Ikeda Mitsumasa

Ikeda Mitsumasa (1609-1682) was the lord of the Bizen Okayama domain, celebrated as an 'enlightened ruler' renowned for promoting Confucian learning (particularly the Yomei school of Neo-Confucianism) and reforming domain administration. He invited the Yomei scholar Kumazawa Banzan to Okayama and contributed to the spread of this philosophical tradition in Japan. He also left outstanding achievements in education policy, establishing the Shizutani School (now a Special Historic Site) for the education of commoners. In the martial arts, he is said to have favored archery.