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29-477: Although renamed over 85 years ago, the cemetery is still often called by its old official name, Yanaka Bochi ( 谷中墓地 , Yanaka Graveyard ) , and not Yanaka Reien . It has an area of over 100 thousand square meters and hosts about 7 thousand graves. The cemetery has its own police station and a small walled enclosure dedicated to the Tokugawa clan , family of the 15 Tokugawa shōguns of Japan, which however

58-620: A shogun died without a living heir, both the heads of gosanke (except Mito-Tokugawa family ) and gosankyō had priority to succeed his position. Many daimyōs descended from cadet branches of the clan, however, retained the surname Matsudaira ; examples include the Matsudaira of Fukui and Aizu . Members of the Tokugawa clan intermarried with prominent daimyo and the Imperial family. On November 9, 1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu ,

87-537: A " mon ", the "triple hollyhock " (although commonly, but mistakenly identified as "hollyhock", the "aoi" actually belongs to the birthwort family and translates as " wild ginger "— Asarum ), has been a readily recognized icon in Japan, symbolizing in equal parts the Tokugawa clan and the last shogunate. The symbol derives from a mythical clan, the Kamo clan, which legendarily descended from Yatagarasu . Matsudaira village

116-563: A branch of the Honda clan returned to Okazaki, and governed until the Meiji Restoration . In 1869, the final daimyō of Okazaki Domain, Honda Tadanao, surrendered Okazaki Castle to the new Meiji government . With the abolition of the han system in 1871, Okazaki Domain became part of Nukata Prefecture , with Okazaki Castle used as the prefectural headquarters. However, Nukata Prefecture was merged into Aichi Prefecture in 1872, and

145-535: A donation made in 1908 by Tenno-ji itself. The five-storied pagoda was burned one summer night in 1957 in the Yanaka Five-Storied Pagoda Double-Suicide Arson Case and was later declared a historical landmark by the city authorities. After the Meiji Restoration , the government pursued a policy of separation of Buddhism and Shinto ( Shinbutsu bunri ), and Shinto funerals became more common. This posed however

174-617: A problem because until then most cemeteries had been property of Buddhist temples. The solution adopted was the opening of public burial grounds. In 1872, Meiji authorities confiscated a portion of Tennō-ji and declared it a public Tokyo cemetery, the largest in the country at the time. In 1935 the name was changed from Yanaka Bochi to the present (Yanaka Reien). The cemetery lies 1 minute from JR's Nippori Station and 5 minutes from JR's Nishi-Nippori Station and Uguisudani Station . Tokugawa clan The Tokugawa clan ( Shinjitai : 徳川氏, Kyūjitai : 德川氏, Tokugawa-shi or Tokugawa-uji )

203-579: Is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period . It was formerly a powerful daimyō family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan ( Seiwa Genji ) through the Matsudaira clan . The early history of the clan remains a mystery. Nominally, the Matsudaira clan is said to be descended from

232-584: Is also a patrilineal descendant of Tokugawa Yorifusa , the youngest son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 2007, Tsunenari published a book entitled Edo no idenshi (江戸の遺伝子), released in English in 2009 as The Edo Inheritance, which seeks to counter the common belief among Japanese that the Edo period was like a Dark Age , when Japan, cut off from the world , fell behind. On the contrary, he argues, the roughly 250 years of peace and relative prosperity saw great economic reforms,

261-480: Is closed to the public and must be peeked at through double barred gates. The last shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu , also known as Keiki, rests here. The cemetery used to be part of a Buddhist temple called Tennō-ji ( 天王寺 ) , and its central street used to be the road ( sandō ) approaching it. At about the middle point of the central street are the ruins of the five-storied pagoda that became the model for Kōda Rohan 's novel The Five-Storied Pagoda . The pagoda had been

