Abe Tadaaki

Daimyo, Politician

1602 – 1671

61

Who was Abe Tadaaki?

Abe Tadaaki was a high-ranking government official in Japan under Tokugawa Iemitsu and Ietsuna, the third and fourth Tokugawa Shogun. Daimyo of the Oshi Domain in modern-day Saitama prefecture, with an income of 80,000 koku, Abe was appointed wakadoshiyori in 1633, and rōjū shortly afterwards.

Iemitsu died in 1651 and was succeeded by his ten-year-old son Ietsuna. In accordance with the custom of junshi, a number of Iemitsu's closest retainers and advisors committed suicide so as to follow their lord in death; Abe did not engage in this practice, and was left, along with a handful of other high-ranking officials and advisors, to handle the affairs of government.

Especially remembered for his integrity, high morals, and practical sense of good government, Abe Tadaaki is known for his attempts to find employment for a number of samurai who became rōnin in the wake of the Keian Uprising, a coup d'etat which failed to be executed that same year, just after Iemitsu's death. While other government ministers reacted to the uprising with the instinctive desire to expel all rōnin from Edo, Abe thought it more pertinent to take a somewhat softer tack, aiding the rōnin in seeking legitimate employment, and thus drastically reducing the number who would have reason to take up arms against the shogunate.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
1602
Edo
Nationality
  • Japan
Profession
Died
1671

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Abe Tadaaki." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/abe_tadaaki>.

Discuss this Abe Tadaaki biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net