(September 11, 1719 – August 25, 1788) was a chamberlain (sobashū) and a senior counselor (rōjū) to the shōgun Tokugawa Ieharu of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the Edo period of Japan. Tanuma and his son exercised tremendous power, especially in the last 14 years of shogun Ieharu's reign. He is known for the economic reforms of the Tenmei era and rampant corruption. He was also a daimyō of the Sagara Domain. Tanuma used the title Tonomo-no-kami.

Tanuma's reforms aimed to rectify the systemic problems in Japan's economy, particularly the trade imbalance between the provinces (han) and the shogunal areas (tenryō) of Japan. The previous shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, sought to rectify the shogunate's economic problems by frugality and a focus on agriculture. Instead, Tanuma debased currency, sold monopoly rights to dealers, and taxed merchant guilds. The result was that the reforms and the relaxation of the strictures of sakoku were blocked.

Notes

References

  • Hall, John Whitney. (1955). Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719–1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. OCLC 445621
  • Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ; OCLC 65177072
  • Titsingh, Isaac. (1820). Mémoires et anecdotes sur la dynastie régnante des djogouns, souverains du Japon. Paris: Nepveu. .

See also

  • Tenmei
  • Kuze Hirotami
  • Matsudaira Sadanobu

<!--Tanuma is the family name.-->