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 ...
in
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
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 ...
(modern-day
Yamagata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...
),
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 ...
. It was centered at
Yonezawa castle
is a flatland-style Japanese castle located in the center of the city of Yonezawa, southern Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Yonezawa Castle was home to the Uesugi clan, ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa Domain.
History
The first ...
in what is now the city of
Yamagata, and its territory extended over the Okitama District of
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 ...
, in what is today southeastern
Yamagata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...
. It was ruled throughout its history by the
Uesugi clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
, as ''
tozama daimyō'', with an initial income of 300,000 ''
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 ...
'', which later fell to 150,000–180,000. The Uesugi were ranked as a , and as such, had the privilege of
shogunal audiences in the Great Hall (''Ōhiroma'') of
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 ...
.
["Yonezawa-han"](_blank)
/ref>
The domain shifted from a poor, indebted, and corruptly led domain to a very prosperous one in only a few decades in the 1760s–80s. Yonezawa was declared in 1830 by the shogunate to be the paragon of a well-managed domain. Scholar Mark Ravina
Mark Ravina (born 1961) is a scholar of early modern ( Tokugawa) Japanese history and Japanese Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has taught since 2019. He currently holds the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Chair in Japanese Studi ...
used Yonezawa as a case study in analysing the political status and conceptions of statehood and identity in the feudal domains of the Edo period (1603–1868).
History
The region which later became Yonezawa Domain was held by the Date clan
The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5.
History
The Date family was founded ...
for much of the Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, from 1548 to 1591, when 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 ...
came to power and declared the Date move to Iwadeyama in Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture.
Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...
. The Gamō clan
The was a Japanese clan prominent during the Sengoku Period which claimed descent from the Fujiwara clan.
Gamō clan heads (before taking Gamō name)
# Fujiwara no Hidesato
# Fujiwara Chitsuji
# Fujiwara Senkiyo
# Fujiwara Yorikiyo
# Fujiwara ...
were given Aizu
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 princip ...
to govern under the Uesugi, and ''Tairō
''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing ''rōjū'' council in the event of an e ...
'' Uesugi Kagekatsu
was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law.
Early life and rise
Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao c ...
gave his ''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 ...
'' (advisor) Naoe Kanetsugu
was a Japanese samurai of the 16th–17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi ''daimyōs''. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami (山城守) or h ...
a 300,000 ''koku'' income.
In 1600, however, the Uesugi opposed 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 ...
in the Sekigahara Campaign
The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked ...
, and lost, becoming ''tozama daimyō'' (outsider lords) under the new shogunate. Their income and territory worth 1,200,000 ''koku'' was reduced to 300,000, and they were forced to leave their holdings in Aizu, and were allowed to keep only Yonezawa, which they recovered from Naoe Kanetsugu. Their new domain thus consisted of 180,000 ''koku'' in Dewa Province, and 120,000 ''koku'' in neighboring Mutsu province. This 300,000 ''koku'' territory would represent the peak of the Uesugi clan's income during the Tokugawa period.
As with most of the ''han'', Yonezawa acted as a semi-independent state, ruled directly by its ''daimyō''. The Uesugi demanded respect for the shogunate from their retainers, and forbade public criticism, but only imposed and enforced those edicts and policies set by the central authorities which they chose to. Retainers were ordered to obey shogunal laws while outside the domain, but within it, shogunal orders did not apply unless conveyed by the ''daimyō''.
In 1664, the third ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa, Uesugi Tsunakatsu
was the 3rd ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa Domain in Dewa Province during the Edo period Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, and 19th hereditary chieftain of the Uesugi clan. His courtesy title was ''Harima-no-kami''.
Biography
Uesugi Tsunakatsu was they ...
, died without producing an heir. The succession was determined at the advice of his father-in-law, Hoshina Masayuki
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who was the founder of what became the Matsudaira house of Aizu. He was an important figure in the politics and philosophy of the early Tokugawa shogunate.
Biography
Hoshina Masayuki was born ...
, the younger brother to ''shōgun
, 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 ...
. He suggested that the clan adopt Uesugi Tsunanori, the son of Tsunakatsu's younger sister and Kira Yoshinaka
was a '' kōke'' (master of ceremonies). His court title was '' Kōzuke no suke (上野介)''. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the Forty-seven rōnin. Although his name (義央) has been long pronounced as "Yosh ...
as heir, although this would mean splitting the domain in half, down to only the 150,000 ''koku'' portion within Dewa province. This decision led to severe financial difficulties in the domain, for the Uesugi and their administration, and for the increasingly impoverished peasants. The problem became so severe that the eighth ''daimyō'', Uesugi Shigetada Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
People
*Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan
**Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan
**Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Jap ...
, seriously considered surrendering the domain to the shogunate. Instead, he resigned his position as ''daimyō'' in favor of Uesugi Harunori
was the 9th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa Domain in Dewa Province, Japan (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. After retirement, he adopted the ''art-name, gō'', or pen name, Yōzan (鷹山). Today, h ...
, who then began to reform the domain's administration and to revive its economy. He introduced strict disciplinary measures, and ordered the execution of several ''karō'' who opposed his plans. In order to finance castle repairs imposed upon his domain by the shogunate, Harunori asked his retainers to agree to a reduction of their stipends. As a result of these various measures, Yonezawa again became fairly prosperous, and did not suffer much from the great famine which swept Japan in the Tenmei
is a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', literally "years name") for the years between the An'ei Era and before the Kansei Era, from April 1781 through January 1789. The reigning emperor was .
Change of era
* 1781 : The new era name of Tenme ...
era (1781–89). In 1830, the shogunate formally declared Yonezawa to be a choice example of a well-governed domain.
