was 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...

, and later a 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...

 during mid-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

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...

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Biography

Matsudaira Sukekuni was born as Sano Sukekuni, the second son of the 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...

Sanō Katsuyori. In 1714, he entered into the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 as a minor hatamoto, and received Lower 5th Court Rank. In 1718, he received the courtesy title of Bungō-no-kami.

On the death of his brother-in-law, Matsudaira Suketoshi

Matsudaira Suketoshi

was a hatamoto, and later a daimyō during mid-Edo period Japan.-Biography:Matsudaira Suketoshi was the second son of Honjō Munesuke, the daimyō of Kasama Domain in Hitachi Province. On October 10, 1684, he joined the ranks of the hatamoto in direct service to the Shogun and at the end of 1691 was...

, the daimyō of Hamamatsu Domain

Hamamatsu Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture....

 in Tōtōmi Province

Totomi Province

was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .-History:...

 in 1773, Sukekuni was adopted into the Honjō branch of the Matsudaira clan

Matsudaira clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...

 and inherited the 70,000 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...

domain. In 1729, he was transferred to Yoshida Domain

Yoshida Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in eastern Mikawa Province , Japan. It was centered on Yoshida Castle in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi. It was ruled by a number of different fudai daimyō over the course of the Edo period, before finally passing into the hands of the...

 in Mikawa Province

Mikawa Province

is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....

. In 1741, he became a Sōshaban

Sōshaban

were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Conventional interpretations have construed this Japanese title as "master of ceremonies."...

(Master of Ceremonies) in the administration of 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 1748, his Court Rank was raised to Lower 4th. In 1749, he was appointed 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...

, at which time he exchanged Yoshida Domain back for Hamamatsu Domain. The same year, his courtesy title was upgraded to Chamberlain

Chamberlain (office)

A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....

. He died in 1752.

Sukekuni was married to a daughter of Arima Yorimoto, the daimyō of Kurume Domain

Kurume Domain

The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, ruled by the Arima clan. It was located in Chikugo Province .The Arima clan became viscounts in the Meiji era.-List of lords:* Arima clan 1620-1871...

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