Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

was a ''

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

Hiroshima Domain The was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Hiroshima Domain was based at Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the modern city of Hiroshima, located in the Chūgoku region of the island of Ho ...

for a short time after 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 ...

. For the rest of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, he was a politician and diplomat, and was one of the last surviving Japanese ''daimyō'' ( Hayashi Tadataka and Wakebe Mitsunori outlived him).

Biography

Adopted by his uncle

Asano Nagamichi was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled Hiroshima Domain The was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Hiroshima Domain was based at Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the ...

, he served as assistant to his adoptive father through the 1860s, and attended many of the meetings and events surrounding the restoration of Imperial rule, and as such was one of many who advised the ''

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 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 ...

to return power to the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

. Unlike many from domains such as

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, however, Asano was opposed to taking military action against the shogunate. His childhood name was Kiyotsuchi (喜代槌) later Tamegoro (為五郎). Nagakoto became the twelfth ''daimyō'' of Hiroshima in 1869 upon Nagamichi's retirement. The domains (''

han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

'') were abolished in 1871, but Asano was granted the title of

(''kōshaku'') under 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 ' ...

'' system of peerage which was instituted at that time. He became a member of the

Genrōin The was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it. ...

(Chamber of Elders) in 1880, was appointed ambassador to Italy two years later, and served in the House of Peers for a time as well. Though living and serving in Tokyo, he worked to support industry and other enterprises in his home area, newly dubbed

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

. The Asano Library (now the Hiroshima Central City Library) opened in 1926, and Asano died in 1937 at the age of 96.

Family

* Father: Asano Tsutomo * Mother: daughter of Sawa Yoshimoto * Adoptive Father:

* Wife: Yamanouchi Tsunahime, daughter of Yamanouchi Toyoteru, 13th Daimyo of

Tosa Domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by t ...

* Adopted Children: ** Asano Nagamichi ** Asano Nagaatsu (1843–1873) ** Mashiko married Matsura Atsushi ** Asano Nagayuki, his cousin (son of his uncle Asano Toshitsugu)

References

* ''Much of this article is derived from a translation of the corresponding article on the Japanese Wikipedia.'' * Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Asano, Nagakoto Daimyo Kazoku Members of the House of Peers (Japan) 1842 births 1937 deaths Asano clan Ambassadors of Japan to Italy People from Hiroshima People from Hiroshima Prefecture Politicians from Hiroshima Prefecture