Changes

*''Born: ''

*''Died: ''

*''Born: [[1745]]''

*''Died: [[1833]]''

*''Japanese'': [[島津]]重豪 ''(Shimazu Shigehide)''

*''Japanese'': [[島津]]重豪 ''(Shimazu Shigehide)''

Shimazu Shigehide was the 25th [[Shimazu clan]] lord of [[Satsuma province]], known especially for his support for [[Rangaku|Western Studies]], and for relative openness regarding travel and exchanges between Satsuma and other [[provinces]].

Shimazu Shigehide was the 25th head of the [[Shimazu clan]] and eighth [[Edo period]] lord of [[Satsuma han]], ruling the domain from [[1755]] to [[1787]]. He is known especially for his support for [[Rangaku|Western Studies]], and for his relatively open policies regarding travel and exchanges between Satsuma and other [[provinces]]. Whereas travelers were generally not permitted to enter within the borders of the domain for much of the Edo period, during Shigehide's reign this was relaxed.

During the early years of his reign, [[Shimazu Hisamoto]] served as an unofficial regent for the young Shigehide.

He was a son of [[Shimazu Shigetoshi]]. During the early years of Shigehide's reign, [[Shimazu Hisamoto]] served as an unofficial regent for the young ''daimyô''.

 

It is said that Shigehide desired to bring more commerce and trade into the domain, and believed that greater merchant activity was essential for a prosperous [[jokamachi|castle town]]; as a result, he relaxed the domain's strict border policies, known as the strictest in the realm, and sometimes even referred to as "the closed country within the [[sakoku|closed country]]."<ref>Gallery labels, [[Reimeikan Museum]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref>

In [[1779]], he established an astronomical observatory and academy called the Meiji-kan; later renamed [[Tenmonkan]], this site grew to become the chief center of urban culture in [[Kagoshima]].<ref>Plaques on-site at Tenmonkan.</ref>

In [[1779]], he established an astronomical observatory and academy called the Meiji-kan; later renamed [[Tenmonkan]], this site grew to become the chief center of urban culture in [[Kagoshima]].<ref>Plaques on-site at Tenmonkan.</ref>

His concubines included [[Chima no kata]], eldest daughter of the court noble [[Tsutsumi Toshinaga]], whose direct descendants would include the famous [[Atsuhime]].<ref>Plaque at grave of Chima no kata, [[Shojoke-in|Shôjôke-in]], Teramachi-dôri, Kyoto.</ref> Shigehide's children included [[Kodai-in|Kôdai-in]], who went on to become the chief wife of [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Ienari]].

 

His concubines included [[Chima no kata]], eldest daughter of the court noble [[Tsutsumi Toshinaga]], whose direct descendants would include the famous [[Atsuhime]].<ref>Plaque at grave of Chima no kata, [[Shojoke-in|Shôjôke-in]], Teramachi-dôri, Kyoto.</ref> Shigehide's children included his successor as lord of Satsuma, [[Shimazu Narinobu]] ([[1773]]-[[1841]]), as well as three other sons who were adopted into other ''daimyô'' families and became lords of their own domains. These were [[Shimazu Masataka]] (lord of [[Nakatsu han]] in [[Buzen province]], adopted by [[Okudaira Masao]]), [[Shimazu Narihiro]] (lord of [[Fukuoka han]], adopted by [[Kuroda Narikiyo]]), and [[Shimazu Nobuyuki]] (lord of [[Hachinohe han]], adopted by [[Nanbu Nobumasa]]). Shigehide's daughter [[Kodai-in|Shige-hime]], meanwhile, was married into the [[Tokugawa clan]], becoming the chief wife of [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Ienari]].<ref>''Kaiyô kokka Satsuma'' 海洋国家薩摩, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2010), 58-59.</ref>

 

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