The
Aoyama clan were provincial lords of Dōdo village,
Nukata District in
Mikawa Province (present
Okazaki,
Aichi).
Aoyama Tadakado, Tadanari's father, served both
Matsudaira Hirotada and
Tokugawa Ieyasu, and thus Tadanari served near Ieyasu since he was young. In 1572, his father died in battle with
Takeda Shingen and Tadanari inherited the estate. Tadanari was highly trusted by Ieyasu, and in 1585 he commanded him to guard his son
Hidetada. In 1588, Tadanari accompanied Hidetada to the
capital where he was granted Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade of
Hitachi Province by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1590 Ieyasu relocates to
Kantō and promotes Tadanari to
magistrate of
Edo with lands worth 5,000
koku (increased by 2,000 koku in 1593). His estates centered on
Harajuku village and extended from part of
Akasaka to
Shibuya. Present day
Aoyama is so named because one of Tadanari's mansions was located there. In 1600, Tadanari joined
Hidetada's army at the
Battle of Sekigahara and obtained 15,000 koku of lands between
Kazusa Province and
Shimōsa Province. In addition to being the Edo magistrate, he also served as the general magistrate for the entire Kantō region. After the start of the
Edo shogunate, he was heavily involved in shogunate policy along with
Honda Masanobu and
Naitō Kiyonari. Along with Naitō in 1606, he is temporarily sentenced to house arrest but is soon pardoned. == References ==