Osawa Mototsune (大沢基恒)

Born around 1656 and gone on April 20, 1697, Mototsune OSAWA was Koke-Hatamoto (a direct vassal of the shogun and a master of ceremony) in the first half of the Edo period. His common name was Shichisuke, and he was given Jushiinojo (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade), Sakone gon no shosho (Provisional Minor Captain of the Left Division of the Inner Palace Guards) and Ukyo no daibu (Master of the Western Capital Offices) by the Imperial Court.

He was born as the fourth son of Takatsugu TODO, the lord of Tsu domain, Ise Province. Mototsune's mother is unknown. He was adopted by the childless Motomasa OSAWA, who was Koke-Hatamoto with the court rank of Jusiinojo and the title of Sashosho (Minor Captain of the Left Division of the Inner Palace Guards). On December 8, 1667, Mototsune had an audience with the shogun Ietsuna TOKUGAWA for the first time. On January 22, 1672, Mototsune was ranked Oku-Koke (Koke with a title given by the Tokugawa shogunate), and on February 14, 1673, he got the investiture of Jushiinoge (Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade), Jiju (a chamberlain) and Ukyo no daibu. On September 5, 1678, his adoptive father Motomasa died, so Mototsune inherited on January 18, 1679, the Osawa family's territory (in Fuchi County, Totomi Province) whose stipend was 2550 koku. On February 2, 1679, he offered to Ietsuna the sword made by Kunitoshi NIJI, an article of the deceased Motomasa. On April 17, 1679, Mototsune was dispatched for the first time from the Tokugawa shogunate to Kyoto as a felicitation messenger on the Emperor Reigen's recovery from smallpox, and he had an audience with the emperor. And also on August 3, 1680, he went up to Kyoto and visited the Imperial Palace for talks about the court rank promotion of Tsunayoshi TOKUGAWA in preparation for Tsunayoshi's assumption of the shogunate. At that time, Mototsune OSAWA himself was bestowed Jushiinojo. When Gonomiya (later Emperor Higashiyama), then having the title of Chokun (almost the same rank as the crown prince), was newly given the title of Imperial Prince between December 1682 - January 1683 (December, 1682 in old lunar calender), Mototsune was dispatched again to Kyoto as a felicitation messenger of the shogunate. On April 3, 1683, Mototsune assumed Koke-Kimoiri (Koke especially well-versed in ancient court practices and usages) along with Yoshinaka KIRA and Yoshisato HATAKEYAMA. On May 17, 1687, Masakata MATSUDAIRA was dispatched from the shogunate to Kyoto as a senior envoy of keiga sojo shisha (a felicitation messenger to the emperor) on the enthronement of Emperor Higashiyama, and Mototsune accompanied Masakata as a vice envoy. Just on this occasion, July 4, Mototsune was given Sakone gon no shosho. In April and May of 1694, Shogun Tsunayoshi TOKUGAWA and his real mother Keishoin visited the residence of Munemoto HONJO, Osawa also visited there and had the honor of being conferred jifuku (clothes given from the shogun). On intercalary second month twenty-ninth day, 1697, he passed away. He died at the age of 42. His wife was the daughter of Tadahiro MATSUDAIRA.

[Original Japanese]