The domain had a population of 127,277 people in 23,440 households per the 1870 census. It maintained its primary residence (''kamiyashiki'') in Edo near the Sakurada-mon gate to Edo Castle. The site is now the head office of the Ministry of Justice (Japan)
The is one of the cabinet level ministries of the Japanese government. It is responsible for the judicial system, correctional services, and household, property and corporate registrations,Immigration control. It also serves as the governmen ...
. The domain's secondary residence (''shimoyashiki'') was in Azabu
is an area in Minato,Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Azabu ...
, and its tertiary residence (nakayashiki) was in Shirogane.
When 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 ...
erupted in 1868, and the shogunate came to an end with the abdication of ''shōgun'' 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 ...
, the Uesugi joined the "Northern Alliance" (''Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...
''), voicing their support for the embattled Aizu
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 princip ...
domain and opposing Satsuma Satsuma may refer to:
* Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit
* ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails
Places Japan
* Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town
* Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture
* Satsuma Domain, a sou ...
and Chōshū domination of the new imperial government, while stating an intent to "reconquer Japan, that the Emperor may indeed reign over it." The Alliance members also acknowledged their debt to Hoshina Masayuki
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who was the founder of what became the Matsudaira house of Aizu. He was an important figure in the politics and philosophy of the early Tokugawa shogunate.
Biography
Hoshina Masayuki was born ...
, the first Aizu lord, who was a respected figure in many domains. After several months the Alliance was defeated, and the new 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 ...
reduced the domain by 40,000 ''koku'', and its subsidiary domain of "Yonezawa Shinden han" was abolished in 1869. Yonezawa Domain became Yonezawa prefecture 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) ...
as a whole two years later, and was then combined with Okitama prefecture to form Yamagata prefecture.
The final ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa, Uesugi Mochinori, was later ennobled with the new ''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 ''hakushaku'' (Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
).
List of ''daimyō''
* Uesugi clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
1601–1871 (''tozama'')
Genealogy
*Nagao Tamekage (1489–1543)
**UESUGI KENSHIN (1530–1578)
** Aya-gozen (1524–1609), m. Nagao Masakage (1526–1564)
*** I. Uesugi Kagekatsu, 1st ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (cr. 1601) (1556–1623; r. 1601–1623)
**** II. Sadakatsu, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1604–1645; r. 1623–1645)
***** III. Tsunakatsu, 3rd ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1639–1664; r. 1645–1664)
***** Umemine-in (Tomiko) (1643–1704), m. Kira Yoshinaka (1641–1703)
****** IV. Tsunanori, 4th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1663–1704; r. 1664–1703)
******* V. Yoshinori, 5th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1684–1722; r. 1703–1722)
******** VI. Munenori, 6th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1714–1734; r. 1722–1734)
******** VII. Munefusa, 7th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1718–1787; r. 1734–1746)
******** VIII. Shigesada, 8th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1720–1798; r. 1746–1767)
*********Katsuhiro (1760-1807)
********** XI. Narisada, 11th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1788–1839; r. 1812–1839)
*********** XII. Narinori, 12th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1820–1889; r. 1839–1869)
************ XIII. Mochinori, 13th ''daimyō'', 14th family head, 1st Count (1844–1919; ''daimyō'': 1869; Governor: 1869–1871; 14th family head: 1869–1919; Count: 1884)
************* Noriaki, 2nd Count, 15th family head (1876–1953; 15th family head: 1919-1953; 2nd Count: 1919–1947)
************** Takanori, 16th family head (1917–1995; 16th family head: 1953–1995)
*************** Kuninori, 17th family head (b. 1943; 17th family head: 1995– )
**************** Hironori (b. 1969)
********* X. Haruhito, 10th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1764–1822; r. 1785–1812)
****** Toyohime, m. Kuroda Nagasada, 4th ''daimyō'' of Akizuki (1695–1754)
******* Haruhime, m. Akizuki Tanemitsu, 6th ''daimyō'' of Takanabe (1718–1787)
******** IX. Harunori, 9th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa (1751–1822; r. 1767–1785)
Genealogy (jp)
/ref>
Advisors
Famous advisors (''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 ...
'') of the Yonezawa Domain through the course of the Edo period included Chisaka Takafusa, Irobe Matashirō, and Chisaka Takamasa
was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who went on to become a soldier, government official, and businessman in the Meiji era. He served as a '' karō'' in the Yonezawa Domain's administration.
Biography
Takamasa was born in 1841 to ...
.
Secondary domains
Yonezawa Shinden Domain
was founded in 1719 for Uesugi Katsuchika, the fourth son of Uesugi Tsunanori, the 4th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa Domain, who assigned him 10,000 ''koku'' of new rice revenues. The domain continued as a subsidiary of Yonezawa Domain, ruled by a succession of younger sons of the parent house. Following the defeat of Yonezawa Domain in the Boshin War, Yonezawa Shinden Domain was reabsorbed into its parent domain, and its final ''daimyō'', Uesugi Katsumichi 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 ''shishaku'' (viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
).
* Uesugi clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
1719–1869 (''tozama'')
References
*
*Sasaki Suguru (2004). ''Boshin Sensō'' 戊辰戦争. Tokyo: Chuokōron-shinsha.
External links
"Yonezawa-han" on Edo 300 HTML
Notes
{{Authority control
Domains of Japan
1623 establishments in Japan
States and territories established in 1623
1871 disestablishments in Japan
States and territories disestablished in 1871
Dewa Province
History of Yamagata Prefecture
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei