Mr. Sakai

A senior retainer of the Tokugawa Shogunate. There are two lines: the Utanosuke Sakai clan and the Saemonnojo Sakai clan, both of which prospered by branching out into daimyo and hatamoto families. It is said that the founder of the Sakai clan, Hirochika, was the son of Matsudaira Chikauji, the founder of the Tokugawa clan. In the "Kan'ei Shoka Keizuden" (A Guide to Various Families), the entry for the Saemonnojo Sakai clan states that "according to family tradition," Chikauji lived in Sanshu (Mikawa Province) and gave birth to two children. One of them was Matsudaira Yasuchika, and the other took the name of the Sakai clan and became chief retainer for generations. The entry for the Gagaku no Suke Sakai family in the Kansei Choshu Shokafu (Primitive Genealogy of Various Families during the Kansei Era) also makes a similar statement, and the book treats the Sakai family as a "separate lineage from Matsudaira." The Saemon-no-jo line is said to be the lineage of Hirochika's eldest son Ujitada, and the Gagaku no Suke lineage of his second son Ietada, but the Saemon-no-jo lineage begins with Tadatsugu's father, who made great achievements under Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the middle line is unclear. However, it is entirely possible that the Sakai family were hereditary vassals of the Matsudaira clan and contributed to the development of the clan. During the reign of Ieyasu, Saemon-no-jo Tadatsugu, Gagaku no Suke Masachika, and Kawachi no Kami Shigetada were all active, and in the early days of the shogunate, Gagaku no Kami Tadayo played a major role. The senior councilor Sanuki no Kami Tadakatsu during the reigns of the 3rd Shogun Iemitsu and the 4th Shogun Ietsuna was also a branch of the Gagaku no Kami lineage, and during the reign of Ietsuna, Gagaku no Kami Tadakiyo wielded great power. The Saemonnojo family settled in Shonai, Dewa (Yamagata Prefecture), and produced branches such as the Dewa Matsuyama Domain. The Gagaku no Suke family moved from Maebashi in Joshu (Gunma Prefecture) to Himeji in Harima (Hyogo Prefecture), and the Sanuki no Kami Tadakatsu family ruled over Obama in Wakasa (Fukui Prefecture).

[Ryosho Hayashi]

"Ieyasu's Retainers: Military Commanders" by Takaya Nakamura (1968, Jinbutsu Oraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

徳川将軍家譜代(ふだい)の重臣。雅楽助(うたのすけ)酒井氏、左衛門尉(さえもんのじょう)酒井氏の2系があるが、いずれも大名家、旗本家を分出し、繁栄した。酒井氏の始祖広親(ひろちか)は徳川氏始祖松平親氏(まつだいらちかうじ)の子だとする。『寛永諸家系図伝(かんえいしょかけいずでん)』左衛門尉酒井氏の項には、「家伝にいはく」として、親氏は三州(さんしゅう)（三河国(みかわのくに)）に住して2子を生んだ。1人は松平泰親(やすちか)で、他は酒井氏を称して代々家老となった、としている。『寛政重修諸家譜(かんせいちょうしゅうしょかふ)』雅楽助酒井氏の項も同趣旨を記しており、同書は酒井氏を「松平別流」として扱っている。左衛門尉系は広親の長子氏忠(うじただ)の系統、雅楽助系は次子家忠(いえただ)の系統とされるが、左衛門尉系は徳川家康に従って功績のあった忠次(ただつぐ)の父から系譜を書き上げており、中間は明確ではない。しかし酒井氏が松平氏譜代の重臣で松平氏の発展に貢献したことは十分に考えられる。家康代には左衛門尉忠次、雅楽助正親(まさちか)、河内守(かわちのかみ)重忠(しげただ)らが活躍し、幕政草創期には雅楽頭(うたのかみ)忠世(ただよ)が大きな働きを示している。3代家光(いえみつ)、4代家綱(いえつな)代の老中讃岐守(さぬきのかみ)忠勝(ただかつ)も雅楽助系の分家であり、家綱代には雅楽頭忠清が権勢を振るった。左衛門尉家は出羽(でわ)（山形県）庄内(しょうない)に定着し、出羽松山藩などの分家を出した。雅楽助家は上州（群馬県）前橋から播磨(はりま)（兵庫県）姫路に移り、讃岐守忠勝家は若狭(わかさ)（福井県）小浜(おばま)を領した。

［林　亮勝］

『中村孝也著『家康の臣僚　武将編』（1968・人物往来社）』

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