Lady Chaa

Lady Chaa (茶阿局, Chaa no Tsubone) (c. 1550 — July 30, 1621) was a Japanese noble woman and concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. She lived in Tōtōmi Province. She is said to be the daughter of a foundryman. When the daikan (a local official) had her husband killed, she appealed to Ieyasu, who was then the lord of Hamamatsu Castle; as a result, he punished the daikan. Lady Chaa subsequently became a concubine of Ieyasu. She was also the mother of Matsudaira Tadateru and Matsudaira Matsuchiyo. An account cited that Lady Chaa was part of Osaka Castle's Genji circle and received a copy of Genji monogatari no okori from her aunt, Keifukuin Kaoku Gyokuei. Like other women of the Tokugawa clan, Lady Chaa was actively involved in politics, participating in councils and using her influence to protect and resolve conflicts between the temples. Lady Chaa's grave is at Sōkei-ji, a Buddhist temple in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Her Buddhist name is Satoru'in.