Born Saito Fuku during the late Sengoku era, she was linked to the Saito clan through her father Saito Toshimitsu. Constant warfare and shifting loyalties shaped her early life and later political instincts.

After Akechi Mitsuhide’s coup and the Battle of Yamazaki, her father Saito Toshimitsu was captured and executed as a retainer of the defeated side. The family’s fall forced her into precarious dependence on patrons for survival.

As an orphaned samurai daughter, she was taken in by guardians who prepared her for service in elite households. Training emphasized etiquette, reading, and political caution—skills crucial for later life inside the shogun’s inner chambers.

She married Inaba Masanari, a retainer who later served Tokugawa leadership as power consolidated. Marriage offered protection and access to networks that connected provincial warriors to the emerging Tokugawa order.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun, Edo’s castle administration expanded and required trusted women for the inner quarters. She positioned herself to serve the Tokugawa household at a moment when loyalty and discretion were rewarded.

She was appointed wet nurse to Tokugawa Iemitsu, binding her fate to the shogun’s line through intimate household authority. In the Ooku, such a role created political leverage because access to the heir shaped information and patronage.

As Iemitsu grew, she cultivated allies among attendants and senior women, ensuring the boy was supported within Edo Castle’s inner world. Her careful distribution of favors and strict discipline reduced rivals’ influence over the heir.

She used her position to recommend retainers and attendants, linking household service to political advancement in the wider bakufu. This patronage network strengthened Iemitsu’s camp and tied ambitious families to her protection.

With Ieyasu’s death, succession management and household cohesion became urgent as Tokugawa Hidetada ruled as shogun. She helped stabilize the heir’s environment, emphasizing discipline and loyalty amid shifting court factions.

When Tokugawa Iemitsu became the third shogun, her authority in the inner quarters rose dramatically because she had raised him. Senior officials sought her favor, recognizing that private access could translate into public decisions.

During Iemitsu’s grand progress to Kyoto, she accompanied the entourage to manage protocol and negotiations connected to the Imperial Court. The journey displayed Tokugawa prestige and required careful coordination with court nobles and temples.

She is remembered for receiving an audience with Emperor Go-Mizunoo, an exceptional honor for a woman of warrior society. The meeting symbolized Edo’s authority while allowing her to represent the shogun’s household with polished court etiquette.

Back in Edo, she enforced strict rules in the Ooku, regulating access, rank, and daily conduct to prevent intrigue. By professionalizing the inner quarters, she helped protect the shogun’s private life from factional manipulation.

She promoted temple and shrine patronage that reinforced Tokugawa legitimacy, aligning household piety with political messaging. These acts connected Edo Castle’s women to broader networks of clergy and aristocracy across central Japan.

As the bakufu tightened control over daimyo and travel, her counsel remained valuable because it reflected the shogun’s private priorities. Her network helped gather information and manage petitions that flowed into Edo from across the realm.

In later years she withdrew from constant supervision yet retained honor and influence as the shogun’s former nurse. Her reputation for strict governance of the Ooku endured, shaping expectations for women’s authority in Edo Castle.

She died in Edo after decades shaping the inner life of the Tokugawa regime and safeguarding Iemitsu’s household authority. Her legacy became a touchstone for the political power women could wield through service, access, and discipline.