User:Atsi Otani/Matsudaira Katamori

Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保), (February 15, 1836−December 5, 1893) was a samurai that lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han and the Military Comissioner of Kyoto during the Meiji Restoration period. During the Boshin War, Katamori and the Aizu han fought against the Meiji Government armies, but were severly defeated. Katamori's life was spared, and he later became the Chief of the Tōshōgū Shrine. He, along with three of his brothers, had highly influential roles during the Meiji Restoration and were called the four Takasu brothers.

Biography

Matsudaira Katamori was born on Febuary 15, 1836, between Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, Daimyo of the Takasu han, and one of his concubines, who was a woman from the Komori han, known by her Buddhist name, Zenkyō-in. He was Yoshitatsu's seventh son, and his childhood name was Keinosuke (銈之丞). He was later adopted by Matsudaira Katanaka, daimyo of the Aizu han in 1846, and married Katanaka's daughter, Toshihime, in 1856. He became the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han in 1852, and also inherited the title "Higo no Kami" (govenor of Higo), an honorific title that was traditionally inherited by the daimyos of the Aizu han.

In 1862, Katamori became the Military Comissioner of Kyoto, a position which was created retain control of the city, which was under the influence of Sonnō Jōi militants. In order to achieve this purpose, Katamori used patrolling units, such as the Shinsengumi and the Mimawarigumi. Katamori also played a large role in the Coup D'etat of September 30 (or the Coup D'etat of August 18), and the Forbidden Gates Incident (禁門の変, Kinmon no Hen), which both involved clashes between the Aizu han and the Choshu han. These events lead to increased animosity towards Katamori and the Aizu han within the Choshu han.

Katamori tried to achieve peaceful resolutions after the Battle of Toba Fushimi, but members of the new Meiji government refused. This was because the new government was primarily composed of people from Choshu and Satsuma, who resented Katamori for his activities as the Military Comissioner. Although the Oetsu Reppan Domei supported the Aizu han and Katamori, they were eventually defeated in the Aizu War. His life was spared, and he later became the Chief Priest of the Nikko Tōshōgū Shrine. He died on December 5, 1893, and recieved the posthumous Shinto name of Chūseiryōjin, the "god of loyalty and sincerity." His heir, Matsudaira Nobunori, was adopted from the Mito Tokugawa family. However, Yoshinori left the Aizu Matsudaira family soon after the Meiji Restoration, to let Matsudaira Kataharu become the heir of the family. Matsudaira Kataharu was Katamori's eldest biological son, born from one of Katamori's two concubines after Nobunori was adopted.