Date Murayasu

Date Murayasu (date Murayasu) was the 5th Lord of Iyo Yoshida Domain. His date of birth is recorded as January 12, 1745 (Enkyō 2), but some records indicate it was in 1741 (Kanpō 1). His father was the 4th Lord of the domain, Date Muronobu.

Murayasu was designated as heir apparent for the succession on April 25, 1755 (Hōreki 5). On September 8, 1763 (Hōreki 13), following his father’s retirement, he succeeded to the position of domain lord. On December 9 of the same year, he was conferred the court rank of Lower Fifth Rank, Izumi-no-kami.

During his tenure, the domain’s finances deteriorated due to repeated fires and the Tokugawa shogunate’s orders for the Kanto River repair work in 1786 (Tenmei 6). In an effort to rebuild the finances, he imposed heavy taxes on the peasants, which led to unrest. In 1787 (Tenmei 7), an attempted mass protest against these taxes, known as a "heavy tax protest," occurred. This event is considered a precursor to the Wasaemon Uprising that took place after Murayasu’s death.

On April 12, 1787 (Tenmei 7), Murayasu was transferred to Noto-no-kami. The hardships of the domain’s finances and governance continued into 1788 (Tenmei 8).

On April 12, 1789 (Kansei 1), Murayasu retired due to illness, and he died just a few days later on February 9, 1790 (Kansei 2). He was 46 years old at the time of death. The following day, February 16 (or sometimes recorded as February 10), he was succeeded by his second son, Murayoshi.

This is the basic record of the life and political role of Date Murayasu.