Chisaka Takamasa
Biography. Takamasa was born in 1841 to a prominent samurai family in the Yonezawa Domain. His father was Takaaki Chisaka, who was the chief retainer of the Yonezawa clan. He entered official service in 1863 and five years later, in 1863, he was given command of the "han" military force. He was promoted as a "dai-sanji" (chief councilor) in 1870 and later accompanied the clan lord Shigenori Uesugi on his European tour. When he returned to Japan in 1875, he served in the government's Home Ministry. In 1876 Takamasa would be called upon to put down  the rebellion in the Ibaraki prefecture, and later in 1877, during the Satsuma Rebellion, he was appointed a first lieutenant in the army. After his retirement from government service, Takamasa joined the private sector, holding executive positions at companies such as the "Ryou Ginko" (Ryou Bank), Ujigawa Hydroelectric Power Station"," and "Yokohama Soko" (Yokohama Warehouse). Takamasa's career articulated the transition of the lives of the samurai from service to their lords to civil or government service in modern Japan. This development was underpinned by the relationships between the samurai and their previous lords. In the case of Takamasa, his  former liege promoted his employment – as was done for other former samurai ("shizoku jusan") of the Kanazawa – by getting his appointment as Nomi County Chief approved. He was later appointed as the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture.