Maeno Tokiyuki

Biodata

Background / History

Originally Yamauchi Kanhachirō, Tokiyuki was the younger brother of Yamauchi Moritoyo. He was adopted into the Maeno clan of Matsukura Castle and took the name Maeno Tokiyuki. His adoptive father, Maeno Tokiuji, was the lord of Matsukura Castle; Tokiuji and Maeno Muneyasu were brothers. Tokiyuki belonged to the Maeno clan's Tsubouchi branch rather than Muneyasu's Yoshimine branch. 4 13 23

After Moritoyo's death and the fall of the Iwakura Oda clan, Tokiyuki received his nephew Yamauchi Kazutoyo and the displaced Yamauchi household at Matsukura Castle. He recognized Kazutoyo as family despite the change in his own surname, provided the refugees with shelter, and assigned Kazutoyo five tan of paddy fields in Takada Village. He also placed Kazutoyo's retainers in villages that supplied his 120-kan stipend. 13 14

Tokiyuki's position deteriorated after Tokiuji became Matsukura Castle's lord. Expecting to inherit the castle, he had spent heavily on horses, retainers, and his son's education, only for Tokiuji's concubine to become pregnant. With creditors demanding repayment and his fief transferred to the contested Inagi Estate, Tokiyuki could no longer support Kazutoyo's farming household. 14 15

Needing forty kan, Tokiyuki entrusted Kazutoyo with collecting Inagi Estate's annual tribute and issued him an appointment as the Maeno family's magistrate. Kazutoyo's success allowed Tokiyuki to repay Myōkō-ji Temple and removed the immediate threat of his debts. 15 17 27

Afterward, Tokiyuki supported Kazutoyo's Kiso River venture, helping him obtain transport permits and supplying three boats with a capacity of thirty koku each. When he deduced that Kazutoyo, Horio Yoshiharu, and Hachisuka Masakatsu were behind the ostensibly Jōdo Shinshū-aligned Ogawa Band, he demanded that the Maeno family receive a stake in the enterprise. 27 28 45

When Maeda Toshiie's wife Omatsu went into labor, Tokiyuki provided two household servants to assist after Kazutoyo sought his help; one of the women had previously given birth. 49

Personality

Tokiyuki is generous toward kin but aware of the limits of his position. He gives the Yamauchi family refuge and land when they have nowhere else to go, while openly admitting that he cannot promise them more than protection from starvation. 13

His early confidence in an expected inheritance leaves him financially exposed, but he remains willing to rely on Kazutoyo's initiative rather than abandon him. Once Kazutoyo proves capable, Tokiyuki becomes proud of his nephew and increasingly treats him as a trusted partner. 15 27

He is also perceptive and pragmatic. Tokiyuki sees through the Ogawa Band's false identities by connecting the disappearances of Kazutoyo and his companions with the band's sudden emergence, then moves quickly to secure benefits for the Maeno family. 45

Resources and Influence

• Held stipends worth 120 kan from villages including Miyata Village. 13
• Provided Kazutoyo with five tan of fertile rice paddies beside the Kiso River. 13 14
• Lent Kazutoyo a horse for the Inagi Estate mission. 16
• Issued Kazutoyo a letter of appointment as magistrate for Inagi Estate. 17
• Helped Kazutoyo acquire permits for Kiso River transport and supplied three thirty-koku cargo boats. 27 28
• Could provide temporary provisions to the Ogawa Band through Matsukura Castle. 42

Relationships

• Yamauchi Moritoyo — Elder brother. Tokiyuki was adopted out of the Yamauchi family into the Maeno clan; after Moritoyo's death, he sheltered Moritoyo's surviving household. 4 13
• Yamauchi Kazutoyo — Nephew and principal beneficiary of Tokiyuki's patronage. Tokiyuki gives him land and lodging, appoints him to collect Inagi Estate's tribute, and later aids his Kiso River enterprise. 13 15 27 28
• Maeno Tokiuji — Adoptive father and lord of Matsukura Castle. Tokiuji's concubine becoming pregnant weakens Tokiyuki's expected succession and contributes to his loss of favor. 13 15
• Maeno Muneyasu — Adoptive uncle and head of the Maeno clan. Tokiyuki asks Muneyasu to assist Kazutoyo's Inagi Estate effort; Muneyasu later identifies the Ogawa Band's connection to the Maeno household. 22 45
• Maeno Nagayasu — Muneyasu's son and former Oda retainer. Tokiyuki is pressured to send Nagayasu as Matsukura Castle's representative to the Ogawa Band after Nagayasu is expelled from Oda service. 45
• Maeda Toshiie — A distressed visitor to Matsukura Castle. Tokiyuki supplies household servants to help with Omatsu's childbirth. 49

Notable Quotes

“Now that you have come to Matsukura Castle, treat this place as your own home. Though I have changed my surname, I still acknowledge you as my nephew.” 13

“If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place.” 45