Sagara Yorinori

Yoriyuki Sagara (born May 16, 1774 – October 1, 1856) was the 12th lord of the Higo Province Hitoyoshi Domain. He was born as the eldest son of Chōkan (his father) in 1774 (Bunka 1). Details regarding his place of birth and other specifics of his birth are not provided.

In his childhood, initially, the heir apparent was Yoshiyasu, who was designated as the successor (next lord). However, on September 25, 1792 (Kansei 4), Yoshiyasu went amok in Edo and killed Korobe Morikiyu, an incident that took place during his time in Edo. As a result, Yoshiyasu died two days later in 1792 (Kansei 4), with records indicating death by illness according to genealogical documents. Consequently, on January 28, 1793 (Kansei 5), Yoshiyasu was deprived of his position as heir, and Yoriyuki was newly appointed as successor.

Later, on December 16, 1794 (Kansei 6), Yoriyuki was conferred the court rank of Lower Fifth Class and Shima no Kami. In 1807 (Bunka 4), he recruited Masanori Tashiro as the senior retainer to undertake financial reconstruction of the domain. In 1811 (Bunka 8), he carried out land surveys to increase rice revenues and introduced new rice paddy development projects and a monopoly system.

Following the retirement of his father, Chōkan, Yoriyuki inherited the family headship on February 5, 1802 (Kyo-wa 2). He transferred the family headship to his eldest son, Yoriyuki, on October 6, 1818 (Bunsei 1), simultaneously entering retirement. Yoriyuki then lived to the age of 83.

He died on October 1, 1856 (Ansei 3).

Regarding his genealogy, his father was Sagara Chōkan, and his mother was Hamazaki Nano Mioe, a lady-in-waiting at Kanji-in. His primary wife was Otsu, daughter of a person called Gatsu. His children included his eldest son, Yoriyuki, who was adopted by Otsu. His third son, Yasunao, was also born to his wife Otsu, and was the son of his adopted son, Sagara Yasukatsu. Other children include Ban'e Yoriyasu, Oren, O-yuki, O-masa (the wife of Takenaka Shigehide), O-yaku, Oha, and Sengen.

This information is based on materials regarding the life and genealogy of Sagara Yoriyuki.