270px, Matsudaira Yoritoshi. pre-1903 270px, Takamatsu Castle Tsukimi Yagura 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

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

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 Takamatsu Castle, and was ruled throughout much of its history by a cadet branch of the '' Shinpan''

Matsudaira clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...

. Takamatsu 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 1587, after

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

's conquest of Shikoku, he assigned

Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, ...

to his general

Ikoma Chikamasa Ikoma Chikamasa (生駒親正, 1526 – March 25, 1603) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods around the turn of the 17th century. His father was Ikoma Chikashige. Chikamasa was appointed one of the san-''chūrō ...

with a ''

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 126,200 ''

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 ...

'' (later raised to 173,000 ''koku''). Chikamasa's son

Ikoma Kazumasa was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who lived into the early Edo period; he served the Oda clan, the Toyotomi, and then the Tokugawa. He was also the ''daimyō'' of the Takamatsu Domain. Kazumasa was the eldest son of Ikoma Chikamasa ...

sided with

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 Eastern Army in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

in 1600, so he was confirmed in his holdings with the establishment of the

. However, in 1640, during the tenure of

Ikoma Takatoshi was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who ruled the Takamatsu Domain. He was the son-in-law of Doi Toshikatsu. Takatoshi lost rulership of the Takamatsu domain due to an uprising within the fief. The shogunate attaindered his doma ...

, the fourth ''

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 ...

'', the clan was demoted to

Yashima Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yashima Jin'ya in the former town of Yashima, Akita, in what is now part of the city of Yurihonjō, Akita. History T ...

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 ...

due to the "Ikoma Disturbance". In 1642,

Matsudaira Yorishige was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who ruled the Takamatsu Domain. Yorishige was the first son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, and Tokugawa Mitsukuni was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, the first Tokugawa ''daimyō'' of Mito Domain ...

, the eldest son of

Tokugawa Yorifusa , also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Biography Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru (鶴千代丸), he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun with his concubine, Ka ...

, of

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Shimodate Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimodate Castle in what is now the city of Chikusei, Ibaraki. It was ruled for much ...

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

was transferred to Takamatsu Castle and given a fief of 120,000 ''koku'', in eastern Sanuki. It is said that Yorishige was given this position at the express request of his cousin,

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 Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

, with whom he was on very good terms. Although they were cousins, Yorishige was allowed free access to the Shogun's private chambers in

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 he was given the honor of being seated (along with the

Ii clan is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naomasa, ...

and the

Aizu Matsudaira clan is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princ ...

s closest to the shogun during official councils. This allowed him to be able to listen to the political reports of the chief minister, and although prohibited from giving publicly giving opinions or intervening in politics, made him a major political figure within the Tokugawa shogunate. The location of Takamatsu was of great strategic importance and allowed Matsudaira Yorishige to monitor the movements of the domains in the western part of Japan on behalf of the shogunate. Thus, although the Takamatsu-Matsudaira family was a cadet branch family of the Mito-Tokugawa family, but they were not in a position to receive instructions from the Mito Domain and were highly independent. However, the domains remained bound closely together.

Tokugawa Mitsukuni , also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the seco ...

, the second ''daimyō'' of Mito appointed Yorishige's second son as his heir, and sent his own son, Yoritsuna, to succeed Takamatsu Domain. This "exchange of heirs" took place several times over the domain's history, resulting in the last Shogun,

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

being a direct descendant of Matsudaira Yorishige. The Matsudaira rulers of Takamatsu placed great emphasis on land improvement through building reservoirs, and reclaiming land along the coastline to develop new rice fields and salt fields. They also diverted the flow of the Koto River, which used to run through the center of Takamatsu, to the west for irrigation purposes and improved the water supply for Takamatsu Castle. The domain also encouraged production of lacquerware and pottery as local industries. The

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' ...

, Kodokan, produced numerous scholarly figures in the Edo Period, including

Hiraga Gennai was a Japanese polymath and ''rōnin'' of the Edo period. Gennai was a Pharmacology, pharmacologist, student of ''Rangaku'', physician, author, painter and inventor well known for his ''Elekiter, Erekiteru'' (electrostatic generator), ''Kandan ...

. Many of the Matsudaira ''daimyō'' excelled in academics, poetry, and the

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

. Some gave lectures on

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...

to the shogun. The 5th ''daimyō'' Matsudaira Yoriyasu, had a

medicinal herb Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

garden (now Ritsurin Park) built in line with Shogun

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimune ...

's policy of encouraging research into domestic production of medicines and agricultural products. In addition, he developed the manufacturing technology for " Sanuki wasanbon" sugar, which is still one of Kagawa's specialty products. The ninth ''daimyō'', Matsudaira Yoritsugu, developed Japan's largest salt field on the beach of Sakaide. During the Edo period, the Takamatsu Domain was the largest producer of white sugar and salt in Japan. 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 ...

