Wakebe Nobumasa (分部信政)
Nobumasa WAKEBE (January 13, 1653 - January 23, 1715) was the 4th lord of the Omizo Domain, Omi Province. He was the 5th head of the Wakebe family.
He was the third son of a hatamoto (direct retainers of the Edo bakufu) Naganobu IKEDA (the third son of Nagayoshi IKEDA, the lord of the Bicchu-Matsuyama Domain). His mother was from the Asahina clan. His lawful wife was a daughter of Sukemichi ITO. His concubine was from the Kato clan. He had children including Nobuaki WAKEBE (the first son), Mitsutada WAKEBE (the third son), a daughter (wife of Saneaki KAWABATA), and a daughter (lawful wife of Suketaka ITO). His court rank was Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) and his official posts were Hayato no Kami (the chief of dance/music performers at the imperial court) and Wakasa no kuni no kami (governor of Wakasa Province).
He was born on January 13, 1653. His childhood name was Jinzaburo. When the blood lineage of the Wakebe clan was discontinued after the former domain lord Yoshitake WAKEBE died young without heir, Nobumasa was adopted to succeed to the Wakebe clan in 1667 because he was a relative of Yoshitaka on the mother's side. In 1676, he asked for postponement of Sankinkotai (a system under which feudal lords in the Edo period were required to spend every other year in residence in Edo) due to flood damage in his domain. In 1695, he served as a guard at the Maruoka-jo Castle after Shigemasu HONDA was forfeited the rank of Samurai and properties for punishment. He also had some bakufu's criminals under his charge.
On August 3, 1714, handing over the family headship to the third son Mitsutada for his illness, he was retired and then died at the age at 63 on January 23, 1715. His hogo (posthumous Buddhist name) was Taishoinden Sekkei Joken Daikoji. Graveyard: The Enko-ji Temple in Omizo, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture.