Late Edo Period (19C, 1716-1868)
This is a letter written by Nariaki Tokugawa, the ninth Feudal Lord of the Mito clan, to Tadakata
Sakai, the eighth Feudal Lord of the Shōnai clan.
Tadakata, who was the 10th head of the Sakai family in Shonai, received orders from the shogunate
(military government) to relocate to Nagaoka in Echigo in 1840. However, these orders were revoked
the following year, after a campaign by local people to keep him in place succeeded. The letter you see here was written after April 1842, when Tadakata retired and became Governor of Sahei and
includes seasonal greetings as well as a product from the local area.