Ends life after being exiled to the Takashima clan ~ Tadateru Matsudaira, Yoshichika Kira, Tadaatsu Mizuno

Takashima Castle, known as the Floating Castle of Suwa, was built by Takayoshi Hineno, a military commander from Mino, who received territory for his efforts in the conquest of Hojo, but after the Battle of Sekigahara, the Suwa family ruled the area throughout the Middle Ages was back. Unfortunately, due to the reclamation of Lake Suwa, the shore of the lake has become far away and there is no trace of water castle, but I think many castle lovers stop by as it is one of Japan's top another 100 castles.

The Minami-maru, which was built next to the Hon-maru at the time, was built to accommodate Ieyasu's sixth son, Tadateru Matsudaira, who was transferred to the castle by his older brother Hidetada, but later throughout the Edo period, Yoshichika Kira and Tadaatsu Mizuno were also exiled. Each of them ended their lives here.

I'm not sure why it was the Takashima clan, but it's probably because (1) it's hard to keep an eye on it in a faraway country, and (2) there's no huge feudal lord nearby, so there's less worry about being taken over. (3) it was difficult to escape because it was a floating castle on Lake Suwa.

Ieyasu's children were placed in important strategic bases as vassals of the Shogun family, but Tadateru set up a castle in Echigo Takada and prepared for emergencies by holding Kaga 1.2 million koku on both sides with his second son Hideyasu's Echizen family. After the Battle of Osaka, he was punished by Hidetada for his irreverent behavior, but he was only 24 years old at the time. There are too many feuds between brothers of conquerors from all over the world, including the case of Tadateru, the Echizen Matsudaira family, and the subsequent kaieki(removal of samurai-status and expropriation of territories) and seppuku of Iemitsu's younger brother Tadanaga, Suruga Dainagon, and I'm curious as to why it was handled differently between them and 3 younger boys, appointed gosanke（the 3 branch families of the Tokugawa House). A valuable example of brothers getting along well is Hideyoshi's younger brother Hidenaga and Tadayoshi Ashikaga up until the Kanno Disturbance.

Tadateru lived a very long life and lived until the age of 92, and the shogun at the time of his death was the 5th Tsunayoshi. The chief priest of Suwa Teishoin, Tadateru's family temple, decided to pardon Tadateru on the 300th anniversary of his death (1984), and asked Tsunetaka Tokugawa, the head of the Tokugawa family at the time, to read the letter of pardon at a memorial service. It is said that 400 descendants of the Date family ( Masamune Date was Tadateru's father-in-law), the Suwa family, and other vassals gathered there.

Yoshichika Kira can be said to be the biggest victim of the so-called Chushingura Incident, where he was made a scapegoat. He was attacked along with his father-in-law who was killed by Ako Roshi(ronin), and although he took up a sword and fought, he was seriously injured and fainted. As a result, he was discredited and placed in the care of the Suwa family on the grounds that he was not prepared to be a samurai, but public opinion admiring the Ako Ronin also seems to have influenced this decision. The Ako clan was compromised and the loyal warrior who took revenge committed seppuku, but why is the Kira family unharmed? That's the logic. Yoshichika was an adopted child from the Uesugi family (his father was Kira Kozukenosuke's biological son), but due to his poor health, he died three years after being exiled to the Takashima Jonan Maru (at the age of 21). Four years later, the Ako Asano family was revived as a hatamoto, and although a distant family (the Makita clan) of the Kira family took the name Kira, the Yoshichi family became extinct. A true judge should have supported the Kira family.  

There is a temple called Dentsu-in(temple) near Korakuen Station in Bunkyo-ku, and it is where Ieyasu's mother, Ohiro, resides. Ohiro's family was the Mizuno family, and there were many feudal lords and hatamoto families, but Tadakuni Mizuno, the roju(senior councilor) who carried out the Tenpo reforms, was known as the ``Three Crafty Tempo Guys'' under Ienari Tokugawa. Tadakuni dismissed Tadaatsu Mizuno, who had coveted public funds, and exiled him to Takashima Castle. Although Tadakuni is a relative of Tadaatsu, they are quite distantly related, but if you trace their origin, they are Ieyasu's mother and brother. Tadakuni was concerned about the shogunate's fiscal profligacy and implemented severe fiscal austerity, but it seems that his sins were far greater than his merits. Although he aspired to become a great man and take command at the center of the shogunate, he should be blamed for imposing an excessive burden on his fiefs and vassals, and in fact, he was fatally ignorant of economics.  

Lake Suwa can be clearly seen from the Chuo Expressway service area. I think irreverently that if I were exiled, I would spend every morning and evening looking at Lake Suwa and Mt. Yatsugatake, visiting Suwa Taisha Shrine, playing golf during the day, and enjoying hot springs and banquets at night. The next time I visit Takashima Castle, I would like to visit Hokkeji Temple, where Yoshichika Kira's grave is located.