Tokugawa Munetake

Tokugawa Munetake (徳川宗武; January 21, 1716-July 15, 1771) was a Japanese samurai of the mid-Edo period, also known as Tayasu Munetake (田安宗武). The first head of the Tayasu branch of the Tokugawa clan, he held daimyo-level income, but was not a daimyo himself, instead having his residence inside the Tayasu gate ("Tayasu-mon" 田安門) of Edo Castle.

The 2nd son of the 8th shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, Munetake was considered by some as the logical choice for heir, as he was both physically fit and also well-educated. However, Yoshimune preferred the route of primogeniture, instead selecting his son Ieshige as heir. Munetake subsequently turned his attention to writing and scholarship, and set the Tayasu house apart from the other two gosankyo houses by keeping it spartan. He had several sons who were brought up in this spartan environment, one of whom was the famed reformer Matsudaira Sadanobu.

As a scholar, Munetake was a student of "kokugaku". He studied under Kada Arimaro and Kamō Mabuchi, eventually producing the "kokugaku" texts "Kokka hachiron yogen" (国歌八論余言) and "Tenkō-gon" (天降言). He was also an accomplished poet.

As head of the prestigious Tayasu-Tokugawa house, Munetake held the court title of "gon-chūnagon" (権中納言) and the junior 3rd court rank ("jusanmi" 従三).

References

* [http://www007.upp.so-net.ne.jp/togo/human/to/munetake.html Concise biographical data (in Japanese)]