was a Japanese feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early

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 ...

periods. He held the title of ''Bingo no Kami'' and the Imperial court rank of junior 5th, lower grade (''ju-go i no ge''). Though he began as a retainer of

Tsutsui Sadatsugu was a cousin and adopted son of Tsutsui Junkei, a feudal lord of the Yamato province. At the death of Junkei in 1584, he was relocated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Iga Province, where he built the Iga Ueno Castle. In 1585, he participated at Hide ...

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

, he became a lord in his own right, acquiring the 60,000 koku Shimabara Domain in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, in 1600. He is most famous for being the lord whose domain was the center of 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 ...

of 1638.

Early life

Matsukura Shigemasa was born in 1574 in

, the son of Matsukura ''Ukon'' Shigenobu, a retainer of the

Tsutsui clan Tsutsui clan is a Japanese clan originating during the Sengoku period (16th century) of Japan. Throughout the time of the 16th century, the Tsutsui clan would mainly control the Yamato Province, due to the efforts of the feudal lord (''daimyō'') ...

. However, following the death of

Tsutsui Junkei son of Tsutsui Junshō, and a ''daimyō'' of the province of Yamato. On 1571, Junkei, through the offices of Akechi Mitsuhide, pledged to service of Oda Nobunaga. Military life Early in his career, in 1565, Matsunaga Hisahide, one of the most ...

, the

was moved to

Iga Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the T� ...

, and the Matsukura remained in Yamato, coming under the supervision of the

Toyotomi clan 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 ...

. In 1600 he fought in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, and for his merits was awarded lordship of Gojo-Futami Castle by

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 ...

. For his meritorious actions in the Tokugawa army at the Domyoji front of the Osaka Summer Campaign, he was awarded an increase in stipend and was transferred in 1616 to Hinoe in

Hizen Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...

, a 43,000 koku domain formerly belonging to Arima Harunobu.

Overtaxation and persecution

In 1618, as per the ''Ikkoku-ichijō'' (一国一城, "One Castle Per Province") order established by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, Shigemasa dismantled his two castles of Hara and Hinoe, and began construction on the new

Shimabara Castle , also known as and , is a Japanese castle located in Shimabara, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki prefecture). This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture. Overview ...

(also known as the Matsutake Castle). The castle was on a scale much grander than the domain could afford and so Shigemasa taxed the commoners beyond belief, with the price of the castle construction resulting in twice the amount that the domain could reasonably afford. In 1621, persecutions of Christians began, with mutilation and branding being practices ordered by the ever-tightening restrictions of the shogun

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 ...

. In Shimabara, the Matsukura clan tortured Christians by boiling them alive in the infamous Unzen Volcanic Springs, beginning in 1627. In 1629, Shigemasa approached the Nagasaki magistrate, Takenaka ''Danjo no Sho'' Shigeyoshi, and offered to do the same for all Christians in Nagasaki. Takenaka agreed.

Plans for Luzon

Subsequently, Shigemasa had hopes of further hampering the safety of Christians by attacking

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, in the Philippines. To this end he further taxed his citizens. While the Tokugawa shogunate did not entirely approve of his iron rule, it did approve, albeit quietly, of his desire for a foreign expedition.

Death and succession

Before Shigemasa could make good on his plans, he died at the Obama Hot Springs in 1630. Some believe he was poisoned by the Shogunate for having unnecessarily pushed his citizens too hard, but the truth remains unclear. The family headship was passed on to his son

Matsukura Katsuie ( Matsukura Shigetsugu or Shigeharu) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. The son of Matsukura Shigemasa, Katsuie continued his father's policies of extraordinarily high taxation and persecution of Christians, which eventually led ...

, but as Katsuie continued his father's draconian measures, the peasants and masterless samurai within the domain revolted, igniting the

. The Matsukura family came to an end when Katsuie was beheaded by Shogunal order, and the Shogunate placed the domain under the care of Mori Nagatsugu (lord of the

Tsuyama Domain 270px, Matsudaira Naritami, 8th daimyo of Tsuyama 270px, Kakuzankan, han school was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now northern Okayama Prefecture. It controlled most of Mimasaka Province and wa ...

Mimasaka Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is northern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū Province, Bitchū, Bizen Province, Bizen, Harima Province, Harima, Hōki Province, Hō ...

), before passing it on to the Koriki family, which was transferred in from Hamamatsu, in

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

References

List of the genealogies of ruling families of the Shimabara domain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsukura, Shigemasa 1574 births 1630 deaths Tozama daimyo