Hoshina Masaari

Who was Hoshina Masaari?

Viscount Hoshina Masaari was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period who was the last ruler of the Iino Domain. Though lord of a minor domain, his family was a branch of the Matsudaira of Aizu, whose founder Hoshina Masayuki was the older brother of the Iino founder, Hoshina Masasada.

Masaari was born in Edo to the 9th Iino lord, Hoshina Masamoto. Masaari was the younger brother of Matsudaira Teru. As he was initially weak, his father did not notify the shogunate of his birth. However, as Masamoto's first and second sons died in quick succession, he notified the shogunate of Masaari's birth in 1836; this is why Masaari's birthdate is given in some sources as 1836. He was made heir in 1847, and succeeded to family headship after his father's death in 1848. He received his family's hereditary title of Danjō no chū in 1850. In 1853, Masaari led Iino troops and took part in the defense of Uraga upon the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the U.S. Navy's East India Squadron.

As lord of Iino, he held a variety of minor posts in the Tokugawa administration, most notably becoming a wakadoshiyori in the 2nd year of Keiō. He was also the chief commander of the multi-han military force active in the Chōshū Expedition, leading forces on the Iwami front.