Tokugawa Ieyasu

Lore & Background

Yoshimune was not the son of any former shōgun. He was a member of a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan, the Kii house, founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu's son Tokugawa Yorinobu. Yoshimune's father, Tokugawa Mitsusada, was a first cousin of third shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, making Yoshimune a second cousin to the fourth and fifth shōguns, Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. He became daimyō of Kii in 1705 after his father and two older brothers died. In 1716, after the boy-shōgun Tokugawa Ietsugu died without an heir, the bakufu selected Yoshimune as the next shōgun. He dismissed the conservative adviser Arai Hakuseki and began the Kyōhō Reforms. Yoshimune also tried to resurrect the Japanese swordsmithing tradition, gathering smiths for a great contest in 1721, and ordered the compilation of Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō, listing the best swords in Japan. Although foreign books had been strictly forbidden since 1640, Yoshimune relaxed the rules in 1720, starting an influx of foreign books and their translations, initiating the development of Western studies, or rangaku.

In Their Own Story

In 1707, a tsunami destroyed and killed many in the coastal areas of Kii Province. Yoshimune, then known as Tokugawa Yorikata, did his best to stabilize things in Kii but relied on leadership from Edo. In 1712, Shogun Ienobu died and was succeeded by his son, the boy-shōgun Tokugawa Ietsugu. Yorikata decided he could not rely on conservative Confucianists like Arai Hakuseki in Edo and did what he could to stabilize Kii Domain. Before he could implement changes, shōgun Ietsugu died in early 1716 at age seven without an heir. The bakufu selected the next shōgun from one of the cadet lines. Yoshimune succeeded to the post of the shōgun in Shōtoku-1 (1716). His term as shōgun lasted for 30 years. In 1745, Yoshimune retired, took the title Ōgosho, and left his public post to his oldest son. He died on 12 July 1751.

Reader's Guide

Yoshimune established the gosankyō to augment the gosanke. Two of his sons, together with the second son of his successor Ieshige, became the founders of the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi and Shimizu lines. Unlike the gosanke, they did not rule domains. Yoshimune is known for his financial reforms, beginning the Kyōhō Reforms. He also tried to resurrect the Japanese swordsmithing tradition, gathering smiths from daimyō fiefs for a great contest in 1721. The four winners were Mondo no Shō Masakiyo, Ippei Yasuyo, the 4th generation Nanki Shigekuni, and Nobukuni Shigekane. Yoshimune ordered the compilation of Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō, listing the best and most famous swords all over Japan. This book allowed the beginning of the Shinshintō period of Nihontō history. Although foreign books had been strictly forbidden since 1640, Yoshimune relaxed the rules in 1720, starting an influx of foreign books and their translations into Japan, and initiating the development of Western studies, or rangaku. Yoshimune's relaxation of the rules may have been influenced by a series of lectures delivered before him by the astronomer and philosopher Nishikawa Joken.

Did You Know?

• Yoshimune was the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
• He became daimyō of Kii in 1705 after his father and two older brothers died.
• Yoshimune relaxed the ban on Western literature in 1720, initiating the development of rangaku (Western studies).
• He established the gosankyō, three cadet houses (Tayasu, Hitotsubashi, Shimizu) to augment the gosanke.
• Yoshimune ordered the compilation of Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō, a list of the best swords in Japan, which began the Shinshintō period of Nihontō history.