Goto Nuinosuke

• Japanese: 後藤縫殿助 (Gotou Nuinosuke)

Gotô Nuinosuke was a lineage of goyô shônin (official merchants) employed by the Tokugawa shogunate to produce formal clothes.

The first Gotô Nuinosuke, granted that name in 1627 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, was a grandson of Matsubayashi (or Shôrin), an official purveyor to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Matsubayashi was succeeded by his son Tadamasa as official purveyor, and Tadamasa and his three sons Tadanao, Masukatsu, and Yoshikatsu were granted samurai status. They served as retainers to Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu, and Masukatsu became the first Nuinosuke in 1627 passing that name on to his descendants, down through the rest of the Edo period.

When daimyô presented clothing as formal gifts to the shogun on Tango no sekku and Chrysanthemum Festival, and at the end of the year, they often had the clothes special-made by Gotô; similarly, Gotô provided much of the clothing bestowed upon the daimyô by the shogun in return.

References

• "Gotô Nuinosuke," Nihon jinmei daijiten, Kodansha 2009.