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 ...

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, located in

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

(modern-day

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

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 was centered on Tsuruoka Castle in what is now the city of

Tsuruoka is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in Tōhoku region ...

, and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its history by the

Sakai clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata (Nitta) Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common ancestor of both the Sakai ...

, which resulted in an unusually stable and prosperous domain. During their rule over Shōnai, the Sakai clan was ranked as a family, and as such, had the privilege of shogunal audiences in the Great Hall (''Ohiroma'') 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 ...

. 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 ...

of 1868–69, the domain joined the ''

Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...

'', the alliance of northern domains supporting 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 ...

, but then later defected to the imperial side. As with all other domains, it was

disbanded The fifth season of the American television series ''Arrow'' premiered on The CW on October 5, 2016, and concluded on May 24, 2017, with a total of 23 episodes. The series is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter ...

in 1871.

History

The Sakai rose to prominence with

Sakai Tadatsugu was one of the most favored and most successful military commanders serving Tokugawa Ieyasu in the late-Sengoku period. He is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa (''Tokugawa-Shitennō''). along with Honda Tadakatsu, Ii Nao ...

, who was one of

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 ...

's Shitennō, or four leading generals and the ''

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

Matsushiro Domain 300px, Matsushiro Castle Part of the Matsushiro domain's Edo estate, relocated to Kamakura and used as a hall at Ryuko-ji Temple was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Hons ...

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. After the death of

Mogami Yoshiaki was a ''daimyō'' of the Yamagata Domain in Dewa Province, in the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. Known as "Fox of Dewa". Biography Mogami Yoshiaki was the first son of Mogami Yoshimori ( 最上義守), of the Mogami clan and succeeded h ...

many internal struggles for control of the

Mogami clan were Japanese '' daimyōs'', and were a branch of the Ashikaga family. In the Sengoku period, they were the Sengoku ''daimyōs'' who ruled Dewa Province which is now Yamagata Prefecture and part of Akita Prefecture. The Mogami clan is deriv ...

, the former rulers of Dewa Province, arouse and caused their vast domain to be divided into several parts. Sakai Tadatsugu was awarded the coastal region consisting of Tagawa, Akumi and Murayama districts, which increased his ''

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 ...

'' from 38,000 ''

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 ...

'' to 138,000 ''koku'', and then to 150,000 ''koku''. However, the lands of the Shōnai region were fertile and well-watered, and eminently suited for growing rice, which gave the Sakai clan actual revenues of more than 200,000 ''koku''. This revenue was further supplemented by the developed of Sakata port for the coastal ''

kitamaebune The was a shipping route (and also the ships involved) in Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji era. The route went from Osaka through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to ports in Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan and later to Hokkaidō. ...

'' trade, which gave the clan an actual income of closer to 300,000 ''koku''. In 1805, the domain academy, the Chidōkan was established by the 7th ''

'', Sakai Tadaari. The domain faced a severe crisis during the time of the 9th ''daimyō'', Sakai Tadakata, when it came to the attention of ''

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 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 ...

that the domain's revenues had been understated by some 200,000 ''koku'' for many decades. Ienari decided to relocate the Sakai clan to

Nagaoka Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Nagaoka Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture ...

(74,000 ''koku'') and to move the Makino clan from Nagaoka to

Kawagoe Domain Kawagoe Castle daimyō residence, administrative headquarters of Kawagoe Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Musashi Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Kawagoe Castle, locate ...

(150,000 ''koku''). Matsudaira Narisasa of in Kawagoe (who happened to be Ienari's son) would then be given Shōnai. The proposal sparked tremendous outrage in Shōnai domain, and a large number of commoners, merchants, samurai and officials descended upon Edo in 1840 to file protests and petitions in what came to be known as the . The move was cancelled by the timely deaths of both Ienari and his son Matsudaira Narisada within weeks of each other in 1841 and Shōnai was "punished" by being assigned various public works projects. 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 ...

, Shōnai was assigned the task of building fortifications and providing increased security for Edo from the incursions of foreign ships, and had its official income increased to 167,000 ''koku'' in 1864. In January 1868, samurai from Shōnai domain joined with Kaminoyama Domain in an attack on the

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

residence in Edo – which marks the start of the

. Shōnai was initially a strong supporter of the

, an alliance of northern domains against the forces of the western-based Satsuma-Chōshu Alliance attempting to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. However, Shōnai (along with the other military leader in the region,

Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...

) did not sign initially sign the treaty forming the Alliance and only became an official member in early 1868. Shōnai was regarded with caution by the Satchō Alliance, as it had deep financial resources, and had rearmed with modern weapons supplied by the Schnell brothers. However, after the defection of

Kubota Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its his ...

to the imperial side, and the defeat of the Northern Alliance at the

Battle of Hokuetsu The was a battle of the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, which occurred in 1868 in the northwestern part of Japan, in the area of modern Niigata Prefecture. Background The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favourable to the resto ...

and the Battle of Aizu, Shōnai Domain surrendered without a fight in December. Sakai Tadazumi turned the domain over to his son, Sakai Tadamichi and the domain was reduced to 120,000 ''koku''. However, in June 1869, the Sakai were ordered to relocate to

Iwakitaira Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan.,Jansen, Marius B. (1994)''Sakamoto Ryōma and the Meiji Restoration,'' p. 401 based at Iwakitaira Castle in southern Mutsu Province in what is now part of modern-day Iwaki, F ...

