The Ikeda clan were senior retainers of the
Tokugawa clan. In 1603,
Ikeda Tadatsugu, the second son of
Ikeda Terumasa of
Himeji Domain was awarded Okayama with a
kokudaka of 280,000
koku. This was increased in 1613 with an additional 100,000
koku. However, he died in 1615 without an heir and the domain was transferred to his younger brother,
Ikeda Tadao castellan of Yura Castle on
Awaji Island, albeit with a reduction from 380,000 to 315.000
koku. After Ikeda Tadao's death in 1632, his heir,
Ikeda Mitsunaka was regarded by the Tokugawa shogunate as being too young to be entrusted with the critically important Okayama Castle, with its strategic location on the
San'yōdō highway and reassigned him to
Tottori Domain. Okayama went to his cousin,
Ikeda Mitsumasa, formerly of Tottori Domain. His descendants would continue to rule Okayama until the
Meiji restoration.
Waidani Atsushi Tsuchiyama Ikeda Clan Cemetery The is located in the Yoshinaga-cho neighborhood of
Bizen, Okayama. The impetus for constructing this cemetery was when the clan's
bodaiji in
Kyoto, the Gokoku-in chapel of
Myōshin-ji burned down. This temple held the graves of Ikeda Mitsumasa's grandfather,
Ikeda Terumasa, and father,
Ikeda Toshitaka. Mitsumasa decided to move these graves to
Bizen Province and ordered his senior retainer, Tsuda Nagatada, to locate a suitable site. After more than a year of searching, this present site was selected, and construction began in 1667, with the reburial of Ikeda Terumasa and Toshitaka the following year per
Confucian rituals. Further construction was delayed when Okayama Domain was ordered by the
Tokugawa shogunate to repair the dry moat of
Edo Castle, but was completed in 1669. The cemetery consists of seven sets of tombs. The first is that of Ikeda Terumasa, in the form of a
bixi, a tortoise-shaped base stone and a flat monument, both made of
granite, and the second is for Ikeda Toshitaka and his wife Tsuruhime. The third is for Ikeda Mitsumasa and his wife Katsuhime. The fourth is for the eighth
daimyō,
Ikeda Yoshimasa and his wife Utako. The fifth is for the ninth
daimyō,
Ikeda Shigemasa and his wife Manjuko. The sixth contains six graves, one of which is for
Ikeda Teruoki,
daimyō of
Akō Domain, who reportedly went mad, killing his wife and consorts. Two others in this set are for Ikeda Tsunemoto and Ikeda Masachika,
daimyō of
Yamasaki Domain. The seventh set is located about 600 meters northeast of the sixths set. It contains the graves of Ikeda Toshimasa (younger brother of Toshitaka, lord of Funage Castle in Harima), Ikeda Masatora (younger brother of Toshitaka), Ikeda Masasada (younger brother of Mitsumasa), and Mutsuhime (daughter of Mitsumasa).
Sōgen-ji is a Myōshinji branch
Rinzai school Zen temple in Maruyama,
Naka-ku, Okayama. It was constructed by
Ikeda Tsunamasa, and was dedicated to his great-great-grandfather Tsuneoki and his father Mitsumasa, and became the
bodaiji of the clan. The temple is noted for its
Japanese garden, which makes extensive use of
borrowed scenery, and for an unusual feature in that sub-temples dedicated to other Buddhist sects (
Tendai,
Shingon,
Nichiren and
Jōdo were erected on the side of the temple grounds. The daimyō cemetery is in the back of the temple. Starting with Ikeda Tsunamasa, it contains the graves of all of the
daimyō of Okayama with the exception of the three who are located at the Waidani Atsushi Tsuchiyama Ikeda Clan Cemetery.
Tsuda Nagatada's Grave is located on the mountainside in Nukudani, Yoshida,
Wake, Okayama, Tsuda Nagatada (1640-1707) was a senior retainer to the Ikeda clan, and was responsible for the creation of the
Shizutani School and many other
public works projects. Due to his importance to the history of Okayama and the Ikeda clan, his family cemetery was included in the national historic site designation. Waidani 06.JPG|Grave of Ikeda Mitsumasa and his wife Waidani 05.JPG|Grave of Ikeda Toshitaka Waidani 08.JPG|Grave of Ikeda Yoshimasa Sogenji 03.JPG|Sogen-ji Sanmon 曹源寺 - panoramio (1).jpg|Sogen-ji Hondo Sogenji the Ikedas Graveyard 02.JPG|Sogen-ji Ikeda cemetery Tsuda Nagatada and Wife Graves.JPG|Tsuda Nagatada grave ==See also==