Yagyū Munenori in the context of Yagyū Munetoshi

⭐ Core Definition: Yagyū Munenori

Yagyū Munenori (柳生宗矩; 1571 – May 11, 1646) was a Japanese daimyō, swordsman, and martial arts writer. He founded the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishūsai" Munetoshi, and was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa shogunate (the other one being Ittō-ryū).

Munenori began his career in the Tokugawa shogunate as a hatamoto, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, and later had his income raised to 10,000 koku, making him a minor fudai daimyō (vassal lord serving the Tokugawa), with landholdings around his ancestral village of Yagyū-zato. He also received the title of Tajima no Kami (但馬守).

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Yagyū Munenori in the context of Lady Kasuga

Lady Kasuga (春日局, Kasuga no Tsubone; 1579 – October 26, 1643) was a Japanese noble lady and politician from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu (who was a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide). She was the wet nurse of the third Tokugawa shōgun Iemitsu. Lady Kasuga was one of the best politicians in the Edo period. She stood in front of negotiations with the Imperial Court and contributed to the stabilization of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Kasuga was one of the most powerful figures in the Ōoku (the quarters in Edo Castle where the women related to the Shogun family resided) . She is counted alongside Matsudaira Nobutsuna and Yagyu Muneyori as one of the Three Tripod Legs, who supported and propped up Iemitsu.

View the full Wikipedia page for Lady Kasuga

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