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 ...

was the 13th and 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

Kashima Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Saga Prefecture.

in Hizen Province,

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

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 ...

(modern-day

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

). Before 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 ...

, his courtesy title was '' Bizen no Kami.'' He became a politician in the

Meiji era 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 b ...

, and served as the first governor of

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

Biography

Born in the Kashima Domain in Hizen Province, Naoyoshi was the 3rd son of the 10th ''daimyō'' of Kashima, . In 1848, the 13th ''daimyō'' of Kashima, , went into forced retirement under strong pressure from Nabeshima Naomasa due to fiscal mismanagement, and the title went to Naoyoshi. During the early part of his administration, Kashima's financial affairs were so dire that they came to be entirely handled by the main Saga Domain, and in 1851 Naoyoshi even proposed that the domain be abolished and absorbed into Saga. He was opposed by the other branches of the Nabeshima clan (i.e.

Hasunoike Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Saga Prefecture.

and Ogi Domain. In 1853, Kashima Domain had a further financial burden imposed when 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 ...

assigned it responsibility for security during the visit of Russian diplomat Yevfimy Putyatin to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

as part of Russia’s efforts to end Japan's national isolation policy and to establish commercial and diplomatic relations. From 1860, Naoyoshi began secret discussions with representatives of the Imperial court and became a supporter of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa regime. In 1866 he protected

Soejima Taneomi Count was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan. Life and career Soejima was born into a ''samurai'' family in Saga, in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture). His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a schol ...

, who was being hunted by the Shogunate. In 1868, 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 pledged Kashima domain in support of the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satchō'' () is an ...

and

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

. In June 1869, the title of ''daimyō'' was abolished, and Naoyoshi was appointed domain governor. However, in 1871, Kashima Domain itself was abolished 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) ...

, and became part of the new

. Naoyoshi subsequently relocated to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. From August 1872 to 1876, Naoyoshi traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On his return, he served as an advisor to Emperor Meiji, and traveled in the retinue of the Emperor to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

in 1877, during the Satsuma Rebellion. From 1878, he was appointed an official tutor to the Emperor under the

Imperial Household Ministry The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it wa ...

. Following the 1879 abolition of the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English language, English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' wa ...

and its annexation by Japan as

, Naoyoshi was appointed the prefecture's first governor, arriving there aboard the ''Tokai-maru'' on May 18, 1879.Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003. p383. Under his administration, the national public education system began to be implemented in Okinawa, with a particular focus on teaching the standard

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...

, which very few in the islands could speak at that time. Many schools were established during the period of Naoyoshi's administration, and the prefecture's economic production was increased, particularly in the area of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

production. In 1881, Naoyoshi was recalled to Tokyo, and became president of the '' Genrōin''. With the establishment of 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, he became a , and a member of the House of Peers on the establishment of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

in 1890. In his later years he helped build hospitals and schools in the region of Kashima, which he had once ruled, and was awarded Second Court rank shortly before his death in 1915.

References

* ''The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.'' * Jurita, Shunjiro (1884). ''Who's who in Japan''. (Tokyo:n.p.), p. 391. * "Nabeshima Naoyoshi." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History). Naha: Okinawa Bunkasha, 2002. p58. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabeshima, Naoyoshi 1844 births 1915 deaths Kazoku Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Nabeshima clan People of Meiji-period Japan Tozama daimyo Governors of Okinawa Prefecture