290-507: The Matsudaira clan , after he pacified Mikawa . This decision was made after he counseled by his senior vassal Sakai Tadatsugu to abandon their allegiance with the Imagawa clan. He also strengthened his powerbase by creating a military government system of Tokugawa clan in Mikawa which based from his hereditary vassals Fudai daimyō . The system which called " Sanbi no gunsei " (三備の軍制) with

319-607: The Nitta clan , a branch of the Minamoto clan, but the likelihood of this claim is considered quite low or untrue. Minamoto no Yoshishige (1135–1202), grandson of Minamoto no Yoshiie (1041–1108), was the first to take the name of Nitta. He sided with his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo against the Taira clan (1180) and accompanied him to Kamakura . Nitta Yoshisue, 4th son of Yoshishige, settled at Tokugawa (Kozuke province) and took

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348-500: The castle town and developed Okazaki-juku on the Tōkaidō . Following the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate , Okazaki Domain was created, and Ieyasu’s close retainer Honda Yasushige was assigned possession of the castle. A three-story donjon was completed in 1617. The Honda were replaced by the Mizuno clan from 1645-1762, and the Matsudaira (Matsui) clan from 1762-1769. In 1769,

377-467: The 15th and the last shogun of Tokugawa, tendered his resignation to Emperor Meiji . He formally stepped down ten days later, returning governing power to the Emperor, marking the end of the ruling power of the Tokugawa shogunate . In 1868, Tokugawa Iesato (1863–1940, from Tayasu family) was chosen as the heir to Yoshinobu as the head of Tokugawa clan. On July 7, 1884, Iesato became a prince, just like

406-571: The Matsudaira clan, including Nobumitsu, took the surname Kamo no Ason (Kamo) , and the Matsudaira clan's hollyhock crest also suggests a connection to the Kamo clan, so some have pointed out that they were actually vassals of the Kamo clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself signed the letter of assurance to the Suganuma clan in 1561, shortly after independence from the Imagawa clan, as "Minamoto no Motoyasu" ("Suganuma Family Genealogy" and "Documents Possessed by Kunozan Toshogu Shrine") The clan rose to power at

435-417: The Mikawa province. Nobumitsu's great-great-grandson Matsudaira Kiyoyasu made his clan strong, but was assassinated. In 1567, Matsudaira Motonobu—then known as Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616)—grandson of Kiyoyasu, was recognized by Emperor Ōgimachi as a descendant of Seiwa Genji ; he also started the family name Tokugawa. According to historical documents from the same period, some of the three generations of

464-524: The area in 1524, demolished the old fortification and built Okazaki Castle on its present location. His famous grandson Matsudaira Motoyasu (later named Tokugawa Ieyasu ) was born here on December 16, 1542. The Matsudaira were defeated by the Imagawa clan in 1549, and Ieyasu was taken to Sunpu Castle as a hostage. Following the defeat of the Imagawa at the Battle of Okehazama , Ieyasu regained possession of

493-434: The capital of the prefecture was moved to Nagoya . In accordance with government directives in 1873, the castle was demolished, and most of its land sold off to private individuals. The current donjon was reconstructed in 1959 to boost local tourism. In 2006, it was proclaimed one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan . The ferroconcrete structure has three roofs and five interior floors, and contains exhibits of artifacts from

522-470: The castle in 1560 and left his eldest son Matsudaira Nobuyasu in charge when he moved to Hamamatsu Castle in 1570. After Oda Nobunaga ordered Nobuyasu’s death in 1579, the Honda clan served as castellans. Following the relocation of the Tokugawa to Edo after the Battle of Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi , the castle was given to Tanaka Yoshimasa, who substantially improved on its fortifications, expanded

551-605: The clan are partly administered by the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation . After the death of Ieyasu, in 1636, the heads of the gosanke (the three branches with fiefs in Owari , Kishū , and Mito ) also bore the Tokugawa surname, so did the three additional branches, known as the gosankyō : the Tayasu (1731), Hitotsubashi (1735), and Shimizu (1758) family, after the ascension of Tokugawa Yoshimune . Once

