|
Hiroshima Domain
The was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Hiroshima Domain was based at Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the modern city of Hiroshima, located in the Chūgoku region of the island of Honshu. The Hiroshima Domain was ruled for most of its existence by the ''daimyō'' of the Asano clan and encompassed Aki Province and parts of Bingo Province with a ''Kokudaka'' system value of 426,500 '' koku''. The Hiroshima Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Hiroshima Prefecture. History In 1589, Hiroshima Castle was commissioned by Mōri Terumoto, head of the powerful Mōri clan and a member of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Council of Five Elders. In 1591, Terumoto relocated to Hiroshima while it was still under construction, using it as his base to rule his domain covering most of the Chūgoku region. Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Mōri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han System
( ja, 藩, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) served as a system of ''de facto'' administrative divisions of Japan alongside the ''de jure'' provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s. History Pre-Edo period The concept of originated as the personal estates of prominent warriors after the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, which also saw the rise of feudalism and the samurai noble warrior class in Japan. This situation existed for 400 years during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333), the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336), and the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573). became increasingly important as ''de facto'' administrative divisions as subsequent Shoguns stripped the Imperial provinces () and their officials of their legal powers. Edo period Toyotomi Hideyoshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chūgoku Region
The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History ''Chūgoku'' literally means "middle country", but the origin of the name is unclear. Historically, Japan was divided into a number of provinces called ''koku'', which were in turn classified according to both their power and their distances from the administrative center in Kansai. Under the latter classification, most provinces are divided into , , and . Therefore, one explanation is that ''Chūgoku'' was originally used to refer to the collection of "middle countries" to the west of the capital. However, only five (fewer than half) of the provinces normally considered part of Chūgoku region were in fact classified as middle countries, and the term never applied to the many middle countries to the east of Kansai. Therefore, an alternative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukushima Masanori
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears of Shizugatake which also included Katō Kiyomasa and others. Biography Fukushima Ichimatsu, was born in 1561, in Futatsudera, Kaitō, Owari Province (present-day Ama, Aichi Prefecture), the eldest son of barrel merchant Fukushima Masanobu. However, it is also said that his father, Masanobu, was his father-in-law. In the latter case, his father is believed to have been cooper Hoshino Narimasa from Kiyosu, Kasugai, Owari Province (present-day Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture). His mother was the younger sister of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother, making Hideyoshi his first cousin. As a young man, he served as a page (''koshō'') of Hideyoshi through their mothers' relation. He first engaged in battle at the assault on Miki Castle in 1578- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagi Castle
, also known as Shizuki Castle, was a Japanese castle located in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Hagi Castle was built in 1604 at the beginning of the Edo period as the main castle of the Mōri clan, and served as the seat of the Chōshū Domain for over 250 years until 1863. Hagi Castle was demolished in 1874 shortly after the Meiji Restoration. Hagi Castle's former site has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2015. History Hagi Castle was constructed in 1604 by Mōri Terumoto, the head of the Mōri clan, as his new seat after defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The Mōri had ruled most of the Chūgoku region by the late Sengoku period, and Terumoto had recently constructed Hiroshima Castle from which to rule it. However, Terumoto had joined the western alliance against Tokugawa Ieyasu and subsequently lost most of his holdings, including Hiroshima Castle, and was forced west into the provinces of Suō and Nagato. Following the establishment of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as a vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara ( Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period. This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition of Toyotomi loyalist clans under Ishida Mitsunari, several of which defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important. Toyotomi's defeat led to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Ieyasu took three more years to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the various '' daimyō'', but the Battle of Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries until 1868. Background To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Council Of Five Elders
The Council of Five Elders (Japanese: 五大老, ''Go-Tairō'') was a group of five powerful feudal lords (Japanese: 大名, ''Daimyō'') formed in 1598 by the Regent (Japanese: 太閤 '' Taikō'') Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only 5 years old and as such Hideyoshi needed to create the council in order to ensure his heir would be able to succeed him after coming of age. They also acted as advisers for the Five Commissioners (Japanese: 五奉行 ''Go-Bugyō)'', which had also been established by Hideyoshi to govern Kyoto and the surrounding areas. Creation of the Council Leading up to the creation of the council Hideyoshi had been slowly changing in demeanor as the invasions of Korea (in attempt to conquer both Korea and China) were failing. Hideyoshi himself had not joined the Korean Campaigns and assigned vassals in his command to head the campaign. He sent his final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japan. Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the ''de facto'' leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Chancellor of the Realm and Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Hideyoshi's young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mōri Clan
The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power in Aki Province. During the Edo period his descendants became ''daimyō'' of the Chōshū Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration with the abolition of the ''han'' system and ''daimyō'', the Mōri clan became part of the new nobility. Origins The founder of the clan, Mōri Suemitsu, was the fourth son of Ōe no Hiromoto. He founded the clan when he took the name from his ''shōen'' named "Mōri" in Aikō District, Sagami Province. After the Jōkyū War, Suemitsu was appointed to the jitō office of a ''shōen'' in Aki Province. He was defeated by Hōjō Tokiyori in 1247 and committed suicide (''seppuku'') at Minamoto no Yoritomo's shrine (''hokkedō'') along with his Miura clan allies. The genealogy of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meiji Government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji oligarchy, who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate. Early developments After the Meiji Restoration, the leaders of the ''samurai'' who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate had no clear agenda or pre-developed plan on how to run Japan. They did have a number of things in common; according to Andrew Gordon, “It was precisely their intermediate status and their insecure salaried position, coupled with their sense of frustrated ambition and entitlement to rule, that account for the revolutionary energy of the Meiji insurgents and their far-reaching program of reform”. most were in their mid-40s, and most were from the four '' tozama'' domains of western Japan (Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa and Hizen). Although from lower-ranked ''samurai'' families, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abolition Of The Han System
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) were required to return their authority to the Emperor Meiji and his house. The process was accomplished in several stages, resulting in a new centralized government of Meiji Japan and the replacement of the old feudal system with a new oligarchy. Boshin War After the defeat of forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in 1868, the new Meiji government confiscated all lands formerly under direct control of the Shogunate (''tenryō'') and lands controlled by daimyos who remained loyal to the Tokugawa cause. These lands accounted for approximately a quarter of the land area of Japan and were reorganized into prefectures with governors appointed directly by the central government. Return of the domains The second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers. The ''koku'' in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in ''koku'' was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain ('' han'') was evaluated. A feudal lord was only considered '' daimyō'' class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 ''koku''. As a rule of thumb, one ''koku'' was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity is the ''shi'' or ''dan'' ( also known as ''hu'' (), now approximately 103 litres but historically about . Chinese equivalent The Chinese ''shi'' or ''dan'' is equal to 10 ''dou'' () " pecks", 100 ''sheng'' () " pints". While the current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
