Sakai Tadakatsu

:"For the other daimyo with this name see Sakai Tadakatsu (Shōnai)"

nihongo|Sakai Tadakatsu|酒井忠勝| (July 21, 1587-August 25, 1662), also known as Sanuki-no-kami,Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=H2xdLbvCR6sC&pg=PA541&vq=ogasawara&dq=sado+no+kami+nagashige&source=gbs_search_s&sig=IGOa1Y9xBAEbDX62osoo70iKy4U#PPA442,M1 "Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed," p. 442.] ] was "tairō", "rōjū", master of Wakasa-Obama castle (若狭国小浜城) and "daimyo" of Obama Domain in Wakasa province in the mid-17th century.Papinot, Jacques. (2003). [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf "Nobiliare du Japon" -- Sakai, pp. 50-51;] Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). "Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon." (in French/German).] As "tairō," he was one of the two highest ranking "bakufu" officials in Tokugawa Japan from his elevation on November 7, 1638 through May 26, 1656.

The Sakai were identified as one of the "fudai" or insider "daimyō" clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokugawa clan,Appert, Georges. (1888). [http://books.google.com/books?id=CSUNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ancien+japon+georges+appert&lr=#PPA76,M1 "Ancien Japon," pp. 76] -77.] in contrast with the "tozama" or outsider clans.

akai clan genealogy

Tadakatsu was part of a cadet branch of the Sakai which had been created in 1590.Appert, [http://books.google.com/books?id=CSUNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ancien+japon+georges+appert&lr=#PPA76,M1 p. 76.] ]

The "fudai" Sakai clan originated in 14th century Mikawa province.Appert, [http://books.google.com/books?id=CSUNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ancien+japon+georges+appert&lr=#PPA76,M1 "Ancien Japon," p. 76.] ] The Sakai claim descent from Minamoto Arichika. Arichika had two sons: one of them, Yasuchika, took the name Matsudaira; and the other son, Chikauji, took the name Sakai -- and this samuari ancestor is the progenitor of this clan's name.Papinot, Jacques. (2003). [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf "Nobiliare du Japon" -- Sakai, pp. 50-51;] Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). "Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon." (in French/German).]

Sakai Hirochika, who was the son of Chikauji, had two sons, and their descendants gave rise to the two main branches of the Sakai clan. Hirochika's younger son, Sakai Masachika, served several Tokugawa clan leaders -- Nobutada, Kiyoyasu and Hirotada; and in 1561, Masachika was made master of Nishio Castle in Mikawa. [see above] ]

Sakai Sigetada, who was the son of Masachika, received the fief of Kawagoe Domain in Musashi province in 1590; and then in 1601, Sigetada was transferred to Umayabashi Domain in Kōzuke province.Papinot, [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf p. 51.] ]

Tadakatsu, who was Sigetada's son, was transferred in 1634 to Obama Domain in Wakasa province where his descendants resided until the Meiji period. [see above] ] In a gesture demonstrating special favor to the Sakai, the second shogun, Hidetada, allowed the use of his personal "Tada-" in the name "Tadakatsu." [Plutschow, Herbert. (1995). [http://books.google.com/books?id=fNQjDQ-mWYgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sakai+tadayuki&lr=&source=gbs_summary_r#PPA53,M1 "Japan's Name Culture: The Significance of Names in a Religious, Political and Social Context," p.53.] ] The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Count" in the Meiji period. [see above] ]

Tokugawa official

The great office of "Tairō" was the highest ranking of advisor in the Edo period, and Tadakatsu was amongst the first to be appointed to this position of honor, trust and power. [Sansom, George. (1963). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Oul3FkdYxR0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+History+of+Japan,[phone]&sig=YMIM3fpmv4pgdDCHUTLQ2eW2iLM#PPA22,M1 "A History of Japan: 1615-1867," p. 22.] ] Tadakatsu was a "rōjū" during the years from 1631 through 1638. [see above] ]

