Sagara Yoritaka

Sagara Yoritaka (Japanese: 相良 頼喬 さがら よりたか[*]) was the third daimyō of the Hitoyoshi Domain in Higo Province.

Life

In Kan'ei 18 (1641), on the 25th day of the 5th month, he was born as the eldest son of the second daimyō, Sagara Yorihiro. In Kanbun 4 (1664), on the 7th day of the intercalary 5th month, he succeeded to the headship of the house upon his father's retirement. In domain administration, he devoted great effort to civil engineering works. From Kanbun 2 (1662), the domain retainer Hayashi Masamori, with Yoritaka's permission, dug the Kuma River channel at his own expense. It was completed in Kanbun 5 (1665), and it became possible to travel by boat down to the lower reaches at Yatsushiro, greatly contributing to the development of the domain.

In Jōkyō 4 (1687), an incident occurred in which fourteen male and female followers of the Shin sect jumped into the Kawabegawa (a tributary of the Kuma River) and killed themselves. The Hitoyoshi Domain, together with the Satsuma Domain, prohibited the Shin faith. However, when the faith was discovered through an informant, the group attempted mass suicide before Yoritaka could arrest them.

On the 24th day of the 1st month of Genroku 16 (1703), he died at the age of 63. Because all five of his sons died young, his cousin and the brother of his wife Okame, Yoritomi, was adopted as heir and succeeded him.

Family

• Father: Sagara Yorihiro
• Mother: Shūkōin (周光院) - daughter of Kataoka Masahide (片岡正秀). Concubine of Yorihiro
• Wife: Okame (於亀) - Shunseiin (春晴院), daughter of Sagara Nagahide (相良長秀).
  • Eldest son: Sagara Yoriyasu
• Concubine: Gessenin (月仙院) - daughter of Washino Takakazu