Utsunomiya Domain

was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimotsuke Province (modern-day Tochigi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Utsunomiya Castle in what is now part of the city of Utsunomiya. Utsunomiya was ruled by numerous daimyō clans during its history.

History

Utsunomiya has been ruled by the Utsunomiya clan, one of the eight major samurai bands of the northern Kantō region and a cadet branch of the Fujiwara clan since the Kamakura period. For assisting Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590 Battle of Odawara, Utsunomiya Kunitsuna had been confirmed as a 187,613 ''koku'' ''daimyō''. However, in 1597 the Utsunomiya were stripped of their holdings when Hideyoshi's spies revealed that their actual income was more than double what he had authorized. The area then briefly came under the Gamō clan of Aizu, but after the Battle of Sekigahara and the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu regarded the location as strategically important due to its position at the junction of the Ōshū Kaidō and the Nikkō Kaidō.

The 100,000 ''koku'' Utsunomiya Domain was created for Okudaira Iemasa, the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu via his eldest daughter Kame-hime. His creation came as somewhat of a surprise, as he had until this point been largely ignored by Ieyasu and had no domain or even a base of retainers to assist him. However, at the time of the Osaka Campaign Iemasa fell ill, and was ordered to remain behind at Edo Castle, where he died a few days later. His son, Okudaira Tadamasa was confirmed as daimyō, but was only seven years old, and it was decided that Utsunomiya was too important to be left in his hands. He was given an increase to 110,000 ''koku'' and transferred to Koga Domain in Shimōsa.

To replace the Okudaira, the Shogunate turned to the trusted Honda clan, moving Honda Masazumi from Oyama Domain in 1617 and increasing the holdings of Utsunomiya to 155,000 ''koku''. He largely rebuilt the Utsunomiya Castle and the surrounding castle town, and successfully hosted ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada on his way to worship at the Nikkō Tōshō-gū in 1622. However, Hidetada bypassed Utsunomiya on his way back to Edo, and Masazumi was soon relieved of office and exiled to Kubota Domain under house arrest. The reason given was that the Shogun’s investigators had uncovered a plot to assassinate Hidetada using a trap room with a falling ceiling (i.e. The “Utsunomiya Castle Hanging Ceiling Incident”).

The domain was then returned to Okudaira Tadamasa and reduced back to 110,000 ''koku''. Tadamasa ruled Utsunomiya for the next 46 years until his death in 1668, hosting the shogunal entourage on several occasions. However, on his death, one of his senior retainers, Sugiura Ezaemon, committed ''junshi,'' which had been outlawed by the shogunate five years previously. Also, a few days after this, a retainer of the domain was involved in the “Utsunomiya Kozen-ji Duel”, whereas dueling was also prohibited. Oukdaira Tadamasa’s son Masayoshi was reduced by 20,000 ''koku'' and transferred to Yamagata Domain.

Utsunomiya was then given to Matsudaira Tadahiro, and the domain increased to 150,000 ''koku''. Tadahiro’s father was Okudaira Tadamasa’s brother by the same mother. He was transferred to Shirakawa Domain in Mutsu 13 years later in 1681.

The domain then returned to the Honda clan in the form of Honda Tadahira, who had traded places from Shirakawa with Matsudaira Tadahiro. However, his rule proved very unpopular and he had difficulty in securing the cooperation of his subjects in taxes. He was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama in 1685.

The domain was reduced further to 90,000 ''koku'', and Okudaira Masayoshi’s son, Okudaira Masaakira was permitted to return from Yamagata to Utsunomiya. He is noted for establishing a medical system with 20 doctors in Utsunomiya to treat travelers. He died in 1695 at the age of 28, and as his son Masashige was only two years old, he was transferred to Fukuyama Domain in Bungo Province">Bungo.

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