* "Kanei 20" (1643: Dutch sailors and the Dutch ship "Breskens" were captured ashore in northern Honshu. The "Nambu incident" alarmed Shogun Iemitsu, but the "bakufu"'s protracted responses were mitigated by the three men who were the shogun's most senior counselors (the "rōjū"): Sakai Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and Inoue Masashige. In effect, this comes to define who amongst Iemitsu's top advisers were principally responsible for Japan's foreign policy during the reign of the third shogun. [Hesselink, R. "Prisoners from Nambu: Reality and Make-Believe in Seventeenth-Century Japanese Diplomacy," p. 120-122.] The fluid subtlety of the "rōjō" is illustrated in the thought-provoking debates of modern scholarship, e.g.,::Hesselink departs from his narrative of the Nambu incident to contribute to the significant debate about the nature of Japan's "seclusion" ("sakoku") during the Tokugawa period. Recent scholarship, particularly that of Ronald Toby, has held that the intent behind the seclusion edicts of the 1630s was not to isolate Japan from all foreign contact, but to proactively use foreign relations as a means of establishing the bakufu's domestic legitimacy. Hesselink contests this characterization, arguing instead that Japan was genuinely isolated, and that the bakufu's foreign policy was less systematic and far-reaching than scholars have recently claimed. In one important respect, however, Hesselink's research reaffirms the claims of this recent scholarship. By showing how the "bakufu" went to such great lengths to use the Nambu incident to pressure the Dutch into sending an embassy to Edo, he illustrates how important it was to the "bakufu" to use diplomatic relations as a means of securing domestic legitimacy. What was for the Dutch merely a cynical gesture aimed at preserving their trade relations with East Asia was for the "bakufu" a real opportunity to parade twenty-two Dutchmen in red and white striped uniforms through the streets of Edo, thus impressing upon a domestic audience the fiction that the bakufu's authority was recognized throughout the world. [Platt, Brian. (2003). "Prisoners From Nambu: Reality and Make-Believe in 17th Century Japanese Diplomacy [book review] " in "Pacific Affairs", Winter 2002/2003. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.]

* "Keian 5", 5th month (1652): "Nihon Ōdai Ichiran (Nipon o dai itsi ran)" is first published in Kyoto under the patronage of the "tairō" Sakai Tadakatsu, lord of the Obama Domain of Wakasa Province. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA406,M1 "Annales des empereurs du Japon," pp. 406] , [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA412,M1 412.] ] Tadakatsu, also known as Minamoto-no Tadakatsu of Wakasa, was the patron of work first published in Kyoto in 1652. The first copy of this rare book was brought from Japan to Europe by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. Titsingh translated the text from Japanese and Chinese; and his work was then supplemented for posthumous publication by Julius Klaproth in 1834. [Screech, Timon. (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=BLzQA7cpr7wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=screech+titsingh&sig=0ppma5TOvxl0-xY-YeOd7AmSsT8#PRA2-PR17,M1 "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822," pp. 1] -4.] In supporting this work, Tadakatsu's motivations appear to spread across a range anticipated consequences; and it becomes likely that his several intentions in seeing that this specific work fell into the hands of an empathetic Western translator were similarly multi-faceted. [Yamshita, Samuel Hideo. "Yamasaki Ansai and Confucian School Relations, 1650-1675," "Early Modern Japan." 9:2, 3-18 (Fall 2001).]

* The Lion Dance ("Shishi-mai") is a still-popular folk dance imported to Wakasa from Mushu-Kawagoe (Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture) by Sakai Tadakatsu when he and his descendants were first granted the "han" of Obama in the early 17th century. Three lions move heroically and elegants to the accompaniment of music played on Japanese flutes. [Obama Shrine: [http://info.pref.fukui.jp/kokusai/tagengo/html_e/event/5maturi.html Festivals in May.] Jonai, Obama-shi.] The traditional dance continues to be performed regularly during the "Hoze Matsuri" and the "Osiro Matsuri."

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. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=H2xdLbvCR6sC&dq=ogasawara+nagashige&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed."] Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 10-ISBN 0-824-82066-5
* Hesselink, Reiner H. (2002). "Prisoners from Nambu: Reality and Make-Believe in Seventeenth-Century Japanese Diplomacy." Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2409-1; ISBN 0-8248-2463-6.
* Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906) "Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon." Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. [http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf ..Click link for digitized 1906 "Nobiliaire du japon" (2003)]
* Plutschow, Herbert. (1995). [http://books.google.com/books?id=fNQjDQ-mWYgC&dq=sakai+tadayuki&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Japan's Name Culture: The Significance of Names in a Religious, Political and Social Context."]
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)]
* Sansom, George. (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford: Stanford University Press.
* Yamshita, Samuel Hideo. (2001). "Yamasaki Ansai and Confucian School Relations, 1650-1675" in "Early Modern Japan," (Fall 2001). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

External links

* Nikko pagoda [http://www.nikko-jp.org/english/toshogu/gojyunotou.html -- Sakai Tadakatsu contributed to the original construction; and after it was burned in 1815, his descendants supported reconstruction in 1818]
* Toshogu pagoda in Nikko [http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=283 -- interior view] [http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=3056 --exterior view, Nagasaki University Library Collection]
* Tourist photos uploaded to internet [http://www.yunphoto.net/ar/cat11-l4-1.html --crisp quality images]
* Wakasa-Obama castle [http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110005857236/en/ -- details of the construction instructions given by Sakai Tadakatsu]
* Kawagoe han in Musashi province [http://www.koedo.or.jp/1_english/kanko/tokinokane/index.html -- original Sakai clan domain until Sakai Tadakatsu was moved to Obama han by Tokugawa decree]
* Miyoshino Shrine [http://www.city.kawagoe.saitama.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=content&ContentID=1105178088147&SiteID=0 -- municipal web site, Kawagoe City]