KYUGU TANAKA was a shogunate civil official of the middle Edo period.
Background
KYUGU TANAKA was born in 1622 in the village of Hirasawa in the district of Tama in Musashi Province. He was the second son of a farmer named Hachirouemon, who in his spare time traded in silk goods.
When Kyugu grew up he carried on his father’s enterprises, but in 1704 he was asked to become the adopted son of Tanaka Hyogo, the village head and official of the Kawasaki stop on the Tokaido highway.
Education
During the interval from 1711 to 1715 he studied Confucianism under Ogyu Sorai in Edo and the classics and history under Narushima Dochiku.
Career
In 1707 he succeeded his foster father as nanushi, or village head, bit by bit proving his ability as an administrator.
In 1723 he was consulted by Shogun Yoshimune on questions of agriculture administration and water utilization and, his talents at last being duty recognized, was selected for service in the shogunate.
In 1729, in recognition of his accomplishments, he was made a daikan (administrator for lands directly under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate) of the province of Musashi, the region around present-day Tokyo. Unfortunately, he died shortly after having received this unusual honor, leaving behind him several works on water control.