Hotta Masayasu

Hotta Masayasu 堀田正養
Hotta Masayasu
Born	April 1, 1848 Yurihonjō, Akita, Japan
Died	May 9, 1911 (aged 63)
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	daimyō, politician, cabinet minister

Viscount Hotta Masayasu (堀田正養, 1 April 1848 – 9 May 1911) was the 9th and final daimyō of Miyagawa Domain in Omi Province, and served as a politician and cabinet minister in the post-Meiji restoration Empire of Japan.

Biography

Hotta was the 9th son of Iwaki Takahiro, the daimyo of Kameda Domain in Dewa Province. On the death of Hotta Masami, he was posthumously adopted to carry on the Hotta family name and became daimyo of the 13,000 koku Miyagawa Domain on 4 July 1863. He was received in formal audience by Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi on 21 July, and was given the courtesy title of Buzen-no-kami and lower 5th court rank on 26 November. In July 1864, he was assigned the defense of Osaka.

Following the Boshin War on 16 February 1868, the new Meiji government abolished Miyagawa Domain and assigned its territory to neighboring Hikone Domain and temporarily placed him under house arrest. However, on 23 June 1869, Hotta was returned to the former Miyagawa Domain as domain governor, retaining that position until the abolition of the han system in 1871. In September 1871, he relocated to Tokyo.

In December 1878, Hotta was elected to a seat in the Tokyo Prefectural Assembly from Asasuka Ward (now part of Taitō, Tokyo), becoming Chairman of the Assembly in March 1879. In January 1880, he became head of Akasaka Ward (now part of Minato, Tokyo) and in June 1881, he became head of Shitaya Ward (now part of Taitō, Tokyo) followed by Fukawaga Ward (now part of Kōtō, Tokyo) in August of the same year. In July 1884, he was given the kazoku peerage title of shishaku (viscount).

In July 1890, Hotta became a member of the House of Peers in the new Diet of Japan. On 25 March 1908 he joined the 1st Saionji administration as Minister of Communications, but was forced to resign with the collapse of the Saionji administration in July of the same year.

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