Tokugawa Tsugutomo

Tokugawa Tsugutomo (徳川継友, March 25, 1692 – January 5, 1731) was daimyō of Owari Domain during mid-Edo period Japan.

Biography

Tokugawa Tsugutomo was the 11th son of the 3rd daimyō of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Tsunanari by a concubine, who was a commoner. He became 6th Tokugawa daimyō of Owari Domain on the unexpected death of his brother Tokugawa Yoshimichi, and Yoshimichi’s son Tokugawa Gorōta in 1713. He was severely reprimanded by the domain’s senior retainer, Takenokoshi Masatake, for having thrown a celebratory party immediately on his succession, ignoring the customary mourning period.

Tsugutomo was awarded lower 4th Court Rank and the ceremonial position of Captain of the Left Guards on January 11, 1713, and was promoted to 3rd Court Rank and was given a kanji from the name of Shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu. He advanced to the ceremonial post of Chūnagon on December 26, 1715.

Whereas his predecessor, Yoshimichi, had enjoyed the high regard of the 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu, Tsugutomo was viewed with suspicion by senior shogunal retainers Manabe Akifusa and Arai Hakuseki, as Tsugutomo had the closest claim by direct descent to the position of Shogun, and the 7th Shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu had no heirs. Tsugutomo’s position was also bolstered by the fact that his official wife was the daughter of the kampaku Konoe Iehiro, with ties to the powerful faction led by Tenei-in within the Ōoku of Edo Castle. Despite his blood ties and political connections, Tsugutomo was bypassed by the shogunal succession, and Tokugawa Yoshimune from Kii Domain was selected to become 8th Shogun instead.

Tsugutomo was noted for his fiscal acuity from an early age, and reformed the finances of Owari Domain. He also supported Yoshimune’s Kyōhō Reforms, which left the domain with a very considerable fiscal surplus. The castle town of Nagoya prospered under his administration, increasing in population, and attracting merchants such as Echigoya from Edo.

Tsugutomo died on January 5, 1731, without an heir (his only son, by a concubine, having died in infancy). The leadership of the domain passed to his younger half-brother, the 19th son of Tokugawa Tsunanari, Tokugawa Muneharu. Tsugutomo’s grave is at the Owari Tokugawa clan temple of Kenchū-ji in Nagoya.

References

• Nakai, Kate Widman. Shogunal politics: Arai Hakuseki and the premises of Tokugawa rule. Harvard University Asia Center (1988). ISBN 0674806530
• Papinot, Edmund.. (1906) Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha...Click link for digitized 1906 Nobiliaire du japon (2003)
• The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.