Matsudaira
Character Profile
| Name: | Matsudaira |
| Date of Birth: | Unknown |
| Service: | Lady Arikawa, Tokugawa Shogunate, Japanese Empire |
| Rank: | Gaikoku bugyō (Magistrate) of Nagasaki |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Billets: | Daimyo (Lord) of Tanakura (?) Daimyo (Lord) of Kawagoe (?) |
Biography
Matsudaira is a Japanese official, described by William Laurence as "an older man, with a narrow beard that framed his face in dark lines salted with a little grey; his mouth was thin and hard". He was brought by Lady Arikawa to interrogate Laurence over the shipwreck of the HMS Pontentate.
He took Laurence to Hakata Bay, where Laurence met Lord Jinai, a Sui Riu dragon, and viewed the battle scene where Lord Jinai had fought Temeraire, Maximus, Lily, and the other British dragons.
When Lady Arikawa invited Kaneko Hiromasa to ride upon her back to Hakata Bay, Matsudaira seemed to disapprove of her action, which Laurence judged "by the tightening of his lips". He also accuses Laurence of being a liar and in league with the Chinese, and treats him coldly and angrily.
Matsudaira informs Laurence that the Celestial may not be a Chinese breed at all, but Japanese. According to Matsudaira, "Such a dragon [a Celestial] has not been seen across the sea for five centuries, since the servants of the Yuan emperor stole the last egg of the Divine Wind line from Hakozaki Shrine as he withdrew in ignominy from his attempt at conquest, his murderous beasts having slain the rest of that noble line." (Blood of Tyrants, p. 49)
Real History
After the incident with the HMS Phaeton in 1808, he Nagasaki Magistrate, Matsudaira, took responsibility by committing suicide by seppuku.
In Japan, the Matsudaira family was known for being the daimyos (Lords) of Tanakura and Kawagoe. It was likely that the Matsudaira from the books may be not only the Magistrate of Nagasaki, but also the Lord of Tanakura and Kawagoe (1812).]]
