Токугава Цунаёси: Ит қағанатының билеушісі және иттерді қорғау заңдары

Japanese shogun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (徳川 綱吉) was the fifth shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tsunayoshi is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dog Shogun" (Inu Kubō 犬公方: Inu=Dog, Kubō=formal title of Shogun). His childhood name was Tokumatsu (徳松). While his father was shōgun, his mother was an adopted daughter of the Honjō family, led by Honjō Munemasa (1580–1639) in Kyoto. His mother's natural parents were merchants in Kyoto. This remarkable woman was very close with Tsunayoshi in his young years, and while his older brother Ietsuna began to rely on regents for much of his reign, Tsunayoshi did exactly the opposite, relying on his remarkable mother for advice until her death. In 1651, shōgun Iemitsu died when Tsunayoshi was only five years old. His older brother, Tokugawa Ietsuna, became shogun. For the most part, Tsunayoshi's life during the reign of his brother shōgun Ietsuna is unknown, but he never advised his brother.

In 1680, shōgun Ietsuna died at the premature age of 38. June 4, 1680 (Enpō 8, 8th day of the 5th month): Shogun Ietsuna's death leads to the accession of Tsunayoshi as head of the shogunate. 1680–81 (Enpō 8): Gokoku ji in Edo is founded in honor of Tsunayoshi's mother.]] Owing to religious fundamentalism, Tsunayoshi sought protection for living beings in the later parts of his rule. In the 1690s and first decade of the 1700s, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, thought he should take several measures concerning dogs. A collection of edicts released daily, known as the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things (生類憐みの令), told the populace, among other things, to protect dogs, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city. Therefore, he earned the pejorative title Inu Kubō (犬公方: Inu=Dog, Kubō=formal title of Shogun). Tsunayoshi's first son Tokugawa Tokumatsu (1679–1683) died at the age of 4 due to illness. In 1683 Tsunayoshi's official wife, Takatsukasa Nobuko, poisoned Tsunayoshi's second son Chomatsu, who was his son with his favorite concubine, Yasuko. Chosomaru died at 3 years of age. This gave rise to suspicions that she may have poisoned Tokugawa Tokumatsu as well. In 1704, Tsunayoshi's only surviving child, Tsuruhime died following a miscarriage and a few months after her husband, his son in law, Tokugawa Tsunanori of Kii Domain also died. Therefore, Tsunayoshi appointed his nephew, Tokugawa Ienobu, heir apparent in the winter of 1704. Ienobu was the son of his other brother, Tokugawa Tsunashige, the former Lord of Kōfu, which was a title Ienobu held himself before becoming shōgun. Ienobu moved into the official residence of Shogunal heir apparent at the Western Perimeter of Edo Castle. In 1706, Edo was hit by a typhoon, and Mount Fuji erupted the following year.

It was insinuated that Tsunayoshi was stabbed by his consort after he tried to proclaim an illegitimate child as his heir; this concept, stemming from the Sanno Gaiki, is refuted in contemporary records which explain that Tsunayoshi had the measles at the end of his life and died on February 19, 1709, in the presence of his entourage. His death was just four days short of his 63rd birthday. He was given the Buddhist name Joken'in (常憲院) and buried in Kan'ei ji.