was a Japanese ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of the late-

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

.Meyer, Eva-Maria
"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit".
Universität Tübingen (in German). In the Edo period, the Makino were identified as one of the '' fudai'' or insider ''daimyō'' clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

, in contrast with the '' tozama'' or outsider clans.Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon'', p. 67.
/ref>

Inaba clan genealogy

The ''fudai''

Inaba clan The were a ''samurai'' kin group which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period and the Edo periods.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit". Universität Tübingen (in German) Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Inaba, as heredita ...

originated in Mino Province. They claim descent from

Kōno Michitaka Kōno, Kono or Kouno (written: 河野, 幸野, 高野 or 甲野) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Kōno Bairei (1844–1895), Japanese painter, book illustrator and art teacher *Kōno Hironaka (1849–1923), Japanese ...

(d. 1374),Papinot, Jacques. (2003)
''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Inaba, p. 15
Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon.'' (in French/German). who claimed descent from Emperor Kammu (736–805)."Inaba" at Ancestry.com
citing Hank, Patrick, ed. (2003)
''Dictionary of American Family Names.''
/ref> Masakuni was part of the cadet branch of the Inaba which was created in 1588. This branch is descended from

Inaba Masanari , also known as Inaba Masashige and sometimes known as ''Mino-no-kami'', was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. He served the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans, and became a ''daimyō'' in the early Edo p ...

, who fought in the armies of Nobunaga and then Hideyoshi. In 1619, Masanari was granted the ''

han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

'' of

Itoigawa is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,333, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Itoigawa is located in the far southwestern corner of ...

(25,000 ''koku'') in

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

; then, in 1627, his holding was transferred to Mōka Domain (65,000 ''koku'') in Shimotsuke Province. Masanari's descendants resided successively at Odawara Domain (105,000 ''koku'') in Sagami Province from 1632 through 1685; at

Takata Domain Takata may refer to: * Takata Corporation, an automotive parts company based in Japan * Takata District, Hiroshima, a district located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan * Takata, Fukuoka, a town located in Miike District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan * ...

from 1685 through 1701; at

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hi ...

in Shimōsa Province from 1701 through 1723. Masakuni's heirs and others who were also descendants of Inaba Masanari settled at

Yodo Domain The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, and the only domain located in Yamashiro Province. Its castle was located within modern-day Fushimi, Kyoto. The strategic location of the castle figured in the 1582 Battle of Yamazaki. During the 1 ...

(115,000 ''koku'') in

Yamashiro Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the ''Engishiki''. Yamashiro Province included Kyoto its ...

from 1723 through 1868. The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period.

Tokugawa official

Masakuni served in a variety of positions in the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. He was the shōgun's representative, the Kyoto ''shoshidai'' in the period spanning July 26, 1863, through May 16, 1864. During the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

, he refused the entry of pro-Shogunate forces into Yodo, and thus helped tip the balance in the favor of the Satsuma and Chōshū forces. He was made a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

in the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, and served as a Shinto priest and government official.

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha. * Hank, Patrick, ed. (2003)
''Dictionary of American Family Names''.
New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. (cloth) * Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). ''Japans Kaiserhof in de Edo-Zeit: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867''. Münster: Tagenbuch. * Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)
* Sasaki, Suguru. (2002). ''Boshin sensō: haisha no Meiji ishin''. Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha.

External links

National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...

NDL call number: YDM23880
photo of Edo residence of Yodo (Inaba) clan , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Inaba, Masakuni People from Tokyo Rōjū Kannushi Kyoto Shoshidai Japanese Shintoists People of the Boshin War Kazoku 1834 births 1898 deaths Inaba clan Fudai daimyo