Who was this person?
The eleventh shogun of the Edo shogunate. Born into the Hitotsubashi house, he became shogun young and served about fifty years, the longest of any shogun. Early in his rule Matsudaira Sadanobu carried out the Kansei reforms; later came lavish government and the flourishing Kasei culture. Even after retiring he kept power as ōgosho.
| Name | Tokugawa Ienari (徳川家斉) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1773 – 1841 |
| Period | Edo period |
| Birthplace | Edo (Hitotsubashi residence) |
| Main achievements |
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A great-grandson of the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, he was born the eldest son of Hitotsubashi Harusada, head of the Hitotsubashi house, one of the three gosankyō branches related to the shogun. His childhood name was Toyochiyo. He was not in line to inherit the shogunate, but being born into a house meant to supply an heir if the main line failed would greatly change his destiny.
Iemoto, heir of the tenth shogun Tokugawa Ieharu, had died suddenly, and Ieharu had no other son. The senior councillor Tanuma Okitsugu and others were charged with choosing an heir, and Toyochiyo was selected as Ieharu's adopted son. The next year he came of age and took the name Ienari. Some see the hand of ties between Tanuma and his father Harusada in this choice.
Ieharu had died the year before, and Ienari became the eleventh shogun at a young age. Tanuma Okitsugu, who had wielded power under Ieharu, had already been removed. On the recommendation of the three senior Tokugawa houses, Matsudaira Sadanobu, renowned as lord of Shirakawa, became chief senior councillor and governed in place of the young shogun. His policies are later called the Kansei Reforms.
He married Tadako (Princess Shige), daughter of Shimazu Shigehide, lord of Satsuma, who had been adopted by the noble Konoe family. Through this tie the Shimazu became closely bound to the shogun's house. Ienari had many concubines and is said to have fathered more than fifty children, who were sent to daimyō houses across the country as adopted heirs or wives.
The Russian envoy Laxman came to Nemuro in Ezo with castaways such as Daikokuya Kōdayū and asked for trade. The shogunate sent him back with a permit to enter Nagasaki but did not agree to trade. As foreign ships began to appear in waters near Japan, defending the north and the coasts became a major issue for the shogunate.
The Kansei Reforms aimed to restore the shogunate's finances, but their strict thrift and controls stirred discontent. Conflict between Ienari and Sadanobu also deepened, including over the title affair with the imperial court, and Ienari, working with his father Harusada, removed Sadanobu as senior councillor. For a while afterward, councillors whom Sadanobu had appointed carried on the government.
The British warship Phaeton, chasing Dutch ships, entered Nagasaki harbor, seized members of the Dutch trading post and demanded food and water. The Nagasaki magistrate Matsudaira Yasuhide took responsibility and ended his own life. A few years earlier the Russian Rezanov had also come to Nagasaki, and wariness toward foreign countries grew even stronger.
As councillors of Sadanobu's line died or retired, Ienari made his close aide Mizuno Tadaakira chief senior councillor. Ienari himself enjoyed a luxurious life, and the shogunate made up for shortfalls by debasing the coinage and issuing more of it. Bribery is said to have spread, and discipline within the shogunate grew lax.
In Ienari's time culture flourished, centered on the townspeople of Edo. It is called Kasei culture after the era names Bunka and Bunsei. People enjoyed the stories of Jippensha Ikku and Kyokutei Bakin, the ukiyo-e of Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, and kabuki. While politics grew lax, town life was lively.
British, American and other whaling ships increased in waters near Japan, and there were incidents of sailors coming ashore. The shogunate ordered that any foreign ship other than Chinese or Dutch be driven off without hesitation. This is called the Edict to Repel Foreign Ships. Coastal defense costs mounted, and the shogunate's finances grew even tighter.
Through approaches to the imperial court, he was appointed grand chancellor, the highest court office, while still serving as shogun. Ienari was the only sitting shogun ever to hold that office at the same time. In return the shogunate is said to have given the court large amounts of money and goods. It showed the power of Ienari after his long reign.
Amid the suffering of the great Tenpō famine, the former official Ōshio Heihachirō rose in arms in Ōsaka to save the poor, shocking the shogunate. That same year Ienari handed the post of shogun, which he had held for fifty years, to his son Ieyoshi. But he stayed on in the western enclosure of Edo castle as ōgosho and kept real power in his hands.
He died at Edo castle. It is said that he passed away with no one at his side. After his death, the senior councillor Mizuno Tadakuni removed Ienari's close aides and began the Tenpō Reforms. Ienari's era of about fifty years is judged as a time when townspeople's culture flourished but the shogunate's power began to weaken.
A. The eleventh shogun of the Edo shogunate. Born into the Hitotsubashi house, he became shogun young and served about fifty years, the longest of any shogun. Early in his rule Matsudaira Sadanobu carried out the Kansei reforms; later came lavish government and the flourishing Kasei culture. Even after retiring he kept power as ōgosho.
A. Period: Edo period. Born in 1773, died in 1841.
A. Tokugawa Ienari was born in Edo (Hitotsubashi residence).
A. The Kasei culture, named after the Bunka and Bunsei eras and centered on the townspeople of Edo, flourished. People enjoyed the books of Jippensha Ikku and Kyokutei Bakin, the ukiyo-e of Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, and kabuki.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Tokugawa YoshimuneTanuma OkitsuguDaikokuya KōdayūMatsudaira SadanobuKatsushika HokusaiŌshio HeihachirōMizuno TadakuniUtagawa Hiroshige
Jippensha IkkuKyokutei BakinTakadaya KaheiSatō IssaiHirata AtsutaneZusho HirosatoMamiya RinzōRai San'yō
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.