Nagai Naoyuki
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Nagai Naoyuki (永井尚志 Nagai Naoyuki?) (1816-1896) Also known as Nagai Genba 永井玄蕃 or Nagai Mondonoshō 永井主水正. Japanese samurai and Tokugawa retainer of the late Edo era.
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[edit] Early Life
Nagai Naoyuki, or as he was first known, Matsudaira Iwanojō (松平岩之丞 Iwanojō?), was born in the Nukada district of Okudono han by a concubine to Matsudaira Noritada (松平乗尹 Matsudaira Noritada?). Noritada, while head of a collateral branch of the Tokugawa, was not classified as shinpan, like the Matsudaira of Aizu, but instead as fudai. Iwanojō, Noritada's second son, lost his father at the age of three. Subsequently, he was moved to Edo, to the Okudono domain's main residence, where he was in the care of his adoptive brother, Matsudaira Noriyoshi (松平乗羨 Matsudaira Noriyoshi?), before being adopted by Tokugawa retainer Nagai Naonori. Following his adoption he took the adult name of Naoyuki (also read "Naomune").
[edit] Career
After completing a thorough education in literature, art, and military training, Nagai entered the ranks of the Tokugawa bureaucracy. He served from 1851 to 1852 as an instructor at the Kitenkan, a branch of the Shogunate's Shoheizaka academy, located in the city of Kofu. Shortly after Matthew Perry's arrival, Nagai was placed in charge of casting cannons for coastal defense, and in 1855, he was transferred to the Nagasaki Naval Training Center, where he served as its director. In 1857 he went to Edo (modern-day Tokyo) on board the Kanko Maru, Japan's first steam warship, together with 103 of his students. He was transferred yet again in 1862, this time to serve as one of the city magistrates of Kyoto. Following a two-year tenure he became an overseer (ometsuke), and subsequently, a wakadoshiyori (junior councilor).
[edit] Tenure as Hakodate Magistrate
Returning to Edo following the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he then joined Enomoto Takeaki and the Tokugawa navy, boarding the Kaiten and heading to Hokkaido by way of Matsushima, in the Sendai domain. In Hokkaido, Nagai was chosen to be one of the city magistrates of Hakodate by the new Ezo Republic. However, the Imperial Army soon began its attack on Hokkaido, and Nagai surrendered at the small fortress of Benten Daiba, along with the survivors of the Shinsengumi.
[edit] Later Life
After a period of 3 years in prison, he was pardoned, and again rose to positions of political prominence, serving most notably as the secretary to the Council of Elders.
One of his descendants, through his adopted son Naotada, was the famous author Yukio Mishima.
[edit] External Links
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