Chisaka Takamasa
was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who went on to become a soldier, government official, and businessman in the Meiji era. He served as a karō in the Yonezawa Domain's administration. Biography Takamasa was born in 1841 to a prominent samurai family in Akita Prefecture of the Yonezawa Domain. He was the firs son of Takaaki Chisaka, who was the chief retainer of the Yonezawa clan. Government service Takamasa 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. It is noted that his position in the ministry was not secure due to his Yonezawa roots. The installation of representatives of the central governments from among those who came from the abolished domains was not universally welcomed in the 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