was the 11th (and final) '' daimyō'' of Shinjō Domain in Dewa Province,

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 Yamagata Prefecture), under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He received the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of '' Kazusa-no-suke'' which was later rated to ''Nakatsukasa-daiyū'' and Court rank of Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.

Biography

Tozawa Masazane was the eldest son of Tozawa Masayoshi and became ''daimyō'' on his father's death in 1843. As he was still in his minority, his retired grandfather Tozawa Masatsugu initially ruled as regent in his stead. In 1846, assisted by the domain's '' karō'' Yoshitaka Kageyu, he initiated a number of political and economic reforms. 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 ...

of the Meiji Restoration, Shinjō Domain was initially in favor of the Satchō Alliance, but later became a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. However, after Kubota Domain switched sides to favor the Meiji government, Shinjō Domain soon followed. Neighboring Shōnai Domain, outraged by the betrayal, sent its army to invade Shinjō Domain, and after a fierce battle, destroyed

Shinjō Castle is a Japanese castle located in Shinjō, northern Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Throughout most of the Edo period, Shinjō Castle was home to the Tozawa clan, ''daimyō'' of Shinjō Domain. The castle was also known as or . History Tozawa Mas ...

and much of the surrounding castle town. Masazane escaped to Kubota Castle, where he remained in exile for 70 days until his domain was liberated by forces loyal to the new Meiji government. On June 2, 1869, the new government awarded Shinjō Domain with an increase in revenues of 15,000 ''koku''. However, later the same month, the government issued a decree abolishing the domain system and Masazane was appointed imperial governor of Shinjō. The former domain was absorbed into Yamagata Prefecture in July 1871 he relocated to Tokyo. In 1884, he became a viscount (''shishaku'') under the new '' kazoku'' peerage system. He died in 1896.

References

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tozawa, Masazane 1833 births 1896 deaths Tozawa clan Tozama daimyo People of Edo-period Japan People of the Boshin War Kazoku

Biography

See also

References

Footnotes