Sakai Tadakiyo - Please enjoy

A fudai daimyo (feudal lord) in the early Edo period. Lord of Maebashi Castle in Kozuke (Gunma Prefecture). Head of the senior councilors during the time of the 4th shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Also called Tairo. Born as the eldest son of Tadayuki, a member of the prestigious fudai Utanosuke Sakai clan, said to have the same ancestors as the Tokugawa shoguns. His grandfather Tadayo made great achievements as a senior councilor under the 2nd shogun Hidetada and the 3rd shogun Iemitsu. His father Tadayuki died of illness in 1636 (Kan'ei 13), and the following year Tadakiyo became the lord of Maebashi Castle at the age of 14 (100,000 koku, later 150,000 koku). Following the family rank of senior vassals who assisted the lord, Tadakiyo also held important positions such as Soja. After the succession, he was appointed to the rank of Junior Fifth Rank and Kawachi no Kami, then Junior Fourth Rank and Chamberlain, and further to Shosho and changed his title to Uta no Kami. When Ietsuna became the 4th Shogun in 1651 (Keian 4) at the age of 11, Tadakiyo assisted him as a senior vassal, and in 1653 (Shoo 2) he was appointed to the position of Roju on the same level as Sakai Tadakatsu (Lord of Obama Domain), who was the head of the Roju, and was ranked above Tadakatsu. He was appointed based on his family's rank. After this, especially after the deaths of the previous Roju Sakai Tadakatsu and Matsudaira Nobutsuna, he supported the Shogun's politics as the center of the Shogunate in both name and reality, and built a stable order in the Shogunate and domains that is also known as the "Kanbun and Enpo eras." The fact that his residence was located near the Gebafuda (lower horse sign) of the Otemon Gate indicates the strength of his power, and that he was called "Geba Shogun." He has also been criticized for trying to install a new Shogun after Ietsuna's death, and for handling the Echigo Uprising unfairly, but this is probably related to the fact that Tadayuto was overthrown shortly after Tsunayoshi became the fifth Shogun.

[Ryosho Hayashi]

"Sakai Tadakiyo, by Hayashi Ryosho" (included in "The Edo Shogunate, Vol. 1"; 1964, Jinbutsu Oraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸前期の譜代(ふだい)大名。上野(こうずけ)（群馬県）前橋城主。4代将軍徳川家綱(いえつな)時代の老中首座。大老とも称される。徳川将軍家と同祖とされる譜代の名門雅楽助(うたのすけ)酒井氏の忠行(ただゆき)の嫡男として生まれる。祖父忠世(ただよ)は2代秀忠(ひでただ)、3代家光(いえみつ)の老中として功績が大きかった。父忠行は1636年（寛永13）病没し、翌年忠清は14歳で前橋城主となった（10万石、のち15万石）。父祖以来重臣として主家を補佐する家格に従って忠清も奏者(そうじゃ)とされるなど要職についていった。また相続後、従(じゅ)五位下、河内守(かわちのかみ)に叙任され、ついで従四位下、侍従(じじゅう)となり、さらに少将に進み、雅楽頭(うたのかみ)と改めた。51年（慶安4）家綱が11歳で4代将軍の座につくと、忠清は重臣としてこれを補佐し、53年（承応2）老中首座にあった酒井忠勝(ただかつ)（小浜(おばま)藩主）と同列という格で老中に任ぜられ、座位は忠勝の上席とされた。家格による任命である。これ以後、とくに前代からの老中酒井忠勝、松平信綱(のぶつな)ら亡きあとは名実ともに幕閣の中心として将軍政治を支え、「寛文(かんぶん)・延宝(えんぽう)の治」ともいわれる安定した幕藩秩序をつくりあげていった。その屋敷が大手門下馬札(げばふだ)のあたりにあったことから「下馬将軍」と称せられたなどはその権勢の強さを示している。家綱没時に宮将軍を擁立しようとしたとか、越後(えちご)騒動の取扱いが不当であったなどの非難も受けているが、これは綱吉(つなよし)が5代将軍になるとまもなく忠清が失脚したことと関連していわれるものであろう。

［林　亮勝］

『林亮勝著「酒井忠清」（『江戸幕府　上』所収・1964・人物往来社）』

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