- Hotta Masamori
Hotta Masamori (堀田正盛
January 16 ,1606 -June 8 ,1651 ), Japanese "daimyo " of the earlyEdo period who was a key figure in the early decades of theTokugawa shogun ate.Origins
The rise of Hotta Masamori through the ranks of the Tokugawa shogunate is a rather miraculous one; his family had a very short history with the Tokugawa family prior to his father Masayoshi's generation. Masayoshi was granted a 700 "koku" stipend and his house instituted as a
hatamoto family, following his and his ancestors' service with a variety of other clans, among them the Oda, Toyotomi, Maeda, and Kobayakawa. Thanks to his distinction at the Osaka Winter Campaign, Masayoshi was granted an increase in stipend to 1000 koku, and the family was at this level of income when Masamori succeeded his father as the family head.ervice in the Shogunate
The early period of Masamori's rise in the ranks can be ascribed to his relation to
Kasuga no Tsubone , the shogun Iemitsu's wetnurse. Because of this connection, he was close to the shogun, and this was to open the doors wide for his future success. In Kan'ei 3, he received his first posting, as a captain of the page corps (koshōgumi-bangashira). His income subsequently rose to the range of 5000 "koku", and an additional 5000 koku granted that year, he entered the ranks of the "fudai" daimyō with the income of 10,000 koku.On the 23rd day of the 3rd month of Kan'ei 10 (1633), he was appointed a member of the "rokunin-shu" (what became the
wakadoshiyori council) together with Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and was granted another 5000 "koku", together with the ranking that came with being a castle lord.Masamori was subsequently shown great favor by Iemitsu, who promoted him to
Rōjū on the 1st day of the 3rd month of Kan'ei 12 (1635). His income rose to 1000,000 koku, and he was granted the fief ofMatsumoto han , inShinano Province . In 1642 he was moved toSakura han inShimotsuke Province , where his family remained enfeoffed at 110,000 "koku" for the remainder of the Edo period. Masamori committed "junshi " (suicide after the death of one's lord) in 1651, at the age of 44.References
* [http://www.geocities.jp/kimkaz_labo/hotta.html Information on various members of the Hotta clan, including Masamori]
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