Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

was the 13th and last ''

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 no ...

'' of

Ōzu Domain 270px, Katō Yasuaki, final daimyō of Ōzu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Ōzu Castle, and was ruled thr ...

, Japan, prior to the

Meiji reforms 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. Born in

Ōzu Castle , also known as , is a Japanese castle, castle located in Ōzu, Ehime, Ōzu, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The earliest recorded defensive structures date back to the beginning of the 14th century and were supposedly built by Utsunomiya Toyofusa. In 18 ...

, Yasuaki was the second son of

Katō Yasumoto Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan *Katowice, a city in Southern Poland, ...

. Yasuaki succeeded his elder brother Yasutomi as lord of Ōzu Domain upon the latter's death in 1864, changing status as governor of Ōzu after the domains were returned to the emperor. In 1867, he was responsible for guarding the Imperial Palace during the Kogosho Conference. 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 coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, he sent soldiers to Ōshū. He retired as governor in 1871 following the abolition of domains in favor of prefectural government, and moved to Tokyo.

References

1846 births 1926 deaths Daimyo {{japan-noble-stub