- Hotta Masatoshi
Hotta Masatoshi (堀田正俊) (
1634 -7 October 1684 ) was a "daimyō " (feudal lord) inShimousa Province , and top government advisor and official in theTokugawa shogunate of Japan. He served as "rōjū " (chief advisor) toShogun Tokugawa Ietsuna from 1679-80, and as "Tairō " (head of the "rōjū" council) underTokugawa Tsunayoshi from the 12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1681 until his death on7 October 1684 .Life and career
His father was
Hotta Masamori , advisor ("Tairō ") under the previous shogun,Tokugawa Iemitsu , who committed "seppuku " upon Iemitsu's death in 1651. Masatoshi was then adopted by Iemitsu's nurse, Kasuga no Tsubone.He served as personal secretary to the next shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, for a time, before being appointed "
wakadoshiyori " (junior councillor) in 1670. Ietsuna was already quite ill when Masatoshi was appointed "rōjū" in 1679, and died the following summer. At this time, another "rōjū",Sakai Tadakiyo , in a bid for personal power, proposed that the next shogun be selected from the princely houses. He sought to beregent to this new shogun, who would be made a puppet ruler. However, Masatoshi, said to have been infuriated, voiced strong opposition to this scheme; Tadakiyo resigned his post shortly afterwards, and Ietsuna's brotherTokugawa Tsunayoshi was installed as the new shogun.Masatoshi became "Tairō" soon afterwards, and was granted a domain worth 13,000 "
koku " by Tsunayoshi. He was killed several years later, on7 October 1684 . The motives of the culprit, Masatoshi's cousinInaba Masayasu , are unknown. Following Masatoshi's death, Tsunayoshi took the opportunity to reorganize the shogunate's offices so as to weaken the "rōjū" and grant additional powers to the "Soba-yōnin " (Chamberlains). Masatoshi was not succeeded as "Tairō", and much of his power came to be wielded by the shogun himself.References
*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Hotta Masatoshi." Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p360.
*Sansom, George (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp68, 131-2.
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