Wakizaka Yasumoto (脇坂安元)
Yasumoto WAKIZAKA (April 14, 1584 - January 21, 1654) was a daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) in the early Edo period. He was the second lord of the Ozu Domain in Iyo Province and then became the first lord of the Shinano-Iida Domain in Shinano Province. He was the second generation of the Wakizaka family in the Tatsuno Domain.
He was the second son of Yasuharu WAKIZAKA, the first lord of the Ozu Domain.
His first given name was 'Toru.'
He was known as Jintaro. Since his older brother Yasutada WAKIZAKA died young of disease, he became the heir. He had younger brothers Yasunobu WAKIZAKA and Yasutsune WAKIZAKA, and others. His lawful wife was the daughter of Mitsumoto ISHIKAWA. He did not have a biological child and accordingly adopted Yasumasa WAKIZAKA who was the second son of Masamori HOTTA, the lord of the Sakura Domain in Shimosa Province, as an heir. He was awarded the rank of Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) and held the title of Awaji no kami (Governor of Awaji Province).
Incidentally, Yasumoto had adopted children (Yasutsune and Yasutoshi WAKIZAKA) before he adopted Yasumasa, but both of them died young. Therefore, he proposed to adopt Yasumasa, the second son of Masamori HOTTA, who was trusted by then-Shogun Iemitsu TOKUGAWA, and he got permission. Accordingly, the Wakizaka family, which was a small domain of tozama daimyo (nonhereditary feudal lord) could become a fudai daimyo (a daimyo in hereditary vassal to the Tokugawa family).
Brief Personal History
He went into the Battle of Sekigahara with his father Yasuharu. He also joined in the attack of Sawayama-jo Castle after the war and then in the Osaka no Eki (The Siege of Osaka) as a spearhead. After that, he succeeded the head of the family when his father retired from his position as head of the family.
He was transferred, ended up having an additional number of territories, from 53,000 koku of the Ozu Domain in Iyo Province to 55,000 koku of the Shinano-Iida Domain in Shinano Province. For 55 years he maintained the castle town of Iida with Yasumasa, the second, and completed canals around Iida-jo Castle. He contributed to the development of Iida by establishing the distribution and post-horse system on the road, completing the Iida Juhachi-cho (飯田十八町, 18 towns of Ida), and focusing also on promotion of cultural business.
After that, he served as an Edo marshal for Chosen Tsushinshi (the Korean Emissary) and a guard of Shimodate-jo Castle. He died at the age of 70 on January 21, 1654.
His hogo (a Buddhist name): Fujitei Yasumoto Yakumoin
The location of his grave: Rinkain, Myoshin-ji Temple in Hanazono, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City.
Educated person
Yasumoto called himself Yakumoken and was said to be the best poet among samurai families. He was an educated person who served as Danbanshu (談伴衆, executive adviser) for Hidetada TOKUGAWA and possessed several thousands of Japanese and Chinese books. He also wrote many books, including 'Shimodate Nikki' (The Diary of Yasumoto WAKIZAKA) and 'Zaisekisho' (collection of the past). He and Razan HAYASHI were a teacher-pupil relationship: He learned Confucianism from Razan and he taught Razan the art of versification.
There is an anecdote to show how high Yasumoto's level of culture was as follows:
When 'Kanei shoka keizuden' (The Genealogies of the Houses of the Kanei era) was compiled in the reign of Iemitsu, each daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) who rose to a greater prominence in the Sengoku Period (Period of Warring States) attempted to manipulate their genealogy to make it appear that they were from a noble family, such as the genpeitokitsu (shortened expression of four major clans; Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara, and Tachibana clans). However, Yasumoto only found that 'his ancestor was supposedly from the Fujiwara clan' in it.
Therefore, he created only a short genealogy starting from his grandfather Yasuakira WAKIZAKA and submitted it with a waka poet on the top: 'I do not know if my ancestor was from the Northern House or Southern House, or even the Capital House or the Ceremonial House of the Fujiwara clan, but my grandfather began to identify himself as an ancestor of the Fujiwara clan as it happens.'