A Miracle of Miracles! Can This Really Happen?? The Truth Behind the Appointment of the 8th Shogun, Yoshimune

Is this a case for Conan?

The famous Abarenbo Shogun, that is

the 8th Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune. He was a Shogun who came from Kishu, Wakayama.

But the more you look into it, the stranger it gets.

Before he became Shogun, those involved died one after another.

And everyone at the perfect timing.

Isn't this a case for Conan?

(Of course, there is no historical evidence of assassination. But it is too perfect to dismiss as a "coincidence"...)

Today, I will summarize all these "miracles of miracles" for you.

First, please understand the "barrier" to becoming Shogun

The Edo Shogunate had a system called the "Gosanke" (Three Houses). These were the three families qualified to provide a Shogun when the Shogun's bloodline died out.

Owari (Nagoya, 620,000 koku) →
Kishu (Wakayama, 550,000 koku) →
Mito (350,000 koku)

Candidates were chosen in this order.

In other words, for a Shogun to come from Kishu,
first, the condition was that there were no successors in the Shogun's family or the Owari family. (This hurdle alone is tough!)
On top of that, it had to be chosen from Kishu.

And Yoshimune was the fourth son of the Kishu domain lord.

The probability of becoming Shogun was theoretically almost zero.

Buuuut,
I will tell you about his rise to power.

I have changed the places where "miracles" led to deaths into the register of the dead.

[The First Register of the Dead] 1705—Three people died in just one year

Yoshimune's father, Mitsusada, had four sons.

Order Name Age at Death What Happened

First Son Tsunanori (41 years old) 3rd generation domain lord.

Second Son Yorizumi (Died young)

Third Son Yorimoto

→Fourth Son Yoshimune

The problem starts here.

1705. In this single year—

May: Eldest son Tsunanori (41) dies of illness
August: Father Mitsusada (73) dies (grieved by his eldest son's death, he followed him shortly after)
September: Third son Yorimoto (25) dies of illness

The father and two older brothers all died in the same year. (They were still quite young, except for the father.)

Moreover, Yorimoto passed away immediately afterholding his father's funeral.

The Kishu Domain fell into a situation unheard of even in the Sengoku period, having to hold funerals for three successive lords in a row. (It's time for Conan to step in.)

At 22, the role suddenly fell to Yoshimune. Lord of the Kishu Domain.

And neither of his two older brothers had children. (This is also incredible!)
There was only Yoshimune left.

(If you imagine his feelings, it's complicated, isn't it? He couldn't possibly be happy. But he had no choice but to do it...)

[The Second Miracle] Restoring a Domain with 400,000 Ryo in Debt

What awaited Yoshimune after becoming lord was debt.

About 400,000 ryo. In today's terms, that's a debt on the scale of tens of billions of yen.

What Yoshimune did was modest.

He reduced his own meals to one soup and one side dish. He wore cotton clothing. He drastically reduced the staff of the Ooku.

He didn't just say "be frugal," he demonstrated it with his own table and clothing.

This was effective. The Kishu Domain gradually restored its finances.

This "track record" would later catch the eye of the shogunate officials choosing the next shogun.

[The Third Miracle] Shogun Ietsugu died at age 8

In 1716, the 7th Shogun, Tokugawa Ietsugu, passed away.

He was 8 years old.

There is no way there could be a child. The direct bloodline has ended here.

The Shogun will be chosen from the Gosanke (Three Houses of the Tokugawa).

[The Fourth Miracle] Why was Yoshimune chosen instead of the top candidate, Tsugutomo?

There were three candidates.

Rank　Person　　Domain　　Age　　　Result

1st Place　Tsugutomo(Tsugutomo)
Owari, Head of the Gosanke　　26 years old　　
Rejected　　No children

2nd Place　Yoshimune　　　　
　　
Kishu　33 years old　　
Appointed Shogun, has an eldest son

3rd Place　Tsunaeda
Mito　61 years old　　Considered out of the question

If it followed the order, Tsugutomo should have become Shogun.

Why was Yoshimune chosen? There are four reasons.

Reason Details
1. Tsugutomo had no children (Yoshimune had a 5-year-old eldest son)

2. The most powerful person in the Ooku pushed for Yoshimune
　The legal wife of the 6th Shogun Ienobu, Ten'ei-in strongly supported Yoshimune

3. The side that pushed for Tsugutomo was disliked by the Shogunate retainers
　There was significant backlash against Arai Hakuseki and Manabe Akifusa, who were supporting Tsugutomo

4. Yoshimune had been laying the groundwork
　He had been working on the senior councilors and hereditary daimyo in advance. Tsugutomo was careless, thinking, "It's obviously going to be us"

The deciding factor was Ten'ei-in.

She invited Yoshimune to the Ooku and told him directly, "Become the next Shogun." When Yoshimune declined, she pushed even harder.

To use a professional baseball analogy—

Facing a game that decides the championship,
professional baseballsecond-stringoffourth-stringpitcher,
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stringersgot injured before the gameand,
furthermore, all the first-string pitchers were used,
the last remaining first-string pitcher was also in bad form,
and the remaining fourth-stringer is told,
"You're the only one left, can you play?"
and plays in the championship-deciding game.
He plays as is and wins the championship.
After that, he was active as a first-string starting pitcher for 30 years.

That was the person known as Tokugawa Yoshimune.

But, I think this is the essence of it

Yoshimune didn't become Shogun just by luck.

He had a track record of paying off debts. He had laid the groundwork. He had trained his body. He knew the reality on the ground. Later, he paid off the Shogunate's massive debts and is called the restorer of the dynasty.

Precisely because he was a "fourth son who wouldn't inherit anyway," he walked the castle town more than anyone. He saw the lives of the common people more than anyone. He honed his martial arts more than anyone.

Not being in the mainstream became his greatest weapon.

Even after becoming Shogun, he wore cotton, read letters from the public himself, and promoted the cultivation of sweet potatoes.

Even at the top, he remained a person on the ground.

Wakayama Castle stands quietly today as well.

The fourth son from this castle changed the history of Japan.

I don't know if this is a case for Conan.

But one thing is certain.

When the opportunity arrived, it was Yoshimune who had prepared himself to seize it.

If Yoshimune were to become Prime Minister in a Japan with a tight budget, what would he do?

Thank you for reading until the end. If you found this helpful, please be sure to click the **Like❤** button.

※There are various theories regarding historical facts. There is no evidence for the assassination theory; it is merely one perspective that suggests it could be read that way.

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