580-480: The end of the Edo period , Okazaki Castle was home to the Honda clan , daimyō of Okazaki Domain , but the castle is better known for its association with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan . The castle was also known as "Tatsu-jō" ( 龍城 ) . Saigo Tsugiyori built an earthen-walled fortification in the Myodaiji area of Okazaki, near the present castle in 1455. Matsudaira Kiyoyasu , after gaining control of

609-494: The end of the Sengoku period . as their political influences and territories they controlled expanded during this period, they developed many new offices such as many magistrate official such as Kōriki Kiyonaga , Amano Yasukage , Honda Shigetsugu , and many others, to control their new territories and vassals. In 1566, as Ieyasu declared his independence from the Imagawa clan, he reformed the order of Mikawa province starting with

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638-544: The growth of a sophisticated urban culture, and the development of the most urbanized society on the planet. Tsunenari formed the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation in 2003 to preserve and administer the historical objects, art, armor and documents that have been passed down in the Tokugawa family over the generations, display them for the general public and provide assistance to academic research on topics concerning historical Japan. The Tokugawa's clan symbol, known in Japanese as

667-446: The heads of some of other notable Japanese noble families, known as Kazoku . The 1946 Constitution of Japan abolished the kazoku and the noble titles, making Iesato's son, Iemasa Tokugawa , no longer a prince. Iemasa had a son Iehide, who died young, so he was succeeded by one of his grandsons, Tsunenari . Tsunenari is the second son of Toyoko (eldest daughter of Iemasa) and Ichirō Matsudaira (son of Tsuneo Matsudaira ), and he

696-523: The name of that place. Their provincial history book did not mention Minamoto clan or Nitta clan. The nominal originator of the Matsudaira clan was reportedly Matsudaira Chikauji , who was originally a poor Buddhist monk. He reportedly descended from Nitta Yoshisue in the 8th generation and witnessed the ruin of the Nitta in their war against the Ashikaga . He settled at Matsudaira (Mikawa province) and

725-405: The original castle, Japanese swords , armor and dioramas illustrating local history. The main gate of the castle was reconstructed in 1993, and the east corner yagura in 2010. In 2007, construction work near the castle revealed stonework from the castle’s outer baileys, lending evidence to the claim that Okazaki Castle was once the fourth largest in Japan. The remaining castle grounds are now

754-618: The royalists, whose cause is symbolized by the Imperial throne's chrysanthemum symbol. Compare with the red and white rose iconography of English Wars of the Roses , as imagined by Walter Scott earlier in the 19th century, in Anne of Geierstein (1829). Okazaki Castle Okazaki Castle ( 岡崎城 , Okazaki-jō ) is a Japanese castle located in Okazaki , Aichi Prefecture , Japan . At

783-608: The structure divide the governance into three sections: To the end of the Edo period they ruled Japan as shoguns . During the Edo period There were fifteen Tokugawa shoguns . Their dominance was so strong that some history books use the term "Tokugawa era" instead of "Edo period". Their principal family shrine is the Tōshō-gū in Nikkō , and their principal temples ( bodaiji ) are Kan'ei-ji and Zōjō-ji , both in Tokyo . Heirlooms of

812-402: Was adopted by his wife's family. Their provincial history book claimed that this original clan was Ariwara clan. Because this place is said to have been reclaimed by Ariwara Nobumori, one theory holds that Matsudaira clan was related to Ariwara no Narihira . Matsudaira Nobumitsu (15th century), son of Chikauji, was in charge of Okazaki Castle , and strengthened the authority of his family in

841-482: Was located in Higashikamo District , Aichi Prefecture . Although Emperor Go-Yōzei offered a new symbol, Ieyasu continued to use the symbol, which was not related to Minamoto clan . In jidaigeki , the symbol is often shown to locate the story in the Edo period. In works set in during the Meiji Restoration movement, the symbol is used to show the bearer's allegiance to the shogunate—as opposed to

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