Sakakibara Yasumasa
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Sakakibara Yasumasa 榊原 康政 | |
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| Lord of Tatebayashi | |
| In office 1590–1606 | |
| Succeeded by | Sakakibara Yasukatsu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1548 Mikawa Province, Japan |
| Died | June 19, 1606 Edo, Japan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Sakakibara clan Matsudaira clan Tokugawa clan |
| Commands | Tatebayashi Domain |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Batogahara Battle of Anegawa Battle of Mikatagahara Battle of Nagashino Battle of Komaki and Nagakute Siege of Odawara Siege of Ueda |
Sakakibara Yasumasa (榊原 康政, 1548 – June 19, 1606) was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. As one of the Tokugawa family's foremost military commanders, he was considered one of its "Four Guardian Kings" (shitennō 四天王) along with Sakai Tadatsugu, Honda Tadakatsu and Ii Naomasa. His court title was Shikibu-Shō (式部大輔).[1]
Yasumasa was the owner of a sword named Sakakibara-Masamune, which he presented to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The sword is preserved for centuries by Matsudaira clan. However, it was destroyed during Bombing of Tokyo.[2]
Early life[edit]
Sakakibara Yasumasa was born in the year Tenmon-17 (1548), the second son of Sakakibara Nagamasa, in the Ueno district of Mikawa Province.[3] The Sakakibara were hereditary retainers of the Matsudaira (later Tokugawa) clan, classified as fudai. However, they did not serve the clan directly, but instead served one of its senior retainers, which at that time was Sakai Tadanao (which classified the Sakakibara as baishin, or "rear vassals").
The young Yasumasa interacted with Matsudaira Motoyasu (later Tokugawa Ieyasu) often from a young age, and was soon appointed his page. Due to his valor at Battle of Batogahara 1564 in the suppression of the Ikkō-ikki uprising in Mikawa, he was allowed to use the "yasu" from Motoyasu's name.[3]
At this time, he unseated his brother and became head of the Sakakibara clan. There are two explanations for this. One is that his brother had been an ally of the Ikko Ikki rebels, and the other is that his brother was a retainer of Ieyasu's son Matsudaira Nobuyasu, who was implicated in what was most probably a non-existent treason plot against Oda Nobunaga.
Service under Ieyasu[edit]
In Eiroku-9 (1566), at age 19, Yasumasa had his coming-of-age ritual, and soon after, he and Honda Tadakatsu were made hatamoto by Ieyasu, and each granted command of 50 cavalrymen. From that point on, they would function as Ieyasu's hatamoto unit commanders.
In 1570, Yasumasa battled at Anegawa, He was on second division along with Honda Tadakatsu onto Asakura's left flank, surrounding Asakura Kagetake.[4]: 62–63 [4] Later, He battled at Mikatagahara in 1573, and Battle of Nagashino in 1575.
In 1584, when Ieyasu chose to defy Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Yasumasa still served under Ieyasu, suggesting the region of Komaki would be suitable for the ensuing campaign. Yasumasa was given the title of "'Shikibu-Shō'", when accompanying Ieyasu to Osaka to meet with Hideyoshi.
In 1586, according to "Sakakibara clan historical records", Ieyasu sent Yasumasa, Honda Tadakatsu, and Ii Naomasa as representatives to Kyoto, where three of them being regarded as "Tokugawa Sanketsu"(Three great nobles of Tokugawa).[5] Then in following month, the three of them joined by Sakai Tadatsugu to accompany Ieyasu in his personal trip to Kyoto, where the four of them "became famous".[5]
In 1590, after the Tokugawa moved to the Kantō region following Odawara Campaign, he was to have a team responsible for the allocation of fiefs. While Ieyasu was serving as one of Hideyoshi's staff in Kyūshū, Yasumasa was to supervise Kantō, as one of the chief administrators.
In 1600, Yasumasa companied Tokugawa Hidetada for the march along the Nakasendō at Sekigahara campaign and received the 100,000 koku fief of Tatebayashi han following the Tokugawa victory at the Battle of Sekigahara.[citation needed]
Shortly after his assignment in Tatebayashi, Ieyasu also assigned Yasumasa as supervisor of administration team which tasked to manage the revenue incomes of Edo domain, which have roughly 1,000,000 kokus.[6] Conrad Totman noted that after Sekigahara campaign, Ieyasu seems does not willing to include his original retainers, including Yasumasa, Honda Tadakatsu, and Ii Naomasa, in larger administration of the state. However, Harold Bolitho pointed out that this is instead their own decision to not involve themselves in administration and rather focusing in role of governing their military domains.[7]
Death[edit]
Yasumasa himself died in 1606, at the age of 59,[3] and is buried at Zendoji Temple in Tatebayashi, where his grave still stands. His son Sakakibara Yasukatsu fought at the Osaka Campaign.
Yasumasa leave a legacy of 150,000 koku of fief in Takada Domain, Echigo Province for his inheritor of Sakakibara clan.[8]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Sakakibara Yasumasa" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 811., p. 811, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File Archived 2012-05-24 at archive.today.
- ^ Markus Sesko (2015). Masamune - His Work, His Fame and His Legacy (PB). p. 164. ISBN 9781329004139. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "「榊原康政」の解説". kotobank. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ a b Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. Arms and Armour Press. p. 62. ISBN 0853688265.
- ^ a b Tetsuo Nakamura; Kazuo Murayama (1991). 徳川四天王: 精強家康軍団奮闘譜 歴史群像シリーズ22号. 学研プラス. pp. 111, 125. ISBN 4051053679. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Marius Jansen (1995). Warrior Rule in Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780521484046. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Harold Bolitho (1968). Reviewed Work: Politics in The Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600-1843 by Conrad D. Totman. Vol. 28. Harvard-Yenching Institute. pp. 216–7. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
{{cite book}}:|journal=ignored (help) - ^ Marcia Yonemoto (2016). The Problem of Women in Early Modern Japan. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 9780520965584. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
References[edit]
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
Further reading[edit]
- Bolitho, Harold. (1974). Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo in Tokugawa Japan. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-01655-0; OCLC 185685588
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