Yanagisawa Noritada, the last ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi
was a ''
fudai''
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 ...
of
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
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It is located 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 ...
,
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
. The domain was centered at
Mikkaichi Jin'ya, located in what is now part of the city of
Shibata in
Niigata Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...
. The Shibata City Nanaha Middle School now occupies the site.
History
In 1724, the ''
tairō
''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...
''
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrote ...
arranged for a 10,000 ''koku'' holding in Echigo Province to be assigned to his 5th son,
Yanagisawa Tokichika. This marked the start of Mikkaichi Domain. Tochichika turned the domain over to his brother after only three months, and although the Yanagisawa clan remained in control until 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 ...
, they preferred to reside in
Edo and rely on the collection of revenues as absentee landlords. As a result, the finances of the domain were perpetually in a state of bankruptcy, and belated efforts to remedy the situation through reforms in 1843 failed. During 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 ...
, the domain was unable to fulfil orders to provide troops for coastal defences, and its Edo residence was destroyed in the
1855 Edo earthquake
The , was the third Ansei Great Earthquake, which occurred during the late-Edo period. It occurred after the 1854 Nankai earthquake, which took place about a year prior. The earthquake occurred at 22:00 local time on 11 November. It had an epi ...
. The final ''
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 Mikkaichi,
Yanagisawa Noritada, was the only ''daimyō'' to actually visit his domain, and did so only to surrender his forces to neighbouring
Shibata Domain
was a '' tozama'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Shibata Castle, located in what is now the city of Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It was ...
during 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 July 1871, with 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) ...
, Mikkaichi Domain briefly became Mikkaichi Prefecture, and was merged into the newly created
Niigata Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...
. Under the new
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 o ...
, Yanagisawa Noritada was given 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 ''shishaku'' (
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 ...
).
Bakumatsu period holdings
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 ...
, Mikkaichi Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned ''
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 ...
'', 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
*
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 ...
**49 villages in
Kanbara District
List of daimyō
*
Yanagisawa Tokichika
was the fifth son of the famous
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrote ...
and was born in
Edo. His mother was
Ogimachi Machiko
Ōgimachi Machiko (正親町町子, 1675 - 1724'')'' was a Japanese noble lady, scholar, member of the Ōgimachi family of court nobles during the Edo period. She is known for her diary, ''Matsukage no nikki'', which details numerous events of t ...
. He was received in audience by ''
Shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
at the age of five, and was permitted to take the
"Matsudaira" name as an honor in 1701. In 1709, he received a fief of 10,000 ''
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 ...
'' from his father's lands in
Kōfu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The domain was centered at Kōfu Castle what is now the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi. , becoming daimyō of Kōfu Shinden Domain. In 1724, his estates were transferred from Kōfu to Echigo Province, and he became ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi; however, he turned his estate over to his younger brother and went into retirement shortly afterwards. He died in 1750.
Yanagisawa Yasutsune
was the seventh son of the famous
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrote ...
and became the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi on the retirement of his brother Tokichika in 1724. He served on guard of
Edo Castle
is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as .
Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...
and as both ''Suruga kaban'' and ''Osaka kaban'' as well as ''Nikkō Bugyō''. He died in 1760.
Yanagisawa Nobuaki
was 3rd ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the eldest son of Yanagisawa Yasutsune and became ''daimyō'' on the death of his father in 1760. During his tenure, the clan reverted from using "Matsudaira" back to Yanagisawa" as their surname. He died without heir in 1783.
Yanagisawa Satoyuki
was 4th ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the fifth son of
Yanagisawa Nobutoki of
Yamato-Kōriyama Domain and was adopted as posthumous heir to Yanagisawa Nobuaki. His wife was a daughter of
Abe Nobuchika of
Okabe Domain
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Okabe ''jin'ya'' in what is now part of the city of Fukaya, Saitama.
History
The Abe c ...
. He died in 1804 at the age of 47.
Yanagisawa Satoyo
was 5th ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the eldest son of Yanagisawa Satoyuki, and became ''daimyō'' on the death of his father in 1804. He was received in formal audience by
Shogun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari ( ja, 徳川 家斉, November 18, 1773 – March 22, 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern J ...
in 1810. In 1812, he served as ''Osaka kaban'' and as ''Nikkō Bugyō'' in 1814. He retired from public life in 1826 and died the following year at the age of 38. His wife was a daughter of
Itakura Katsumasa
. Seventh son of Itakura Katsuzumi. Fourth Itakura ''daimyō'' of Bitchū-Matsuyama Domain
270px, Itakura Katukiyo
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Okayama Prefecture. It cont ...
of
Bitchū-Matsuyama Domain
270px, Itakura Katukiyo
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Okayama Prefecture. It controlled most of central Bitchū Province and was centered around Bitchū Matsuyama Castle. It was ...
, but had no heir.
Yanagisawa Satoaki
was 6th ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the ninth son of
Yanagisawa Yasumitsu Yanagisawa (written: or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include:
*Atsushi Yanagisawa (born 1977), Japanese footballer
* Hakuo Yanagisawa (born 1935), a Japanese politician
*, Japanese sprint canoeist
*, Japanese footballer
*K ...
of Yamato-Kōriyama Domain, and married the daughter of Yanagisawa Satoyo. He was received in formal audience by Shogun Tokugawa Ienari in 1825, and became ''daimyō'' on the retirement of his father-in-law in 1826. By the time of his tenure, the domain was very deeply in debt and was forced to borrow 2000 ''
ryō
The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the ''yen''.
Origins
The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Japan ...
'' at very high rates of interest. He served as ''Nikkō Bugyō'' in 1828 and 1836, and as ''Osaka kaban'' in 1829. He died in 1843. His wife was a daughter of
Hori Naoyasu of
Muramatsu Domain.
Yanagisawa Yasutaka
was 7th ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the eldest son of Yanagisawa Satoaki, and became ''daimyō'' on his father death in 1843. He was received in formal audience by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi in 1847. He served as ''Nikkō Bugyō'' in 1852. He died in 1856 at the age of 22. and as ''Osaka kaban'' in 1829. He died in 1843.
Yanagisawa Noritada
was 7th ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi. He was the eldest son of Yanagisawa Satoaki, and became ''daimyō'' on his father death in 1856. He departed Edo in 1868, becoming the first ''daimyō'' of Mikkaichi to actually visit his domain. With the start of 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 ...
, he quickly joined the imperial side and attached his forces to the army of
Prince Komatsu Akihito
was a Japanese career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who was a member of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the ''shinnōke'' branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Biography
Earl ...
. Under the
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 o ...
, he served as imperial governor until 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. He was subsequently 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 ''shishaku'' (
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 ...
). He died in 1936.
See also
List of Han
References
*''The content of this article was largely derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.''
*
External links
"Mikkaichi" at Edo 300
Notes
{{Authority control
Domains of Japan
History of Niigata Prefecture
Echigo Province
Yanagisawa clan
Shibata, Niigata