubines: ** Kōshō-in (Uragami dono) ** Shiraishi dono * Children: ** Matsudaira Masakatsu (1636-1693) by Shiraishi **

Matsudaira Mitsumichi was an early to mid-Edo period Japanese people, Japanese samurai, and the 4th ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain.Foulk, T. Griffin. "The Forgotten history of Daian-zenji, a Tokugawa-period Zen Monastery," ''The Japan Foundation Newsletter'' (''Kokusai ...

by Ichihime ** Chōmatsu ** Tokumatsu ** Matsudaira Masachika by Uragami ** Manhime married Matsudaira Tsunataka of

Matsue Domain 270px, Surviving walls and moat of Matsue Castle 270px, Matsudaira Sadayasu, final ''daimyō'' of Matsue was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Shimane Prefecture. It was centered around ...

** Kunihime married Honda Shigeaki of Muraoka Domain later married Asukai Masanao (''

'') ** Senhime married Mōri Tsunahiro of

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 ...

** Furihime married Doi Toshinao of Owa Domain

References

* Papinot, Edmond. (1948). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. New York: Overbeck Co.

External links

Fukui Domain on "Edo 300 HTML"
(3 November 2007) *
越前松平氏 (Echizen Matsudaira) at ReichsArchiv.jp

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsudaira, Tadamasa Shinpan daimyo 1598 births 1645 deaths Fukui-Matsudaira clan