Inaba Masanari

Who was Inaba Masanari?

Inaba Masanari, also known as Inaba Masashige and sometimes known as Mino-no-kami, was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. He served the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans, and became a daimyo in the early Edo period.

Masanari was the husband of Kasuga-no-Tsubone, who bore him three sons -- Masakatsu, Masasada, and Masatoshi. For some reason, Masanari divorced her; and she then became wet-nurse to Tokugawa Hidetada's eldest son. One of Masanari's grandsons, Inaba Masayasu, is primarily remembered as the enigmatic wakadoshiyori assassin of tairō Hotta Masatoshi.

In the Edo period, the Inaba were identified as one of the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokugawa clan, in contrast with the tozama or outsider clans.