View source for Takenaka Shigekata

{{family name hatnote|Takenaka|lang=Japanese}}
[[File:Takenaka Shigetaka.jpg|thumb|Takenaka Shigetaka]]
{{nihongo|'''Takenaka Shigekata'''|竹中 重固||September 16, 1828&ndash; January 24, 1891}} was a Japanese [[samurai]] of the late Edo period, later a figure in efforts to colonize Hokkaido. He is also known by his court title, ''Tango no kami'' (丹後守).

Takenaka Shigekata was born in 1828 in the town of Iwate, in [[Mino Province]], the son of Tokugawa retainer Takenaka Motoyuki. Motoyuki, though the head of a branch house, was a descendant of the great Sengoku-era strategist [[Takenaka Shigeharu|Takenaka Hanbei Shigeharu]] . Following his father's death, Shigekata was adopted by Takenaka Shigeakira, the 5000 ''koku'' [[hatamoto]] who was head of the main Takenaka house. Though a senior [[hatamoto]] due to his rank, he entered the ranks of the Greater Guardsmen (''Ōbangumi''; 大御番組) in 1864. He later became an Army Magistrate, and took part in the campaign that put down the [[Tengutō]]. He also concurrently held the rank of [[wakadoshiyori]].

In 1868, Takenaka was part of the force headed for the Fushimi ''bugyōsho'', but was beaten back by the new Imperial Army. Returning to Edo as part of the Tokugawa withdrawal, he was singled out as a scapegoat for the defeat, and was stripped of his court rank and title, and prohibited from entering [[Edo Castle]]. Though he briefly entered the priesthood, he still wanted to fight the Imperial army, and so he formed the '''Junchūtai''' (純忠隊). He initially had tactical coordination with the [[Shogitai]], but following the defeat at the [[Battle of Ueno]], he led the unit northward (together with former [[roju]] [[Ogasawara Nagamichi]] and his men), engaging in guerilla warfare as he moved farther into [[Mutsu Province]]. Joining [[Enomoto Takeaki]]'s fleet in Sendai, he traveled to Hokkaido, where he became a Judge Advocate General officer in the new [[Ezo Republic]].

Just before the end of the [[Battle of Hakodate]], he headed to Tokyo on a foreign steamship, ostensibly to find some unexplored option for fighting the Imperial Army; however, as he no longer had any solutions, he heeded his father Shigeakira's advice and surrendered. As punishment he forfeited his holdings, and was placed under the supervision of the [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka domain]]. Later transferred to the guardianship of his father, he followed the latter to Hokkaido, where they settled. Moved by the plight of the impoverished former ''samurai'' there, Takenaka submitted a memorandum to the new government on the increase of agricultural productivity in Hokkaido. This reached the right ears, and he was pardoned in 1873, being allowed to return to Tokyo and work in the new government. However, in 1875, he left that post, and worked in the Hoeisha Company that his younger brother Motoyori had started, furthering the cause of increased productivity in Hokkaido.

Takenaka died in 1891 at the age of 63, and is buried Takanawa-Sengakuji Temple.

==Sources==

''Meiji Ishin Jinmei Jiten''. Nihon Rekishi-gakkai, ed. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1981, n.p.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takenaka, Shigekata}}
[[Category:Samurai]]
[[Category:1828 births]]
[[Category:1891 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Gifu Prefecture]]
[[Category:Hatamoto]]
[[Category:Meiji Restoration]]
[[Category:Wakadoshiyori]]
[[Category:Recipients of Japanese royal pardons]]