Mausoleums of IKEDA Clan in Tottori

Mausoleums of IKEDA Clan in Tottori

In 1600, IKEDA Nagayoshi (1570-1614) became the first lord of the Tottori Domain. In the Edo Age (1603-1868), IKEDA Mitsumasa (1609-1682) was transferred from Himeji Castle in 1617. In 1632, KEDA Mitsunaka (1630-1693) became the lord of Okayama Domain, when he was three years old. Because he was very young, there was an exchange of territories between Okayama Domain and Tottori Domain. the IKEDA Mitsunaka family line continued until the Meiji Age, as Tottori Castle lord and the feudal domain lord of Tottori.

Please refer the pages of "the ruins of Tottori Castle" :
http://cf916626.cloudfree.jp/HandE_Japan/TravelDestinations/Chugoku/TottoriCastle_E.html

The Mausoleums of the IKEDA Mitsunaka family, who were the Feudal Domain Lords, are located in the mountains east of Tottori Station.

The old and charming gate is located at the entrance to the mausoleums. Beyond this gate lies the sacred area of the mausoleums.

This area contains the mausoleums of eleven generations of feudal lords of Tottori Domain from IKEDA Mitsunaka, the fourth Feudal Lord and the first IKEDA Mitsunaka family, to IKEDA Yoshinori (1837-1877), the eleventh IKEDA Mitsunaka family.

The map shows the location of the mausoleums of the eleven feudal lords. The numbers in the red circles indicate the generations of the IKEDA Mitsunaka family. The arrow in the map shows the location of the gate.

After passing through the gate and walking a short distance, I turned left. Stone lanterns line the area around the mausoleum, creating a solemn atmosphere.

At the very back of the left-hand cemetery, the mausoleum of the first lord, IKEDA Mitsunaka is located.

Lord IKEDA Mitsunaka died in 1693, when he was sixty-three years old. It is said that Lord Mitsunaka was buried in formal court attire, including the ceremonial court robes and robes. It is believed that other feudal lords were buried in the same manner.

The photo below shows the view looking back from Lord IKEDA Mitsunaka's mausoleum.

There are several other lords' mausoleums along the way to Lord IKEDA Mitsunaka's mausoleum. The neatly arranged mausoleums and stone lanterns were very impressive.

Closest to Lord IKEDA Mitsunaka's mausoleum is the mausoleum of IKEDA Narimichi(1820-1841), the ninth head of the IKEDA Mitsunaka family, and next to it is the tomb of IKEDA Yoshiyuki (1832-1848), the tenth head.

The mausoleums of each feudal lord are uniformly arranged in the style of a tortoise-shaped base on which the stone monument stands, known as a "turtle-shaped base with rounded tombstone."

The photo below shows the mausoleum of IKEDA Yoshitaka(1834-1850), the eleventh head.

Lord IKEDA Yoshitaka was the last lord of the Tottori IKEDA family to be buried in the family cemetery. The three Feudal Lords from the ninth lord, IKEDA Narimichi, to the eleventh lord, IKEDA Yoshitaka , all died at a very young age.

I continued up the path leading from the entrance gate.

Following the path, on a slightly elevated left, are the mausoleums of the second lord, IKEDA Tsunakiyo(1648-1711), left in the photo below, and the third lord, IKEDA Yoshiyasu(1687-1739), right in the photo below.

Although I wrote above that "the tombstones are uniformly of the tortoise-shaped base with a rounded head," the mausoleum of the second lord, IKEDA Tsunakiyo, does not have a tortoise-shaped base. This seems to be out of consideration for TOKUGAWA Tsunayoshi(1646-1709), who was the fifth Shogun in the Edo Age and issued the Edict on Compassion for Living Things, issued between 1682 and 1687.

I further continued walking up the stone steps of the approach to the mausoleums beyond.

Further ahead, to the right, mausoleums of three feudal lords are located. First, closest to you is the mausoleum of the fifth feudal lord, IKEDA Shigenobu(1746-1783). It is said that IKEDA Shigenobu became feudal lord at the tender age of two.

The photo below shows a view from near the mausoleum of the fifth feudal lord, IKEDA Shigenobu, looking down to the mausoleum of the third feudal lord, IKEDA Yoshiyasu.

You will see that the feudal lords' mausoleums are built in large plots of land. The mausoleums of the feudal lords' wives and other relatives are also lined up around them. It is said that there are as many as seventy-eight mausoleums in this IKEDA family cemetery of the Tottori domain.