He was born in Musashi, a son of Okochi Hisatsuna, a Tokugawa intendant. His father was an official serving Ieyasu, of no great rank. Nobutsuna is said to have been a bright child who thought about his future from an early age.
He was adopted by his uncle Matsudaira Masatsuna and took the Matsudaira name. A tale says the young Nobutsuna himself asked for it, wanting a name close to the shogun's house. Masatsuna was an aide of Ieyasu, and the adoption opened Nobutsuna's path into shogunal service.
He became a page to Takechiyo, later Iemitsu, the son of Tokugawa Hidetada born that year. He entered service at only 8. From then on Nobutsuna watched over Iemitsu's growth, won his lord's deep trust and served him for life.
When Iemitsu became 3rd shogun, Nobutsuna was heavily employed as a close aide. Trusted by the lord he had served since childhood, he received repeated increases and rose to daimyo. He became known as quick in work and sound in judgment.
He was made a roju, senior councilor, and lord of Oshi domain in Musashi. At the center of shogunal government, his sharp wit earned him the name Wise Izu, after his title Izu no kami. He was deeply involved in building the shogunate's system under Iemitsu.
In the great uprising at Shimabara and Amakusa in Kyushu, when the first commander Itakura Shigemasa was killed, Nobutsuna replaced him. He surrounded Hara Castle with a great army and took it by waiting for food to run out. Thus the rebellion ended.
For his service at Shimabara he became lord of Kawagoe in Musashi. He laid the base of Kawagoe's growth by improving the castle town, opening new fields and starting boat traffic on the Shingashi River. That year the shogunate banned Portuguese ships, completing the sakoku system.
Iemitsu died and the nine-year-old Ietsuna became 4th shogun. Soon after came the Keian Incident, a plot by Yui Shosetsu and others to overthrow the shogunate, but it leaked in advance and Nobutsuna and others moved swiftly. Policies to reduce masterless samurai followed.
To end Edo's water shortage, work began on the Tamagawa Aqueduct bringing water from the Tama River, with Nobutsuna as chief commissioner. Finished the next year, it brought drinking water to Edo. He also drew the Nobidome canal into his Musashino lands to open new fields.
The Great Meireki Fire burned most of Edo, including the castle keep. Nobutsuna directed relief and rebuilding, widening streets and creating firebreaks to make the city harder to burn. The keep was never rebuilt.
Nobutsuna, who had upheld the shogunate under Iemitsu and Ietsuna, died of illness. From crushing the Shimabara Rebellion to rebuilding Edo, he took part in much of the work that secured the shogunate's foundations, and his wisdom was long remembered.
Tokugawa HidetadaSakai Tadakiyo
Kobori EnshūHayashi RazanMiyamoto MusashiIngenSenhimeTokugawa IemitsuNakae TōjuHoshina Masayuki
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.