Suwa Yorimizu

Suwa Yorimizu (1570-1641) was a descendant of the Suwa clan, a distinguished family of Shinano Province. He belonged to the branch of the Suwa clan that Takeda Shingen had destroyed, and his father was Suwa Yoritada of the ōhōri family. After a period of turmoil following the fall of the Takeda clan, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu. For his merit in joining the Eastern Army at the Battle of Sekigahara, he was enfeoffed at Takashima Castle as a daimyō with 27,000 koku in Suwa, Shinano. At the age of six, he received the post of ōhōri, the hereditary high priest of Suwa Grand Shrine, from his father. He maintained deep ties with the family of priests and continued to play the role of protector of Suwa faith. In domain administration, he called back peasants who had fled, encouraged new field development, and contributed to the stability of the Suwa region. In Genna 2 (1616), he took custody of Matsudaira Tadateru, who had been stripped of his domain, and confined him at Takashima Castle, where he added baileys (kuruwa) to the castle.