Matsudaira Sadanobu

Name

Childhood name: Masamaru
Pen names: Rakuo and Kagetsuo among others

Occupation

Feudal Lord of Shirakawa

Biographical Sketch

He was the third child of Tayasu Munetake, making him the grandchild of the eighth Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune.
In 1774 at the age of 17 he was adopted by Matsudaira Sadakuni, the lord of Shirakawa castle, and inherited the land of the Shirakawa clan in 1783. In June of 1787 at the age of 30 he became a minister of the shogun in Edo (old Tokyo), he worked on rebuilding the shogunate until he retired in 1793. He led the "Kansei (1787-1793) Reformation" one of the three major reformations of the Edo Shogunate (1603-1867). He died at the age of 72.
He was an excellent scholar, writing such books as "Kagetu Soshi" and "Uge no Hitokoto". He published "Shuko Jissu" a study on old literature. He also started work on a compilation of shogunate works such as "Kansei Choshu Shokafu" and "Tokugawa Jikki".

Ex-libris Ownership Stamp

Known owner's stamps include: "白河" (shirakawa),"桑名" (kuwana),"白河文庫" (shirakawa bunko), "桑名文庫" (kuwana bunko), and "立教館／図書印" (rikkyokan/toshoin). The book "Nihon Zoshoinko" by Ono Noriaki explains that the "shirakawa" and "shirakawa bunko" are Sadanobu's and "kuwana", and "kuwana bunko" are from the Matsudaira family, and "rikkyokan toshoin" is from the Kuwana clan school.