, Mito Domain came out strongly in support of the ''

Sonnō jōi was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sought ...

'' movement, placing it at odds with the shogunate and also politically with Takamatsu Domain. In addition the two domains were at odds during the succession issue over the successor to Shogun

Tokugawa Iesada was the 13th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He held office for five years from 1853 to 1858. He was physically weak and was therefore considered by later historians to have been unfit to be ''shōgun''. His reign marks the begin ...

, and the bad relations between Takamatsu and Mito continued for over a hundred years to 1974 when the two cities officially reconciled. During the

Battle of Toba-Fushimi A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

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 ...

, Takamatsu Domain supported the shogunate and was initially labelled an "enemy of the court". A punitive force led by

Tosa Domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by t ...

and supported by

Marugame is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,541 in 46101 households and a population density of 970 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Marugame is located in north-ce ...

and

Tadotsu Domain 270px, Shorinji Kempo head dōjō is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 22,124 in 10365 households and a population density of 270 persons per km². The total area of the t ...

s was sent attack Takamatsu, but

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima C ...

was reluctant and encouraged Takamatsu to defect. As a result, Matsudaira Yoritsuna was forced to retire and was placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

in Edo and two chief ''

karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anoth ...

'', Oga Mataemon and Obu Hyōgo, were ordered to commit ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'', and the domain ordered to pay 120,000 ''

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 Japan ...

'' to 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 ...

. However, there was much anti-government sentiment in the domain, and in 1871 with the

, the domain's territory was initially merged with Tokushima and Ehime Prefectures, only becoming part of Kagawa Prefecture on December 3, 1888. Matsudaira Yoritoshi, the final ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu was later granted 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 Count (''hakushaku'')

List of daimyō

Simplified family tree (Mito-Tokugawa)

, 1st Tokugawa shōgun (1543–1616; r. 1603–1605) ** Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st ''daimyō'' of Mito (1603–1661) *** I. Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (cr. 1642) (1622–1695; ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu: 1642–1673) ****Yoritoshi (1661–1687) ***** III. Yoritoyo, 3rd ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1680–1735; r. 1704–1735) ****** Tokugawa Munetaka, 4th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1705–1730) ******* Tokugawa Munemoto, 5th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1728–1766) ******** Tokugawa Harumori, 6th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1751–1805) ********* Tokugawa Harutoshi, 7th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1773–1816) ********** IX. Matsudaira Yorihiro, 9th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1798–1842; r. 1821–1842) *********** XI. Yoritoshi, 11th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu, 11th family head, 1st Count (1834–1903; ''daimyō'': 1861–1869; Governor: 1869–1871; family head: 1861–1903; Count: cr. 1884) ************Yorinaga, 12th family head, 2nd Count (1874–1944; 12th family head and 2nd Count: 1903–1944) ************ Captain Yutaka IJN (1879–1945) *************Yoriaki, 13th family head, 3rd Count (1909–1990; 13th family head: 1944–1990; 3rd Count: 1944–1947) **************Yoritake, 14th family head (born 1938; 14th family head: 1990–present) *************** Yoriosa (born 1963) **** Yoriyoshi (1667–1706) ***** Yorihiro, 1st head of the Daizen branch (1700–1737) ****** IV. Yoritake, 4th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1720–1739; r. 1735–1739) ***Tokugawa Mitsukuni, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Mito (1628–1701) **** II. Matsudaira Yoritsune, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1652–1704; r. 1673–1704) *** Matsudaira Yorimoto, 1st ''daimyō'' of Nukada (1629–1693) **** Yorisada, 1st ''daimyō'' of Moriyama (1664–1744) ***** V. Yoritaka, 5th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1711–1771; r. 1739–1771) ****** VI. Yorizane, 6th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1743–1780; r. 1771–1780) ******* VIII. Yorinori, 8th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1775–1829; r. 1792–1821) ******** X. Yoritane, 10th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1811–1877; r. 1842–1861) ****** VII. Yorioki, 7th ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1747–1792; r. 1780–1792)

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 ...

, Takamatsu 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
*

**48 villages in Kagawa District **34 villages in Ouchi District **33 villages in Yamada District **20 villages in Miki District **36 villages in Aya District **18 villages in Naka District **29 villages in Utari District

References

{{Authority control Domains of Japan History of Kagawa Prefecture Sanuki Province Shikoku region Matsudaira clan 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871

History

List of daimyō

Simplified family tree (Mito-Tokugawa)

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

See also

References