徳川 吉宗
Yoshimune Tokugawa was born on 27 Noember 1684 in Wakayama Castle, the fourth son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the lord of the fief of Kishu (Kii Province). His mother was Oyuri-no-kata, the daughter of Rose Rokuzacmon. In childhood he went by the names Genrolui and Shinnosuke, and later was called Yorikata.
In 1697 he had an audience with the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, at the official residence of the fief of Kishu in Edo. In 1705, as a result of the sudden deaths of his father and elder brothers, he was unexpectedly raised to the position of lord ot the fief of Kishu. In 1716 the seventh shogun, Ietsugu, died without leaving an heir, and Yoshimune, because of his reputation for keen intelligence, was chosen by the higli shogunatc officials to succeed to the position of shogun.
He set about taking measures to correct the numerous abuses in government that had grown up and to suppress the luxury and lawlessness prevailing in society at the time. lie turned his attention first to the selection of able men for official positions, at the same time strengthening the enforcement of the laws and encouraging frugality and the practice of the military arts.
In order to relieve the fiscal distress of the shogunate, he set up in 1722 a system whereby the daimyo were called upon to make contributions to the shogunal government, thereby alleviating the financial crisis. In 1723 he took measures to punish those daikan (local tax officials) of the shogunate who had abused their positions and instituted reforms in the organization of the hanjodokoro, the fiscal office of the shogunate. Beginning around 1722, he initiated steps to open up new lands for cultivation and increase productivity, at the same time reforming the tax laws and devising ways to enlarge the tax revenues. In order to facilitate the introduction of advanced scientific techniques and industrial developments from Europe, he relaxed the restrictions against the import of Dutch books in 1720.
Around 1727 he also began to encourage the cultivation of sugarcane, sweet potatoes, ginseng, and other plants. As a result of such policies, the financial position of the shogunate was considerably improved. In 1742 he promulgated a new penal code hi 103 articles entitled the Kujikata osadamegaki and took other steps to insure legal reform.
However, although he exerted every effort during his thirty- some years in power to stabilize the price of rice, he met with only limited success. Dearth continued to force drastic rises in the price, leading to riots and disturbances in many local areas, and as a result he did not enjoy a very favorable reputation with the populace as a whole.
