* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Matsudaira Nobutsuna
松平信綱
The shogunal elder known as "Chie Izu" — suppressor of the Shimabara Rebellion and founder of Kawagoe domain's prosperity
Description
Life and Origins
Matsudaira Nobutsuna (1596-1662) was born in Musashi Province as the eldest son of Ōkōchi Hisatsuna, a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was later adopted by Matsudaira Masatsuna of the Nagasawa-Matsudaira house, taking the Matsudaira surname. From childhood he served in close attendance on Tokugawa Iemitsu, and rose to the centre of shogunal government when Iemitsu became shogun. He is widely known by his official style, Matsudaira Izu-no-kami Nobutsuna.
Service as Rōjū
In the fifth month of 1633 he was appointed rōjū (senior councillor) and granted the 30,000-koku domain of Oshi in Musashi. In the eleventh month of 1638 he became head of the council of elders, and went on to direct shogunal policy across the reigns of two shoguns, Iemitsu and Ietsuna. His acuity earned him the nickname "Chie Izu" — "the wise man of Izu" — and he is regarded as the archetype of the administrative statesmen who built the early Tokugawa bureaucracy.
The Shimabara Rebellion
In 1637 a large-scale uprising of Christian peasants broke out in Shimabara and Amakusa. The shogunate first dispatched Itakura Shigemasa as its commander, but Shigemasa was killed in a general assault in the first month of 1638. Nobutsuna was then sent as supreme commander. Avoiding a costly frontal assault, he encircled Hara Castle and wore down the defenders by cutting off their provisions before launching a final attack, taking the castle in the second month of that year.
Governing Kawagoe
For his part in suppressing the rebellion he was transferred in the first month of 1639 to Kawagoe domain, his holding increased by 30,000 to 60,000 koku. Nobutsuna laid out the castle town of Kawagoe, improved the Shingashi River boat traffic and the Kawagoe highway linking the town to Edo, and thereby built the domain's economic base. He is also known for cutting the Nobidome irrigation canal, which opened new rice land across the Musashino plateau. Much of the shape of present-day Kawagoe derives from his measures.
Legacy
He remains highly regarded as the model of a daimyo who served the shogunate through intellect and administrative skill rather than feats of arms.
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