Changes

==Biography==

==Biography==

Yoshihisa was born in [[1841]], the son of ''[[Koke|Kôke]]'' [[Kira Yoshifuyu]].

Yoshihisa was born in [[1841]], the son of ''[[Koke|Kôke]]'' [[Kira Yoshifuyu]].<ref name=kusatsu>''Kokushitei shiseki Kusatsu-juku honjin'', Kusatsu, Shiga: Shiseki Kusatsujuku honjin (2014), 42.</ref>

Kira served the shogunate in matters of ceremony for about 40 years as a member of the ''kôke'', the "high families" that had been responsible for ceremonial matters from the start of the [[Tokugawa period]]. His family was descended from the [[Ashikaga clan]] branch of the Seiwa Genji and was distantly related to the [[Tokugawa clan|Mikawa Tokugawa]]. As with many ''[[hatamoto]]'', Kira’s status was high but his income low (4200 ''[[koku]]''). Kira was highly regarded by the shogunate and at age 22 was given the duty of congratulating [[Emperor Reigen]] on his succession, for which he was praised by the shogunate and bestowed by the emperor with the [[Court rank|Lower Fourth Rank]]. Kira’s son was also made successor to [[Uesugi Tsunakatsu]] (Kira’s brother-in-law, who had died without an heir) when the child was one. Supporters of the side of the ronin have suggested that Kira had poisoned Uesugi, but there is no historical evidence to support this claim and does not appear to have been an issue at the time. Kira was further honored when his son (now [[Uesugi Tsunanori]]) was permitted to marry [[Sakaehime]], the sister of [[Tokugawa Tsunanori]] (the successor of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]]). Tsunanori later became Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi|Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s]] son-in-law, giving Yoshihisa family relations with the shogun. Yoshihisa continued to receive promotions and successfully served Tsunayoshi, a rather demanding ruler, for twenty years. Yoshihisa was remembered fondly by many in his hometown as he was responsible for building many public works.  

Kira served the shogunate in matters of ceremony for about 40 years as a member of the ''kôke'', the "high families" that had been responsible for ceremonial matters from the start of the [[Tokugawa period]]. In that role, he traveled to Kyoto 24 times over the course of his career, including fifteen times as the shogun's New Year's envoy (''nengashi'').<ref name=kusatsu/>

 

His family was descended from the [[Ashikaga clan]] branch of the Seiwa Genji and was distantly related to the [[Tokugawa clan|Mikawa Tokugawa]]. As with many ''[[hatamoto]]'', Kira’s status was high but his income low (4200 ''[[koku]]''). Kira was highly regarded by the shogunate and at age 22 was given the duty of congratulating [[Emperor Reigen]] on his succession, for which he was praised by the shogunate and bestowed by the emperor with the [[Court rank|Lower Fourth Rank]]. Kira’s son was also made successor to [[Uesugi Tsunakatsu]] (Kira’s brother-in-law, who had died without an heir) when the child was one. Supporters of the side of the ronin have suggested that Kira had poisoned Uesugi, but there is no historical evidence to support this claim and does not appear to have been an issue at the time. Kira was further honored when his son (now [[Uesugi Tsunanori]]) was permitted to marry [[Sakaehime]], the sister of [[Tokugawa Tsunanori]] (the successor of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]]). Tsunanori later became Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi|Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s]] son-in-law, giving Yoshihisa family relations with the shogun. Yoshihisa continued to receive promotions and successfully served Tsunayoshi, a rather demanding ruler, for twenty years. Yoshihisa was remembered fondly by many in his hometown as he was responsible for building many public works.  

The biggest charge made against Kira seems to be that he expected expensive gifts from Asano (or as the early 20th century historian Murdoch terms it without any supporting evidence, ‘had an itch in his palm’) and, not having received any, proceeded to belittle and withhold information from the Akô daimyô. However, there exists no contemporary evidence that Kira was angered over not receiving gifts, and for that matter, that Asano failed to present him with any in the first place. The charge of Kira insisting on bribes first appears in ''[[Gijin Roku]]'' and its author, the philosopher [[Muro Kyuso|Muro Kyûsô]], also invents a fictional encounter between Kira and Asano where Kira refers to the Akô lord as a ‘country bumpkin’. Bitô Masahide and other Japanese scholars have called ''Gijin Roku'' “filled with inaccuracies” and have written that “the information he (Muro) was able to obtain already consisted of fictional elements”. The stories in ''Gijin Roku'' were eagerly accepted by playwrights and novelists and became accepted over time as fact. Tokutomi Ichirô, who generally looked for primary source material, could only find ''[[Tokugawa jikki]]'' as a source for Kira’s ‘evil’ conduct. This work was written over a century after the event and lacks any sort of historical foundation, being instead the opinions of the book’s compiler.  

The biggest charge made against Kira seems to be that he expected expensive gifts from Asano (or as the early 20th century historian Murdoch terms it without any supporting evidence, ‘had an itch in his palm’) and, not having received any, proceeded to belittle and withhold information from the Akô daimyô. However, there exists no contemporary evidence that Kira was angered over not receiving gifts, and for that matter, that Asano failed to present him with any in the first place. The charge of Kira insisting on bribes first appears in ''[[Gijin Roku]]'' and its author, the philosopher [[Muro Kyuso|Muro Kyûsô]], also invents a fictional encounter between Kira and Asano where Kira refers to the Akô lord as a ‘country bumpkin’. Bitô Masahide and other Japanese scholars have called ''Gijin Roku'' “filled with inaccuracies” and have written that “the information he (Muro) was able to obtain already consisted of fictional elements”. The stories in ''Gijin Roku'' were eagerly accepted by playwrights and novelists and became accepted over time as fact. Tokutomi Ichirô, who generally looked for primary source material, could only find ''[[Tokugawa jikki]]'' as a source for Kira’s ‘evil’ conduct. This work was written over a century after the event and lacks any sort of historical foundation, being instead the opinions of the book’s compiler.