. This move was strongly protested by the people of the domain, who raised 300,000 ''

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 Jap ...

'' as payment to the Meiji government, and obtained the support of

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

to have the order rescinded. In 1870, the domain name was changed to . The domain was abolished together with all of the domains 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, becoming Sakata Prefecture and Tsuruoka Prefecture, which then merged into Yamagata Prefecture. The Sakai clan was ennobled in 1885, becoming ''hakushaku'' (counts) in 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.

List of daimyō

(''fudai'') 1622–1871

Genealogy (simplified)

I. Sakai Tadakatsu, 1st ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (cr. 1622) (1594–1647; ''daimyō'': 1622–1647) ** Simple silver crown

II. Tadamasa, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1617–1660; r. 1647–1660) *** Simple silver crown

III. Tadayoshi, 3rd ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1644–1681; r. 1660–1681) **** Simple silver crown

IV. Tadazane, 4th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1671–1731; r. 1682–1731) ** Tadatsune, 1st ''daimyō'' of Dewa-Matsuyama (1639–1675) *** Tadayasu, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Dewa-Matsuyama (1657–1736) **** Simple silver crown

V. Tadayori, 5th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1704–1766; r. 1731–1766) ***** Simple silver crown

VI. Tadaatsu, 6th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1732–1767; r. 1766–1767) ****** Simple silver crown

VII. Tadaari, 7th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1755–1812; r. 1767–1805) ******* Simple silver crown

VIII. Tadakata, 8th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1790–1854; r. 1805–1842) ******** Simple silver crown

IX. Tadaaki, 9th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1812–1876; r. 1842–1861) ********* Simple silver crown

XI. Tadazumi, 11th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka), 17th and 19th family head, 1st Count (1853–1915; ''daimyō'': 1862–1868; 17th family head: 1862–1868; 19th family head: 1880–1915; Count: cr. 1884) ********** Tadanaga, 20th family head, 2nd Count (1888–1962; 20th family head: 1915–1962; 2nd Count: 1915–1947) *********** Tadaakira, 21st family head (1917–2004; 21st family head: 1962–2004) ************ Tadahisa, 22nd family head (born 1946; 22nd family head: 2004–present) ************* Tadamasa (born 1974) ********* Simple silver crown

XII. Tadamichi, 12th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka), 18th family head (1856–1921; ''daimyō'': 1868–1869; Governor: 1869–1871; 18th family head: 1871–1880) ******** Simple silver crown

X. Tadatomo, 10th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai (Tsuruoka) (1839–1862; r. 1861–1862) Genealogy (jp)
/ref>

Bakumatsu period holdings

( Uzen) ** 399 villages in Tagawa District **249 villages in Akumi District *

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

(Ishikari) **1 trading post in Hamamasu District *

(Teshio) **1 trading post in Teshio District **1 trading post in Nakagawa District **1 trading post in Kawakami District **1 trading post in Rumoi District **1 trading post in Tomamae District

Subsidiary domains

Dewa-Matsuyama Domain

was founded in 1647 for Sakai Tadatsune, the third son of Sakai Tadakatsu, who was assigned 20,000 ''koku'' of new rice lands in Akumi District. The third ''daimyō'', Sakai Tadayoshi served as ''

wakadoshiyori The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in the Edo period Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' we ...

'', and was awarded an additional 5000 ''koku'' in

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...

. He also built the Dewa-Matsuyama Castle, from which his successors continued to rule 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 ...

. During the

, the domain sided with the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, for which it was punished by the Meiji government with the loss of 2500 ''koku''. It was renamed in 1869, and was abolished with all the other domains in 1871. The final ''daimyō'', Sakai Tadamasa subsequently received the ''kazoku'' 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 ...

). *

(''fudai'') 1647–1871

Bakumatsu-period holdings

( Uzen) ** 62 villages in Murayama District ** 10 villages in Tagawa District ** 44 villages in Akumi District *

** 6 villages in Seta District

Ōyama Domain

was founded in 1647 for Sakai Tadatoki, the seventh son of Sakai Tadakatsu, who was assigned 10,000 ''koku'' of new rice lands in Tagawa District. It reverted to the parent domain on his death in 1668 without an heir.

Notes

References

* Onodera, Eikō (2005). ''Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken''. Sendai: Kita no mori. *

External links

"Tsuruoka-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008) {{Authority control Domains of Japan States and territories established in 1622 1622 establishments in Japan 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871 Dewa Province History of Yamagata Prefecture Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei