Horio Tadaharu (堀尾忠晴)
Tadaharu HORIO (1599 - October 26, 1633) was a tozama daimyo (nonhereditary feudal lord) who lived in the Edo period. He was a son of Tadauji HORIO and a grandson of Yoshiharu HORIO. He was the third Lord of the Matsue Domain in Izumo Province. Tadaharu's lawful wife was Bin hime (Lady Bin), who was an adopted daughter of Hidetada TOKUGAWA (a daughter of Iemasa OKUDAIRA). Tadaharu's daughters included the lawful wife of Kadokatsu ISHIKAWA. Tadaharu was given an official rank of Jushiinoge (Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade), being the Yamashiro no kuni no kami (the Governor of Yamashiro Province). Tadaharu's childhood name was Sannosuke.
In 1604, young Tadaharu succeeded his father Tadauji, who had died young. He was too little to be a political leader then, however, so his grandfather Yoshiharu administered the affairs of the domain on behalf of Tadaharu. At that time Tadaharu's paternal aunt (Yoshiharu's oldest daughter whose name was unknown) and Horio, Kawachi no kami (the Governor of Kawachi Province, a son of Yoshiharu's daughter) who was a member of the family and the hitto karo (the head of chief retainers) attempted to embezzle the headship of the family from Tadaharu, but the plot was revealed then the Kawachi no kami and the kamori (Housekeeping, his father) were exiled and ordered seppuku (suicide by disembowelment). This resembled the Sengoku sodo Disturbance later and, therefore, deserved the Kaieki (forfeit rank of Samurai and properties) because it was family infighting of a powerful tozama daimyo, but they narrowly escaped the sanction probably because Yoshiharu was still alive.
Upon his grandfather's death in 1611, Tadaharu initiated his own direct rule. Since then he called himself Tadaharu (his former personal name is unknown). No particular achievements by Lord Tadaharu HORIO are known. It has been known that Tadaharu distinguished himself in the Siege of Osaka and that he silenced a gun bugyo (military commissioner) of the Tokugawa family, who had accused him of an act in violation of the military command, by his overwhelmingly high competence. Tadaharu was both a wise ruler and a great commander, who inherited such a dual character from his grandfather who had been called 'Hotoke no Mosuke' (Saintly Mosuke) and 'Oni Mosuke' (Devilish Mosuke), thus being more of a warrior. Tadaharu's masculinity might have been relied upon by the shogunate that in 1619 when Masanori FUKUSHIMA was transferred from Hiroshima to a smaller domain of Kawanakajima (Takaino Domain) in Shinano Province due to the shogunal order, Tadaharu attended the handover of Hiroshima-jo Castle to be the recipient.
He died in 1633. It is assumed that Tadaharu's death was caused by alcohol. As neither his lawful wife nor his concubine gave birth to a son, Tadaharu wished his cousin Sojuro HORIO (whose father may have been Ujiyasu HORIO) to be his Matsugo-yoshi (a son adopted on one's deathbed), which was not permitted, thereby allowing the head of the Horio family to be extinct. From the Horio family line, Tajima HORIO, who was Yoshiharu's cousin, and Ujiharu HORIO, whose father Ujimitsu HORIO was a younger brother of Yoshiharu, served the Matsudaira family of Echizen Province. Mosuke HORIO (the fourth) served the Hosokawa clan as well. Tadaharu's grave: Enjo-ji Temple (円成寺) in Sendagi, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo Prefecture. Yogen-ji Temple. Enjo-ji Temple in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Shunkoin Temple in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture.
Neikosai Danso' (the collection of commentaries by Neikosai) which was written in the early Edo period refers to a romantic relationship between Tadaharu HORIO and Toshitsune MAEDA.