Tokugawa Ieshige

Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川 家重 (January 28, 1712 – July 13, 1761) was the ninth shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The first son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, his mother was the daughter of Ōkubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata. His mother died in 1713 when he was only 2 years old, so he was raised by Yoshimune's concubine, Okon no Kata; Okon later gave birth to Tokugawa Munetake, so he was raised by another of Yoshimune's concubines, Okume no Kata, as her biological son. His childhood name was Nagatomi-maru (長福丸). He underwent the genpuku coming-of-age ceremony in 1725. His first wife, Nami-no-miya, was the daughter of Prince Fushimi-no-miya Kuninaga (伏見宮 邦永親王). In 1733, Nami-no-Miya Masuko had a miscarriage and died. His second wife, Okō, was the daughter of one of the courtiers who had followed his first wife from the Imperial Court to the Shogunal Court in Edo. This famously good-natured second wife was the mother of Ieharu, who would become Ieshige's heir. In Enkyō 2 or 1745, Ieshige was made shogun. Ieshige suffered from chronic ill health and a severe speech defect which rendered his speaking nearly incomprehensible. Yoshimune's choice of Ieshige as his heir created considerable controversy within the shogunate as his younger brothers Tokugawa Munetake and Tokugawa Munetada appeared to be far more suitable candidates. Yoshimune continued to insist on his decision, favoring the Confucian principle of primogeniture; and Ieshige continued in the role of formal head of the shogunate. Yoshimune directed affairs after his official retirement in 1745. This attention was designed to ensure that Ieshige was secure in his office. Ieshige remained shogun until 1760.