Tokugawa Ieharu
Encyclopedia
Tokugawa Ieharu
Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川家治 (June 20, 1737 – September 17, 1786) was the tenth shogun
of the Tokugawa shogunate
of Japan
, who held office from 1760 to 1786.
Ieharu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Ieshige
, the ninth shogun.
Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川家治 (June 20, 1737 – September 17, 1786) was the tenth shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
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...
of 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...
, who held office from 1760 to 1786.
Ieharu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Ieshige
Tokugawa Ieshige
Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川 家重 was the ninth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.The first son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, his mother was the daughter of Okubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata. His childhood name was Nagatomi-maru. He underwent the genpuku coming-of-age ceremony in 1725...
, the ninth shogun.
Events of the Ieharu's bakufu
- Tenmei gannen (天明元年) or Tenmei 1 (1781): The new era name of Tenmei (meaning "Dawn") was created to mark the enthronement of Emperor Kōkaku. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in An'ei 11, on the 2nd day of the 4th month.
- Tenmei 2 (1782): Great Tenmei Famine begins.
- Tenmei 2 (1782): An analysis of silver currency in China and Japan "Sin sen sen pou (Sin tchuan phou)" was presented to the emperor by Kutsuki MasatsunaKutsuki Masatsuna, also known as Kutsuki Oki-no kami Minamoto-no Masatsuna, was a hereditary Japanese daimyo of Oki and Ōmi with holdings in Tamba and Fukuchiyama. His warrior clan was amongst the hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa family in the Edo period...
(1750–1802), also known as Kutsuki Oki-no kami Minamoto-no Masatsuna, hereditary daimyoDaimyois 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...
of OkiOki Provincewas an old province of Japan which is now Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Oki province consisted of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, located off the coast of the provinces of Izumo and Hōki....
and ŌmiOmi Provinceis an old province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. It is nicknamed as .Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is located at the center of the province...
with holdings in TambaTambaThe word Tamba may refer to:* Tamba Province, a former province in Japan* Tamba, Hyōgo, a city in Japan* Tamba , a Limited Express train service operated by West Japan Railway Company.* Tamba , a genus of noctuid moths...
and Fukuchiyama -- related note at Tenmei 7 below. - Tenmei 3 (1783): Mount AsamaMount Asamais an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures...
(浅間山, Asama-yama) erupted in ShinanoShinanoShinano may refer to:* Shinano, Nagano, a town in Nagano prefecture, Japan* Shinano River, the longest river in Japan* Shinano Province, one of the old provinces of Japan...
, one of the old provinces of Japan. [Today, Asama-yama's location is better described as on the border between Gunma and NaganoNagano Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
prefectures]. Japanologist Isaac TitsinghIsaac TitsinghIsaac Titsingh FRS was a Dutch surgeon, scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador.During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company . He represented the European trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan...
's published account of the of Asama-yama eruption will become first of its kind in the West (1820). The volcano's devastation makes the Great Tenmei Famine even worse. - Tenmei 4 (1784): Country-wide celebrations in honor of KūkaiKukaiKūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....
(also known as Kōbō-Daishi, founder of Shingon BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
) who died 950 years earlier. - Tenmei 4 (1784): The son of the Shogun's chief counselor was assassinated inside Edo CastleEdo 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...
. The comparatively young wakadoshiyoriWakadoshiyoriThe ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 17th century Tokugawa Japan. The position was established around 1631, but appointments were irregular until 1662....
, Tanuma Yamashiro-no-kami Okitomo, was the son of the senior wakadoshiyori Tanuma Tonomo-no-kami OkitsuguTanuma Okitsugu' was a rōjū of the Tokugawa shogunate who introduced monetary reform. He was also a daimyo, and ruled the Sagara han. He used the title Tonomo-no-kami....
. The younger Tanuma was killed in front of his father as both were returning to their norimono after a meeting of the Counselors of State had broken up. The involvement of senior figures in the bakufu was suspected; however, none but the lone assassin himself was punished. The result was that Tanuma-initiated, liberalizing reforms within the bakufu and relaxing the strictures of sakokuSakokuwas the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
were blocked. - Tenmei 6, on the 8th day of the 9th month (September 17, 1786): Death of Tokugawa Ieharu. He is buried in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. - Tenmei 7 (1787): Kutsuki Masatsuna published Seiyō senpu (Notes on Western Coinage), with plates showing European and colonial currency -- related note at Tenmei 2 above. -- see online image of 2 adjacent pages from library collection of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and Kyoto Junior College of Foreign Languages
Eras of Ieharu's bakufu
The years in which Ieharu was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.- HōrekiHorekiwas a after Kan'en and before Meiwa. The period spanned the years from October 1751 through June 1764. The reigning emperor and emperess were and .-Change of era:...
(1751–1764) - MeiwaMeiwawas a after Hōreki and before An'ei. This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772. The reigning empress and emperor were and .-Change of era:...
(1764–1772) - An'eiAneiwas a after Meiwa and before Tenmei. This period spanned the years November 1772 through March 1781. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
(1772–1781) - TenmeiTenmeiwas a Japanese era name , also known as Temmei, after An'ei and before Kansei. This period spanned the years from April 1781 through January 1789. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1781–1789)