was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese 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...

and daimyō

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...

(feudal lord) of Aono han

Aono Domain

The ' was a short-lived Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Mino Province . It existed briefly in the 17th century, and was ruled by the Inaba clan....

 in Mino Province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

 in 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....

 Japan. Masayasu's family was descended from Konō Michitaka.

Masayasu was the son of hatamoto Inaba Masakichi, from whom he inherited the 5000 koku

Koku

The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...

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

Kawachi Province

was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province...

 and Settsu

Settsu Province

was a province of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or .Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province.-History:...

. For this, he was awarded 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 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

Inaba Masamichi

was a daimyō of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province in early-Edo period Japan. He was later transferred to Takada Domain in Echigo Province, and then to Sakura Domain in Shimōsa Province...

, held the powerful and highly-trusted position of Kyoto shoshidai

Kyoto Shoshidai

The was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. However, the significance and effectiveness of the office is credited to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who developed these initial creations as bureaucratic elements in a consistent and...

.

Masasayu is perhaps best known to history for assassinating his distant cousin, the Tairō

Tairo

Tairō was a high-ranking official position in the bakuhan taisei government of Japan. The tairō would preside over the governing Rōjū council in the event of an emergency. A tairō would be nominated from among a group of samurai families who supported Tokugawa Ieyasu...

Hotta Masatoshi

Hotta Masatoshi

was a daimyō in Shimousa Province, and top government advisor and official in the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He served as rōjū to Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna from 1679–80, and as Tairō under Tokugawa Tsunayoshi from the 12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1681 until his death on 7 October...

 inside Edo castle

Edo Castle

, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...

 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.

In the Edo period, the Inaba were identified as one of the fudai

Fudai

was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...

or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokugawa clan

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

, in contrast with the tozama

Tozama

A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...

or outsider clans.

Inaba clan genealogy

The fudai Inaba clan

Inaba clan

The were a samurai kin group which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. In the Edo period, the Inaba were identified as one of the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan, in contrast with the tozama .-Clan branches:The fudai...

 originated in Mino province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

. They claim descent from Kōno Michitaka (d. 1374), who claimed descent from Emperor Kammu (736–805).

Masasayu was part of the cadet branch of the Inaba which was created in 1588. This branch is descended from Inaba Masanari

Inaba Masanari

, sometimes known as Mino-no-kami, was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. He served the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans, and became a daimyo in the early Edo period....

 (+1628), who fought in the armies of Nobunaga and then Hideyoshi.

In 1619, Masanari was granted the han of Itoigawa (25,000 koku) in Echigo province

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

; then, in 1627, his holding was transferred to Mōka Domain (65,000 koku) in Shimotsuke province

Shimotsuke Province

is an old province of Japan in the area of Tochigi Prefecture in the Kanto region. It was sometimes called or .The ancient capital of the province was near the city of Tochigi, but in feudal times the main center of the province was near the modern capital, Utsunomiya.-History:Different parts of...

. Masanari's descendants resided successively at Odawara Domain

Odawara Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in western Sagami Province. It was centered on Odawara Castle in what is now the city of Odawara.-History:...

 (105,000 koku) in Sagami province

Sagami Province

was an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...

 from 1632 through 1685; at Takata Domain in Echigo province

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

 from 1685 through 1701; at Sakura Domain

Sakura Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Shimōsa Province , Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now part of the city of Sakura...

 in Shimōsa province from 1701 through 1723.

Masasayu's relatives and others who were also descendants of Inaba Masanari settled at Yodo Domain

Yodo Domain

The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, and the only domain located in Yamashiro Province. Its castle was located within modern-day Fushimi, Kyoto....

 (115,000 koku) in Yamashiro province

Yamashiro Province

was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the Engishiki....

from 1723 through 1868. The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period.