Inaba Masayasu

Inaba Masayasu (稲葉正休) (1640-1684) was a Japanese "hatamoto" and "daimyō" (feudal lord) of Aono han in Mino Province in Edo period Japan. Masayasu's family was descended from Konō Michitaka.Papinot, Jacques. (2003). [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf "Nobiliare du Japon" -- Inaba, p. 15;] Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). "Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon." (in French/German).]

Masayasu was the son of "hatamoto" Inaba Masakichi, from whom he inherited the 5000 "koku" territory of Aono han in 1656. He served as a page and clerk for some time, before being summoned by the shogunate to oversee irrigation projects in the provinces of Kawachi and Settsu. For this, he was awarded the post of "wakadoshiyori" in 1682, and had his lands expanded to 12,000 "koku".

Masayasu visited Kyoto as part of a formal inspection in 1683. In this period, Masayasu's cousin, Inaba Masamichi, held the the powerful and highly-trusted position of Kyoto "shoshidai". [Tucker, John. (1998). [http://books.google.com/books?id=xkQc-lXHdH8C&pg=RA1-PA5&lpg=RA1-PA5&dq=Inaba+Masamichi+&source=web&ots=LOg792HS_e&sig=rF9GviLzYWL935H1ULBwPQ0E1Y4&hl=en#PRA1-PA4,M1 "Itō Jinsai's "Gomō Jigi" and the Philosophical Definition of Early Modern Japan," p. 4 n3.] ]

Masasayu is perhaps best known to history for assassinating his distant cousin, the "Tairō" Hotta Masatoshi inside Edo castle in 1684. Matasayu's motives remain unknown; but the absence of severe adverse repercussions for his family leaves open the supposition that the shogun himself was privy to a planned assassination. [Brinkley, Frank "et al." (1915). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT13&dq=Inaba+Masanobu&lr=#PPA598,M1 "A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era," p. 598.] ] In the Edo period, the Inaba were identified as one of the "fudai" or insider "daimyō" clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokugawa clan, in contrast with the "tozama" or outsider clans.Appert, Georges. (1888). [http://books.google.com/books?id=CSUNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ancien+japon+georges+appert&lr=#PPA67,M1 "Ancien Japon," p. 67.] ]

Inaba clan genalogy

The "fudai" Inaba clan originated in Mino province. [see above] ] They claim descent from Kōno Michitaka (d. 1374),Papinot, Jacques. (2003). [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf "Nobiliare du Japon" -- Inaba, p. 15;] Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). "Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon." (in French/German).] who claimed descent from Emperor Kammu (736–805). [ [http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Inaba-name-meaning.ashx "Inaba" at Ancestry.com] citing Hank, Patrick, ed. (2003). [http://books.google.com/books?id=ugEEAAAACAAJ&dq=Dictionary+of+American+Family+Names "Dictionary of American Family Names."] ]

Masasayu was part of the cadet branch of the Inaba which was created in 1588. [see above] ] This branch is descended from Inaba Masanari (+1628), who fought in the armies of Nobunaga and then Hideyoshi. [see above] ]

In 1619, Masanari was granted the "han" of Itoigawa (25,000 "koku") in Echigo province; then, in 1627, his holding was transferred to Mōka Domain (65,000 "koku") in Shimotsuke province. Masanari's descendants resided successively at Odawara Domain (105,000 "koku") in Sagami province from 1632 through 1685; at Takata Domain in Echigo province from 1685 through 1701; at Sakura Domain in Shimōsa province from 1701 through 1723. [see above] ]

Masasayu's relatives and others who were also descendants of Inaba Masanari settled at Yodo Domain (115,000 "koku") in Yamashiro province from 1723 through 1868. [see above] ] The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period. [see above] ]

Tokugawa official

Masayasu was a junior counselor ("wakadoshiyori") in the Edo shogonate. [Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. (1998). [http://books.google.com/books?id=gfFCRaUIB40C&pg=PA98&dq=inaba+masanari&client=firefox-a&sig=Bwl-E1Q9DcrqBpT5-VcbjFo5Nk0 "The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi," p. 98.] ]

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888). [http://books.google.com/books?id=HYc_AAAAMAAJ&dq=ancien+japon&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Ancien Japon."] Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha.
* Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice M. (1998). [http://books.google.com/books?id=gfFCRaUIB40C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Dog+Shogun:+The+Personality+and+Policies+of+Tokugawa+Tsunayoshi&sig=LyAbHW8S71InIjK2dPAvICaEDlE "The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi."] Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 10-ISBN 0-824-82066-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-824-82066-4 (paper) -- 10-ISBN 0-824-81964-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-824-81964-4 (cloth)
* Brinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&dq=Inaba+Masanobu&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era."] New York: Encyclopedia Britannica.
* Frederic, Louis (2002). "Inaba Masayasu." "Japan Encyclopedia". Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p385.
* Tucker, John Allen. (1998). [http://books.google.com/books?id=xkQc-lXHdH8C&dq=Inaba+Masamichi+&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Itō Jinsai's "Gomō Jigi" and the Philosophical Definition of Early Modern Japan."] Leiden: Brill Publishers. 10-ISBN 9-004-08628-5