Matsudaira Tadateru

Who was Matsudaira Tadateru?

Matsudaira Tadateru was a daimyo during the Edo period of Japan. He was the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was born in Edo Castle during the year of the dragon, and as a child his name was Tatsuchiyo. His mother was Lady Chaa, a concubine of Ieyasu. Ieyasu sent the boy to live with a vassal, Minagawa Hiroteru, daimyo of the Minagawa Domain in Shimotsuke Province.

In 1599, Ieyasu granted him a fief in Musashi Province, and increased his holdings in 1602 and 1603 with transfers first to Shimōsa and then to Shinano Provinces. Tadateru married Princess Iroha, the first daughter of Date Masamune, in 1606. In 1610, Tadateru became daimyo of Takada in Echigo Province. He had interests in martial arts, tea, and foreign intercourse. It is said that he was baptized a Christian.

Tadateru was assigned to remain in Edo during the Winter Campaign of the Siege of Osaka. He participated in the Summer Campaign, but his older brother, the then Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, relieved him of command and exiled him to Ise, then Hida, and finally Shinano Province, where he remained until his death.

A 1987 television show starring Ken Matsudaira dramatized the life of Matsudaira Tadateru.