was the 8th 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...

of 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:...

 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...

, (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

) in 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....

 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...

. His courtesy title was Kaga no Kami.

Biography

Ōkubo Tadanao was the posthumous son of Ōkubo Tadanaga, son and heir of the 7th daimyō of Odawara, Ōkubo Tadazane

Okubo Tadazane

was the 7th daimyō of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province, in mid-Edo period Japan. His courtesy title was Kaga no Kami.-Biography:...

. He was adopted by his grandfather, who, however, died in 1837, leaving him as 10th clan head and daimyō of Odawara at the age of 9. He soon came under the influence of the faction of conservative councilors who rejected the radical reforms of his grandfather’s senior councilor, Ninomiya Sontoku

Ninomiya Sontoku

, born Ninomiya Kinjirō , was a prominent 19th century Japanese agricultural leader, philosopher, moralist and economist.-Life:Ninomiya Sontoku was born to a poor peasant family with a name of Kinjiro in Kayama Ashigarakami-gun Sagami province. His father died when he was 14 and his mother died...

, eventually reversing many of the gains made. During his tenure, he was assigned additional duties in guarding the coastline of Izu Province

Izu Province

was a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising the Izu Peninsula is today the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture and the Izu Islands are now part of...

 against the incursions of foreign ships and was held responsible for the security of the American legation at Shimoda

Shimoda, Shizuoka

is a city and port in Shizuoka, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 25,054 and a population density of 242 persons per square kilometer...

, where Townsend Harris

Townsend Harris

Townsend Harris was a successful New York City merchant and minor politician, and the first United States Consul General to Japan...

 negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858.

Although married to a daughter of Shimazu Narinobu of Satsuma Domain, he died without heir in 1859.