was a Japanese samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 of the late Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

. A hatamoto

Hatamoto

A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...

 serving the Tokugawa shogun, Yoshisuke was the birth brother of the Bakufu senior councilor Mizuno Tadakuni

Mizuno Tadakuni

was a daimyō during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor in service to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpo Reform.-Biography:...

. Atobe was not known for his good relations with daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

, having once angered Date Yoshikuni

Date Yoshikuni

was a Japanese daimyo lord of the late Edo period, known primarily for being the commander-in-chief of the Northern Alliance of Confederated Domains during the Boshin War.During his tenure as lord he was also known by his courtesy title, Matsudaira ....

, the powerful lord of Sendai in Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

 by throwing him out of a highway lodging.

Atobe was appointed to the post of wakadoshiyori

Wakadoshiyori

The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 17th century Tokugawa Japan. The position was established around 1631, but appointments were irregular until 1662....

 in 1868, and died roughly a year later.

His court title was Yamashiro no kami.