Tokugawa Ietsuna

Tokugawa Ietsuna (徳川 家綱, September 7, 1641-June 4, 1680) was the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Shogun Ietsuna and the Hold for Power (1663-1671)

In 1663, the regency for Shogun Ietsuna ended, but the regents still held power for him, the first time that the power behind the bakufu was not a former shogun. Ietsuna's chief advisors were now Hoshina Masayuki, Ietsuna's uncle who he had deep regard for, Itakura Shigenori, Tsuchiya Kazunao, Kuze Hiroyuki, and Inaba Masanori. Even though Ietsuna was now ruling in his own right, these former regents now became his official advisors, and in some cases, acted for him. In some cases, however, Ietsuna acted upon his own accord, when he came up with the idea of abolishing junshi, where a samurai follows his lord into death.

Related Topics:
1663 - Hoshina Masayuki - Itakura Shigenori - Tsuchiya Kazunao - Kuze Hiroyuki - Inaba Masanori - Junshi

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An example of this is in 1671, when the Date family of Sendai was involved in a succession dispute, the bakufu intervened, and prevented another rendition of the Onin War. By 1671, however, many of the former regents were either dead or retired, and Ietsuna began to rule in his own right.

Related Topics:
1671 - Date - Sendai - Onin War

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