, also called the Tsushima domain, was a domain of Japan in the

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 characte ...

. It is associated with Tsushima Province on

Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 by ...

in modern-day

Nagasaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast. N ...

. In the

han system ( ja, 藩, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan En ...

, Tsushima was a

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

abstraction 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. In other words, the domain was defined in terms of '' kokudaka'', not land area. This was different from the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

of the West.

History

The Sō clan was one of few ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' clans during the Edo period which continued to control the same fiefs it controlled previously. Although it fought against

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 fello ...

at the battle of Sekigahara, the Sō clan was allowed by the shogunate to continue to rule Tsushima and entrusted it to diplomatic negotiations and trade with Joseon Korea. Its services included receptions of Korean missions to Japan. The Fuchū domain sold imports and bought exports in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. It negotiated trade and diplomacy with the Nagasaki Commissioner in

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

. It had an office (''

waegwan Waegwan is the seat of government for Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang province, South Korea. It consists primarily of the administrative district of Waegwan- eup. It is situated on both sides of the Nakdong River, which is traversed by railroad, a ...

'') in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

where daily trade and diplomatic service were conducted. The Fuchū domain was given the status of a 100,000 '' koku''-class ''han'' although its real production was below 30,000 ''koku'', on account of its important diplomatic status, and economic wealth as a result of trade with Korea. In the late 17th century, it prospered in Korean trade and with silver mines, but from the 18th century, it suffered from trade depression and depletion of silver ores. Its economic reforms and the shogunate's constant aid did not improve its finances. Increasing threats of Western imperial powers weighed heavily on the Fuchū domain. In 1861, a Russian naval ship occupied a port of Tsushima. What was worse for Tsushima was a growing internal conflict between pro- and anti-shogunate retainers. In 1862, it concluded an alliance with the Chōshū Domain, which was one of the prominent leaders of the '' Sonnō-jōi'' movement. But the anti-shogunate faction was purged in 1864. The loss of human resources prevented Tsushima from playing a significant role at 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 ...

. The last ''daimyō'' of Tsushima, Sō Shigemasa (Yoshiaki) became Governor of Izuhara Prefecture in 1869 and after the Abolition of the han system was given the title of Count ('' hakushaku'') in 1884. The diplomatic service with Korea was taken over by the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

List of ''daimyōs''

The hereditary ''

s'' were head of the Sō clan and head of the domain. So clan mon2

Sō clan, 1587–1868 ( Tozama; 100,000 '' koku'') # Sō Yoshitoshi # Sō Yoshinari # Sō Yoshizane # Sō Yoshitsugu (Yoshitomo) # Sō Yoshimichi # Sō Yoshinobu # Sō Michihiro # Sō Yoshiaki #

Sō Yoshishige Sō, So or Sou (written: 宗 or 宋) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Takeshi * (born 1953), Japanese long-distance runner, twin brother of Shigeru * (1715 ...

(Yoshiari) # Sō Yoshinaga # Sō Yoshikatsu The first Yoshikatsu died at a very young age and his younger brother was substituted for him with the acquiescence of the shogunate. # Sō Yoshikatsu # Sō Yoshikata # Sō Yoshiaya #

Sō Yoshiyori was a Sō clan ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the island domain of Tsushima at the end of Japan's Edo period. Yoshinori was the head of the Sō clan from 1842 through 1862. Black ships Sō ''Tsushima-no-kami'' was a senior member of the Imperia ...

# Sō Yoshiaki (Yoshiakira), later renamed Shigemasa

Genealogy (simplified)

* I. Sō Yoshitoshi, 1st Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (cr. 1588) (1568–1615; r. 1588–1615) ** II. Yoshinari, 2nd Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1604–1657; r. 1615–1657) *** III. Yoshizane, 3rd Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1639-1702; r. 1657–1692) **** IV. Yoshitsugu, 4th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1671–1694; r. 1692–1694) **** V. Yoshimichi, 5th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1684–1718; r. 1694–1718) **** VI. Yoshinobu, 6th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1692–1730; r. 1718–1730) ***** VIII. Yoshiaki, 8th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1716–1752; r. 1732–1752) ****** X. Yoshinaga, 10th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1741–1778; r. 1762–1778) ******* XI. Yoshikatsu I, 11th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1771–1785; r. 1778–1785) ******* XII. Yoshikatsu II (Isaburō), 12th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1773–1813; r. 1785–1812) ******** XIII. Yoshikata, 13th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1800–1838; r. 1812–1838) ********* XIV. Yoshiaya, 14th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1818–1842; r. 1838–1842) ********* XV. Yoshiyori, 15th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1818–1890; r. 1842–1862; 34th family head: 1862–1890) ********** XVI. Yoshiakira (Shigemasa), 16th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū, 1st Count (1847–1902; Lord: 1862–1868; Governor: 1869–1871; 35th family head: 1890–1902; Count: 1884) *********** Shigemochi, 2nd Count, 36th family head (1867–1923; 36th family head and 2nd Count: 1902–1923) ********** Kuroda Kazushi, 1st Viscount (1851–1917; adopted into the Kuroda family; Viscount: 1884) *********** Takeyuki, 3rd Count, 37th family head (1908–1985; 37th family head and 3rd Count: 1923–1947; 37th family head: 1947–1985) ************ Tatsuhito, 38th family head (b. 1956; 38th family head: 1985–present) ***** IX. Yoshishige, 9th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1717–1775; r. 1752–1762) **** VII. Michihiro, 7th Lord of Tsushima-Fuchū (1696–1760; r. 1731–1732) Genealogy (jp)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsushima-Fuchu Domain Domains of Japan Kyushu region

History

List of ''daimyōs''

Genealogy (simplified)

See also

References