Difference between revisions of "Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu"
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Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a prominent shogunal advisor, serving as [[Tairo|Tairô]] from [[1706]] to [[1709]]. | Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a prominent shogunal advisor, serving as [[Tairo|Tairô]] from [[1706]] to [[1709]]. | ||
| − | Previously known as Fusayasu and Yasuakira, he was born into a samurai family, and was initially a mere page (''[[kosho|koshô]]'') | + | Previously known as Fusayasu and Yasuakira, he was born into a samurai family, and was initially a mere page (''[[kosho|koshô]]'') to the fourth son of [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]], [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]], with a [[stipend]] of 150 ''[[koku]]''. He became one of Tsunayoshi's favorites, and after Tsunayoshi became shogun in [[1680]], he was granted use of the character ''yoshi'' from Tsunayoshi's name, taking on the name Yoshiyasu. |
| − | Yoshiyasu became lord of the 150,000 ''[[koku]]'' domain of [[Kofu han|Kôfu]] in [[1704]], and then ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' and ''Tairô'' in 1706, serving in that position until 1709. At the peak of his status, he claimed a fief of some 228,765 ''koku''.<ref name=chaiklin/> | + | In [[1688]], Tsunayoshi granted Yoshiyasu ''daimyô'' status (with a fief of 32,030 ''koku'') and the position of ''[[soba yonin|soba yônin]]''. He was later [[onari|visited]] directly at his home by the Shogun on nearly sixty occasions, beginning with a visit on [[1691]]/3/22.<ref name=chaiklin>Cecilia Segawa Seigle, “Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the Formation of Edo Castle Rituals of Giving,” in Martha Chaiklin (ed.), ''Mediated by Gifts: Politics and Society in Japan 1350-1850'', Brill (2017), 131-133.</ref> In [[1701]], Tsunayoshi granted Yoshiyasu the privilege of the use of the surname [[Matsudaira clan|Matsudaira]].<ref name=clements605>Clements, 605.</ref> |
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| + | Yoshiyasu became lord of the 150,000 ''[[koku]]'' domain of [[Kofu han|Kôfu]] in [[1704]], and then ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' and ''Tairô'' in 1706, serving in that position until 1709. At the peak of his status, he claimed a fief of some 228,765 ''koku''.<ref name=chaiklin/> Due to the responsibilities associated with his high-ranking position in the shogunate, however, it is unclear if Yoshiyasu ever in fact traveled to Kôfu.<ref name=clements605/> | ||
He is known as an avid patron of Chinese thought and culture, inviting a number of Chinese [[Obaku|Ôbaku]] [[Zen]] monks, as well as [[Nagasaki]]-based Japanese scholars of colloquial Chinese language and culture, to his mansions, and appointing [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] as a scholar in his service. Yanagisawa also sponsored discussions, sometimes attended by the shogun, of [[Confucian classics]], conducted in Chinese; in connection with this, he also organized language classes in colloquial Chinese which served as the basis for Sorai's own study of the language. When the Chinese monk [[Eppo|Eppô]] was interviewed by Tsunayoshi in [[1705]], it is said that Yanagisawa was the only one in the room who did not need to wait for the interpreters to understand what was being said.<ref>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 56-57.</ref> | He is known as an avid patron of Chinese thought and culture, inviting a number of Chinese [[Obaku|Ôbaku]] [[Zen]] monks, as well as [[Nagasaki]]-based Japanese scholars of colloquial Chinese language and culture, to his mansions, and appointing [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] as a scholar in his service. Yanagisawa also sponsored discussions, sometimes attended by the shogun, of [[Confucian classics]], conducted in Chinese; in connection with this, he also organized language classes in colloquial Chinese which served as the basis for Sorai's own study of the language. When the Chinese monk [[Eppo|Eppô]] was interviewed by Tsunayoshi in [[1705]], it is said that Yanagisawa was the only one in the room who did not need to wait for the interpreters to understand what was being said.<ref>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 56-57.</ref> | ||
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*Arai Hakuseki, Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 311n31. | *Arai Hakuseki, Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 311n31. | ||
*Plaques on-site at Rikugien. | *Plaques on-site at Rikugien. | ||
| + | *Rebeckah Clements, "Speaking in Tongues? Daimyo, Zen Monks, and Spoken Chinese in Japan, 1661–1711," ''The Journal of Asian Studies'' Vol. 76, No. 3 (August) 2017: 604-605. | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 05:28, 15 June 2020
- Born: 1658
- Died: 1714/11/2
- Titles: soba yônin (1688-?), Rôjû & Tairô (1706/1/11-1709/6/3), Dewa-no-kami, Mino-no-kami
- Other Names: 柳沢保明 (Yanagisawa Yasuakira), 松平吉保 (Matsudaira Yoshiyasu), Fusayasu, Yatarô, Hozan, Shôshô Yoshiyasu
- Japanese: 柳沢吉保 (Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu)
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a prominent shogunal advisor, serving as Tairô from 1706 to 1709.
Previously known as Fusayasu and Yasuakira, he was born into a samurai family, and was initially a mere page (koshô) to the fourth son of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, with a stipend of 150 koku. He became one of Tsunayoshi's favorites, and after Tsunayoshi became shogun in 1680, he was granted use of the character yoshi from Tsunayoshi's name, taking on the name Yoshiyasu.
In 1688, Tsunayoshi granted Yoshiyasu daimyô status (with a fief of 32,030 koku) and the position of soba yônin. He was later visited directly at his home by the Shogun on nearly sixty occasions, beginning with a visit on 1691/3/22.[1] In 1701, Tsunayoshi granted Yoshiyasu the privilege of the use of the surname Matsudaira.[2]
Yoshiyasu became lord of the 150,000 koku domain of Kôfu in 1704, and then rôjû and Tairô in 1706, serving in that position until 1709. At the peak of his status, he claimed a fief of some 228,765 koku.[1] Due to the responsibilities associated with his high-ranking position in the shogunate, however, it is unclear if Yoshiyasu ever in fact traveled to Kôfu.[2]
He is known as an avid patron of Chinese thought and culture, inviting a number of Chinese Ôbaku Zen monks, as well as Nagasaki-based Japanese scholars of colloquial Chinese language and culture, to his mansions, and appointing Ogyû Sorai as a scholar in his service. Yanagisawa also sponsored discussions, sometimes attended by the shogun, of Confucian classics, conducted in Chinese; in connection with this, he also organized language classes in colloquial Chinese which served as the basis for Sorai's own study of the language. When the Chinese monk Eppô was interviewed by Tsunayoshi in 1705, it is said that Yanagisawa was the only one in the room who did not need to wait for the interpreters to understand what was being said.[3]
Yanagisawa had the Rikugien gardens in Edo built sometime around 1699-1706, on land granted him in 1695, by Tsunayoshi, for a new mansion.
References
- Arai Hakuseki, Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), Told Round a Brushwood Fire, University of Tokyo Press (1979), 311n31.
- Plaques on-site at Rikugien.
- Rebeckah Clements, "Speaking in Tongues? Daimyo, Zen Monks, and Spoken Chinese in Japan, 1661–1711," The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 76, No. 3 (August) 2017: 604-605.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cecilia Segawa Seigle, “Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the Formation of Edo Castle Rituals of Giving,” in Martha Chaiklin (ed.), Mediated by Gifts: Politics and Society in Japan 1350-1850, Brill (2017), 131-133.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Clements, 605.
- ↑ Marius Jansen, China in the Tokugawa World, Harvard University Press (1992), 56-57.
