Abe Tadaaki

Infobox_Officeholder | name= Abe Tadaaki
nationality=Japanese
order=Lord of Oshi
term_start= 1639
term_end= 1671
predecessor= Matsudaira Nobutsuna
successor= Abe Masayoshi
birth_place=Edo, Japan
death_place=
spouse=

nihongo|Abe Tadaaki|阿部 忠秋|extra=1602 - 1671 was a high-ranking government official in Japan under Tokugawa Iemitsu and Ietsuna, the third and fourth Tokugawa Shogun. Daimyo of the Oshi Domain in modern-day Saitama prefecture, with an income of 80,000 "koku" (earlier 50,000), Abe was appointed "wakadoshiyori" (junior councillor) in 1633, [Though Frederic gives 1663 as the date for this event, Sansom gives 1633, which seems more likely given the context and the other events and actions of his life.] and "rōjū" (Elder Councillor) shortly afterwards.

Iemitsu died in 1651 and was succeeded by his ten-year-old son Ietsuna. In accordance with the custom of "junshi", a number of Iemitsu's closest retainers and advisors committed suicide so as to follow their lord in death; Abe did not engage in this practice, and was left, along with a handful of other high-ranking officials and advisors, to handle the affairs of government.

Especially remembered for his integrity, high morals, and practical sense of good government, Abe Tadaaki is known for his attempts to find employment for a number of samurai who became rōnin in the wake of the Keian Uprising, a "coup d'etat" which failed to be executed that same year, just after Iemitsu's death. While other government ministers reacted to the uprising with the instinctive desire to expel all rōnin from Edo (the shogunal capital; today Tokyo), Abe thought it more pertinent to take a somewhat softer tack, aiding the rōnin in seeking legitimate employment, and thus drastically reducing the number who would have reason to take up arms against the shogunate.

Several years before Tadaaki's death in 1671, Sakai Tadakiyo was appointed head of the council of "rōjū"; Tadaaki constantly rebuked Sakai for his poor sense of proper policy, and his laidback nature. He accused Sakai of taking bribes, and of handling situations on a case-by-case basis, without any sense of overall policy or progress towards a goal. Nevertheless, after thirty-eight years of loyal service to the shogunate, Tadaaki died at the old age of 69, leaving the government in the hands of the likes of those whose policies (or dire lack thereof) would lead over the course of several decades to the Genroku period (1688-1704), which saw a peak in corruption, hedonism, and wastefulness.

Note

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
*Sansom, George (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.