Matsudaira Nobutsuna - Matsudaira no Butsuna

A Shogunate councilor in the early Edo period. The eldest son of Okochi Hisatsuna, a local official of the Tokugawa clan, he was adopted by his uncle Matsudaira Masatsuna at the age of six. At the age of nine, he served Tokugawa Iemitsu as a page, and in 1623 (Genwa 9), he was appointed as the page group's chief clerk and Izu no Kami. In 1627 (Kan'ei 4), he was awarded 10,000 koku. In 1632, he was made a councilor of the same rank, in 1633 he was made a member of the Rochu Nami, and in 1633 he was made a member of the Rochu Musashi Oshi (later known as Wakadoshiyori), and then he became the lord of the castle of Rochu Musashi Oshi with 30,000 koku (Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture). In 1635, he was exempted from concurrently serving as the page group's chief clerk. At the end of 1637, he was ordered to suppress the Shimabara Rebellion, which was suppressed in February of the following year. Due to his achievements, in 1806, he was transferred to Musashi-Kawagoe (Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture) with 60,000 koku, and in 1807 (4th year of Shoho), his stipend was increased to 75,000 koku. After Iemitsu's death, he and Abe Tadaaki became the top of the shogunate, assisted the fourth shogun Ietsuna, dealt with the Matsudaira Sadamasa Incident and the Yui Shosetsu Rebellion, and worked hard to rebuild after the Meireki fire. He was a brilliant man known as "Chie Izu," and there are many anecdotes about him. Over the two generations of Iemitsu and Ietsuna, he managed the shogunate as the center of the new Fudai, and worked hard to establish the shogunate-han system. In other words, he participated in the revision of the Buke Shohatto (laws for the warrior class), the institution of sankin-kotai (alternate attendance), the completion of national isolation, the resolution of the Ronin (masterless samurai) problem, and the shogunate reforms after the Kan'ei famine. He also contributed greatly to the establishment of the Kawagoe domain, working hard on repairing and expanding the castle after the Kawagoe fire in 1903, rebuilding and reorganizing the castle town, rebuilding the Kitain and Senba Toshogu shrines, opening the Shin-gashi River shipping service, flood control of the Arakawa and Iruma Rivers, carrying out the Keian general land survey, digging the Nobidome irrigation canal and developing Musashino, and implementing agricultural promotion policies. He also served as the maternal grandfather of Sakai Tadayoshi, the young lord of the Dewa Shonai domain, and handled disputes within the domain. He served as a senior councilor until his death in 1902 (Kanbun 2), and was buried at Heirin-ji Temple in Musashi Iwatsuki (which moved to Nobidome the following year).

[Mizuo Ohno]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸前期の幕府老中。徳川氏の地方(じかた)役人大河内久綱(おおこうちひさつな)の長子で、6歳のとき叔父(おじ)松平正綱の養子となる。9歳で徳川家光(いえみつ)に小姓として近侍、1623年（元和9）小姓組番頭、伊豆守(いずのかみ)に叙任。27年（寛永4）1万石。32年老中並(なみ)、33年六人衆（後の若年寄）、ついで老中武蔵忍(むさしおし)3万石（埼玉県行田(ぎょうだ)市）の城主となった。35年小姓組番頭兼務を免除。37年末、島原の乱鎮圧の命を受け、翌年2月鎮定。その功績により39年武蔵川越(かわごえ)6万石（埼玉県川越市）に転じ、47年（正保4）7万5000石に加増された。家光が死ぬと阿部忠秋(ただあき)と幕閣の頂点にたち、4代家綱(いえつな)を補佐し、松平定政事件や由比正雪(ゆいしょうせつ)の乱を処理、明暦(めいれき)の大火後の復興に努めた。才気あふれ「知恵伊豆」といわれ、逸話は多い。家光・家綱2代にわたり新参譜代(ふだい)の中心として幕政を運営、幕藩体制の確立に尽くした。すなわち、武家諸法度(ぶけしょはっと)の改訂、参勤交代の制度化、鎖国の完成、牢人(ろうにん)問題の処理、寛永飢饉(かんえいききん)後の幕政改革に参画した。川越藩政の確立にも大きく寄与し、38年の川越大火後の城郭修築拡張、城下町の町割・復興と町制の整備、喜多院(きたいん)・仙波(せんば)東照宮再建、新河岸(しんがし)川舟運の開設、荒川(あらかわ)・入間(いるま)川治水、慶安(けいあん)総検地の実施、野火止(のびどめ)用水開削と武蔵野開発、勧農政策の実施などに努力した。また出羽庄内(しょうない)藩の幼主酒井忠義(ただよし)の外祖父として後見、藩内紛争を処理した。62年（寛文2）の死まで老中を勤め、武蔵岩槻(いわつき)の平林寺(へいりんじ)（翌年野火止に移転）に葬られた。

［大野瑞男］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例