270px, Hitotsuyanagi Yoriaki was a

feudal domain A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

under 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 ...

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 ...

Japan, in what is now eastern

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. It was centered around Komatsu ''

jin'ya A was a type of administrative headquarters in the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. ''Jin'ya'' served as the seat of the administration for a small domain, a province, or additional parcels of land. ''Jin'ya'' hou ...

'' in what snow part of the city of

Saijō, Ehime is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 106,016 in 58803 households and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Saijō is in central Ehime Prefecture on the ...

, and was ruled throughout all of its history by a cadet branch of the Hitotsuyanagi clan. Komatsu Domain was dissolved in the

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) ...

in 1871 and is now part of

History

In 1636, Hitotsuyanagi Naomori, ''

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 Kanbe Domain in

Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears i ...

received an increase in ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of 18,000 ''

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 ...

'' and was transferred to Saijō in

Iyo Province was a province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa to the east, and Tosa to the south. Its abbreviated form name was . In term ...

with a total of 68,000 ''koku''. This marks the start of Saijō Domain. However, Naomori died in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

in the same year and his inheritance was divided among his three sons: his heir Naoshige inherited 30,000 ''koku'' and became daimyo of Saijō Domain, his second son Naoie inherited 28,000 ''koku'', forming Iyo Kawanoe Domain and later transferred his seat to

Ono Domain 250px, Hitotsuyanagi Suenori, final ''daimyō'' of Ono Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in Harima Province in what is now the south-central portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered a ...

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

, and his third son Naoyori became the 10,000 ''koku'' ''daimyō'' of Komatsu Domain. Naoyori set up a ''

'' in Shinyashiki Village, Sufu County, located west of Saijo, and his descendants would continue to rule the area for 280 years until the end of the

. In 1642, Hitotsuyanagi Naoie was transferred to Harima and after his death, his territory of 18,600 in Iyo Province was confiscated by the shogunate. In 1665, Hitotsuyanagi Naoki (a son of Naoshige) of Saijo Domain was deprived of his status, leaving only the Komatsu Domain in Iyo Province. During the

Kanbun A is a form of Classical Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period to the mid-20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for official and intellectual works throughout the period. A ...

through

Genroku was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from the ninth month of 1688 to the third month of 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415. The period was ...

eras (1661-1704), Hitotsuyanagi Naoharu, the second ''daimyō'', developed considerable new rice lands. The Ichinokawa Mine was a major source of

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...

in the Edo period, and the domain also developed ''

washi is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Ed ...

'' paper as a domain monopoly and a major source of revenue. Nevertheless, as with all domains, finances were always tight with the demands of '' sankin kōtai'' attendance to the Shogun's court in Edo, and the need to maintain a domain residence in Edo. The third ''daimyō'', Yorinori, was a master of

Japanese calligraphy also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrin ...

and was highly praised by his peers. During the

Kyōhō famine The Kyōhō famine (享保の大飢饉, Kyōhō no daikikin), was a famine on the Japanese island of Kyushu during the reign of Emperor Nakamikado in the Edo period. It is estimated that 12,172-169,000 people died from starvation. The famine, named ...

of 1732, although the number of inhabitants needing assistance exceeded 40%, no one in the domain starved, unlike the situation in neighboring

Iyo-Matsuyama Domain 270px, Matsudaira Katsushige, 13th daimyō of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Matsuyama Castl ...

. As Komatsu Domain was a small domain, it was able to quickly grasp the signs of poor harvests in its territory, and countermeasures were taken. In the last 18th century, although there was occasional unrest, the domain also escaped the bloody peasants revolts experienced by many other domains. The 7th ''daimyō'', Yorichika, established a

han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku' ...

in 1802. Under the 8th ''daimyō'', Yoritsune, the domain entered the

bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

as an early supporter of the new government. Komatsu disputed 51 ''samurai'' and ''

ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various ...

'' as its contribution in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

. In June 1869, Hitotsuyanagi Yoritsugu was appointed as imperial governor of the domain following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, but he died of illness soon after. Yoriakira succeeded as the imperial governor, but in July 1871, the Komatsu Domain was abolished with the

and the establishment of prefectures. "Komatsu Prefecture" was abolished in the same year and incorporated into Ehime Prefecture via Matsuyama Prefecture and Sekitetsu Prefecture. In 1884, Hitotsuyanagi Jōnen, the younger brother of Yoriaki, was ennobled with the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage title of

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 ...

. Among those from the Komatsu Domain who were active 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 ...

was Baron Kurokawa Michiki, a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

to the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

As with most domains in the

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) s ...

, Komatsu Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned ''

'', based on periodic

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

surveys and projected agricultural yields.Elison, George and Bardwell L. Smith (1987)
''Warlords, Artists, & Commoners: Japan in the Sixteenth Century,'' p. 18
*

**4 villages in Nii District **11 villages in Shūfu District

List of daimyō

References

{{Authority control Domains of Japan History of Ehime Prefecture Iyo Province Shikoku region 1636 establishments in Japan States and territories established in 1636 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871

History

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

List of daimyō

See also

References