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Tokugawa Mitsukuni. Unknown author.

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Tokugawa Mitsukuni

Tokugawa Mitsukuni was born on July 11, 1628, in Mito Domain, Hitachi Province. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, the first daimyo of the Mito Domain.

 His father was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

At the age of six, his elder brother Yorishige became a valetudinarian, and Mitsukuni was chosen to succeed his father. At nine years old, he underwent genpuku which meant the coming-of-age ceremony.

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1. He was Responsible for Assembling the Mitogaku scholars

This was to compile a huge Japanese history. In it, Japan was depicted as a nation under the Emperor, analogous to that of Chinese dynasties.

This helped the rise of nationalism in the late shogunate and the Mito Domain later. His childhood name was Chomaru, later become Chiyomatsu. This name was personally granted by his cousin and the sh艒gun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.

2. He Anticipated the Forcible Division of Kami and Buddhas

A portrait of Mitsukuni Tokugawa in the collection of the Mito Tokugawa Museum (partial). Author Kano Tsunenobu.

In 1661, at the age of 34, he anticipated the forcible division of kami and Buddhas (shinbutsu bunri) of 1868. He ordered the destruction of a thousand Buddhist temples.

He also accomplished the construction of at least one shrine per village (one village, one shrine policy. At age 63, he was awarded the court office of gon-ch奴nagon or provisional middle counsellor. In 1691, he retired to It his villa.

3. He Directed the Creation of the very First Guide to Kamakura

 This was the creation of the very first guide to Kamakura, the Shinpen Kamakurashi. The book would have a profound influence on the city in the following centuries.

This was an influence which continues to this day in names for parts of the city like Kamakura’s Seven Mouths, Kamakura’s Ten Bridges, and other popular monikers he coined.

4. He married a Daughter of the Kampaku Konoe Nobuhiro

In 1657 at the age of 27, he married a daughter of the kampaku Konoe. Nabohiro Mitsukuni had one son, who took theMatsudaira surname.

Additionally, Mitsukuni adopted the son of an elder brother. The adopted son, Tokugawa Tsunaeda, became his heir.

5. He became the Daimy艒 of the Mito Domain

In 1661, at age 34, he became the daimy艒 of the Mito Domain. He predicted the forcible division of kami and Buddhas (shinbutsu bunri) in 1868 ordering there the destruction of a thousand Buddhist temples and the formation of at least one co-star per village (one village one shrine policy ).

 At age 63, he was awarded the court office of gon-ch奴nagon or temporary middle counsellor. In 1691, he retired to his villa, Seizan-s艒.

6. He was Honoured as the First Senior Court Rank

A portrait of Mitsukuni Tokugawa. Author Tachihara apricot place.

The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as Ikai, are indications of an individual’s court rank in Japan based on the system of the state.

Ikai as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the political administration system used in ancient China.Additonally,  the inkling of the rank of officials and officials in countries that inherited.

Currently, the Japanese court ranks and titles are now one of the types of honours. They are granted to those who have held government posts for a long time and to those who have made a prominent accomplishment. On Nov 16, 1900, Tokugawa Mitsukuni was ranked the honour of Senior First Rank.

7 The First Television Series to Portray Tokugawa Mitsukuni as a Wanderer

In 1951, the first television series to characterize him as a wanderer. Camouflaging as a commoner, who denounced the evil powers in every corner of the nation.

 From 1969 to 2011, TBS ran the series Mito K艒mon, which continues to attract audiences in reruns. Episodes were re-broadcast in the early 1990s by WNYE-TV (New York City) under the title The Elder Lord of Mito.

Each summer, the city of Mito hosts the Mito Komon festival, which prominently features the Tokugawa seal, as well as actors depicting Tokugawa Mitsukuni and his associates.

8 He is the First Japanese to Eat Ramen

He is claimed to be one of the first Japanese to eat ramen as well as routinely enjoy such exotic food as wine and yoghurt.

At age 63, he was awarded the court office of gon-ch奴nagon or provisional middle counsellor. Later In 1691, he retired to his villa, Seizan-s艒.

9. There is a Statue of Mito-komon in Kairaku-en

a Japanese garden located in Mito, Ibaraki, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Kairakuen was built relatively recently in the year 1841 by the local lord Tokugawa Nariaki and was open to the public.

10. He was  a Productive and Charitable ruler

Historians generally see Mitsukuni as a valuable and liberal ruler who stabilised his administration. This by strengthening a band of retainers and by centralizing his hold over the castle town of Mito.

He promoted gold mining, paper production, horse breeding, and shipbuilding and sent an expedition to Ezo (modern-day Hokkaid艒) to establish a trade. According to the practices of the Chinese Confucian rulers, his agricultural policies included the removal of the annual rice tax

The establishment of famine-relief granaries as well as encouraging peasants to study herbal medicine, relinquish unnatural religious practices and focus on filial holiness and virtue.