- Uesugi Harunori
Uesugi Harunori (上杉 治憲; 1751 - 1822) was a
Japan esedaimyo , the 9th head of the Yonezawa domain (today's Yonezawa and Okitama region), and a descendant of Fujiwara no Yoshikado. [Papinot, Jacques. (2003). [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf "Nobiliare du japon" -- Sakai, pp. 67;] Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). "Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon." (in French/German).] Born inEdo , he was the second son of a daimyo of theAkizuki clan , who controlled part ofHyuga province . His mother was a granddaughter of the fourth head ofYonezawa . His childhood names were "Matsusaburō" (松三郎) and "Naomatsu" (直松). He was adopted byUesugi Shigesada , then daimyo of Yonezawa, and in 1767 he succeeded Shigesada. After retirement, he adopted the "gō", or pen name, Yozan (鷹山).Today, he is best remembered for his financial reforms, and he is often cited as an example of a good governor of a domain. Yonezawa had been in debt for roughly a hundred years when Harunori took over; Shigesada even considered returning the domain to the shogunate as a last resort. However, he was convinced by his father-in-law, the daimyo of
Owari province , to instead resign as daimyo. It was under these conditions that Harunori came to be daimyo of Yonezawa. He introduced strict disciplinary measures, and ordered the execution of several "karō " (advisors) who opposed his plans. As a result of various measures he took, Yonezawa became fairly prosperous, and did not suffer much from the famine which swept Japan in theTenmei era (1781-9). In 1830, less than a decade after Harunori's death, Yonezawa was officially declared by the shogunate to be a paragon of a well-governed domain.He revealed his views on governance and the role of a feudal
lord in a letter to his son Haruhiro:quote|The state (国家, "kokka") is inherited from one's ancestors and passed on to one's descendants; it should not be administered selfishly.
The people belong to the state; they should not be administered selfishly.
The lord exists for the sake of the state and the people: the state and the people do not exist for the sake of the lord.Mark Ravina (1995). “State-Building and Political Economy in Early-Modern Japan,” Journal of Asian Studies 54.4.]Notes
References
* Frederic, Louis (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=y0zGAAAACAAJ&dq=Japan+Encyclopedia&lr=&client=firefox-a "Japan Encyclopedia."] Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press . 10-ISBN 0-674-00770-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-00770-3 (cloth)
* Gordenker, Alice. [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20071218wh.html "So, what the heck is that? Mistletoe,"] "Japan Times." December 18, 2007.
* Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906) "Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon." Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf ..Click link for digitized 1906 "Nobiliaire du japon" (2003)]
* Sansom, George (1963). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Fb12GQAACAAJ&dq=geroge+bailey+sansom&lr=&client=firefox-a "A History of Japan: 1615-1867."] Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-8047-0527-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-804-70527-1 (cloth)
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