250px, Matsudaira Nobumasa, final ''daimyō'' of Tanba-Kameyama 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, located in

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system ...

in what is now the west-central portion of modern-day Kyoto Prefecture. It was centered initially around

Kameyama Castle {{nihongo, Kameyama Castle, 亀山城, Kameyama-jō is the name of many castles in Japan. * Kameyama Castle (Aichi) in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture (formerly Mikawa Province) * Kameyama Castle (Mie) in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture (formerly Ise Prov ...

in what is now the city of

Kameoka, Kyoto is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 87,518 in 29,676 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kameoka abuts Kyoto to the east and is loca ...

. It is referred to as "Tanba-Kameyama Domain" to disambiguate it from

Ise-Kameyama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province in what is part of now modern-day Kameyama, Mie. It was centered around Ise-Kameyama Castle. Ise-Kameyama Domain was controlled by ''fudai daimyō'' ...

History

The Kameoka area is located about 20 kilometers to the west of Kyoto, to which it is connected by the Kizugawa River. The area has long been regarded as the western gateway to Kyoto and was of strategic importance in protecting it from approach from both the

San'in region The is an area in the southwest of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the northern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Sea of Japan. Etymology The name San'in in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The ...

and San'yo regions of western Japan. Recognizing the importance of this location,

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

's vassal

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

constructed a castle from which he conquered

. It was from this castle that he later set out in 1582 to assassinate Nobunaga at the

Honnō-ji Incident The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his ...

. After Akechi Mitsuhide's defeat by

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 ...

, the castle was held by a number of members of the Toyotomi clan or various generals, who changed in rapid succession, including

Maeda Gen'i was a Buddhist priest from Mt. Hiei, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's '' Go-Bugyō'', along with Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori and Natsuka Masaie. He entered the service of Oda Nobunaga some ...

, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's '' Go-Bugyō''. Maeda joined the Western army at 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 ...

, but although he was on the losing side,

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 ...

confirmed him as ''

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 the 50,000 ''

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 ...

'' Kameyama Domain under the

. His adopted son, Maeda Shigekatsu was transferred to Yakami Domain in 1609. The domain then passed through a large number of fudai clans in its history, most of whom stayed for only one or two generations. In 1609, Okabe Nagamori was transferred from

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

as a measure against

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Layout The main tower ...

. The

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

was completed, and Kameyama Castle was rebuilt with the assistance of various western ''daimyō'' as a gesture of fealty to the Tokugawa. The Okabe were transferred to

Fukuchiyama Domain 250px, Kutsuki Moritsuna, final ''daimyō'' of Fukuchiyama was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tanba Province in what is now the west-central portion of modern-day Kyoto Prefecture. It was centere ...

in 1621. Later that same year, Matsudaira Narishige of the Ogyu-Matsudaira was transferred from

Nishio Domain was a feudal domain of the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in former Mikawa Province, in what is now the modern-day city of Nishio in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was centered on Nishio Castle. History When Tokugawa Ieyasu be ...

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

. His son, Matsudaira Tadaaki, was transferred to

Bungo Province was a province of Japan in eastern Kyūshū in the area of Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, Hyūga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces. History At the end of the 7th century, Toyo ...

in 1634. The Matsudaira were replaced by Suganuma Sadayoshi of

Zeze Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in southern Ōmi Province, in the Kansai region of central Honshu. The domain was centered at Zeze Castle, located on the shore of Lake Biwa in wha ...

. On the death of his son Suganuma Sadaakiara without heir in 1647, the domain passed to Matsudaira Sadaharu of the Fujii-Matsudaira, formerly of

Kakegawa Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The domain was centered at Kakegawa Castle in Tōtōmi Province, in what is now the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka.

. The clan ruled to 1686, when they were transferred to

Iwatsuki Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Iwatsuki Castle in what is now part of Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama. History Iwatsuki was an importa ...

. The domain was then ruled from 1686-1697 by Kuze Shigeyuki, formerly of

Niwase Domain The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bitchū Province in modern-day Okayama Prefecture.Yoshida Domain was a Japanese feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Mikawa Province located in eastern Mikawa Province (modern-day eastern Aichi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yoshida Castle in what is now the cit ...

, Inoue Masamune of

Gujō Domain reconstructed ''tenshu'' of Gujō-Hachiman Castle was a '' fudai'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was located in northern Mino Province and southern Echizen Province, in central Honshū. The domain was centered at Gujō Hachiman Castle, lo ...

ruled briefly to his transfer to

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 of ...

in 1702. The Aoyama clan then ruled to 1748, with

Aoyama Tadashige was a ''daimyō'' during mid-Edo period Japan. Biography Aoyama Tadashige was the third son of Aoyama Munetoshi, the daimyō of Komoro Domain and was born in Komoro, Shinano Province. On August 5, 1683, he was adopted by his sickly elder brothe ...

coming from

Hamamatsu Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu was the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu for much of his ea ...

, and his grandson Aoyama Tadatomo going to

Sasayama Domain 250px, Aoyama Tadayuki, final ''daimyō'' of Sasayama was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tanba Province in what is now the west-central portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered ini ...

. Following the Aoyama, the domain came under the rule of the Katanobara-Matsudaira clan, who would continue to rule for the remainder of the Edo Period. This brought a period of political stability to the domain. The 7th ''daimyō'', Matsudaira Nobuyoshi served as ''

Jisha-bugyō was a "commissioner" or an "overseer" of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always ''fudai daimyōs'', the lowest-ranking of the shogunate offices to be so restricted.Beasley, William G. (1955) ...

'', ''

Osaka jōdai were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Those appointmented to this prominent office were exclusively ''fudai daimyōs''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 326. Conven ...

'' and ''

rōjū The , usually translated as '' Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''sh� ...

'' during the tumultuous

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 ...

,and narrowly escaped assassination for his role as

Ii Naosuke was ''daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Ha ...

's assistant in the

Ansei Purge was a multi-year event in Japanese history of the Edo period between 1858 and 1860, during which the Tokugawa shogunate imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge was undertaken by ...

. He was one of the Japanese negotiators in the

Anglo-Satsuma War The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , was a military engagement fought between Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were attempting to extract compensation and legal justice from ''daimyo ...

. His successor, Matsudaira Nobumasa reversed the domain's position, and quickly joined the imperial side 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 ...

. On July 27, 1869 the domain's name was officially changed to "Kameoka Domain" to avoid confusion with

. In 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) ...

, Kameoka briefly became "Kameoka Prefecture", which was merged with Kyoto Prefecture a few months later.

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 ...

, Tanba-Kameyama 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
*

**58 villages in Kuwada District **39 villages in Funai District *

Bitchū Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan on the Seto Inland Sea, Inland Sea side of western Honshū, in what is today western Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bizen Province, Bizen and Bingo Province, Bingo Provinces; those t ...

** 7 villages in Asakuchi District

List of daimyō

References

{{Domains of Kinki Domains of Japan 1600 establishments in Japan States and territories established in 1600 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871 Tanba Province History of Kyoto Prefecture Fujii-Matsudaira clan Matsudaira clan

History

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

List of daimyō

See also

Further reading

References