Morioka Domain
Encyclopedia
Han (Japan)
The or domain was the name of the estate belonging to a warrior in Japan after the 17th century. The fiefs of the daimyos of the samurai class of Japan during the Edo period were called han.-Edo period:...
or feudal domain that encompasses present-day the middle-northern part of Iwate Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
and eastern part of Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
. It is sometimes colloquially called . The domain was tozama daimyo and was governed by the Satake clan
Satake clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vassals...
. Its income was 100,000 (koku). The Morioka domain was a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
Ouetsu Reppan Domei
-External links:**...
in 1868, and its troops fought in the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
.
In fiction, the Morioka domain is the setting for sections of the novel Mibugishiden, as well as the film Twilight Samurai.
History
The Nanbu clan sided with Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
's Eastern Army during the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
. In the wake of Ieyasu's victory, the Nanbu clan was confirmed in its lordship of the (also known as the ). The income rating was placed at 100,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
, but later in the Edo era, Morioka was given the political ranking of a domain twice its size. The Nanbu clan remained here for the entirety of the Edo Period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, surviving until the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
. Over the course of the Edo period, two new branches of the Nanbu clan were founded. One of them was granted the fief of Hachinohe
Hachinohe Domain
' was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 41 villages in Sannohe District, 38 villages in Kunohe District, and 4 villages in Shiwa District, with a total revenue of 22,000 koku...
, and the other one was granted the fief of Shichinohe
Shichinohe Domain
' was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory was roughly equivalent to the areas covered by modern-day town of Shichinohe in Aomori Prefecture...
.
A Dutch ship, the Breskens, arrived in Nanbu territory in the late 16th century; a shore party from the ship was captured by local authorities and taken to Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. In 1821, the old tensions between the Nanbu and Tsugaru flared once more, in the wake of the , a foiled plot by Sōma Daisaku, a former retainer of the Nanbu clan, to assassinate the Tsugaru lord.
Though no Nanbu lord ever held shogunate office, the Nanbu of Morioka (together with many of the other domains of northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
) assisted the shogunate in policing the frontier region of Ezochi (now Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
).
The Nanbu clan's territories were among those affected by the Tenpo famine
Tenpo famine
The Tenpo famine , also known as the "Great Tenpo famine" was a famine which affected Tenpo era Japan. It is considered to have begun in 1833, and lasted until 1837...
of the mid-1830s.
During the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
of 1868-69, the Nanbu clan was initially neutral. However, under the leadership of Nanbu Toshihisa and the clan elder
KARO
KARO is a radio station licensed to serve Nyssa, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format as part of the Air 1 network.-History:...
(家老, karō) Narayama Sado, the Nanbu clan later sided with the northern alliance (the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
Ouetsu Reppan Domei
-External links:**...
). Morioka troops led the attack on the Akita Domain, which had seceded from the alliance and sided with the imperial government. After the war, the Nanbu clan's holdings were drastically reduced by the imperial government as punishment for siding with the northern domains. The Nanbu of Morioka were then briefly moved to Shiroishi
Shiroishi, Miyagi
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 37,432 and a population density of 131 persons per km². The total area is 286.47 km².The city was founded on April 1, 1954.-Notable locations:...
. Two years after the war, as with all other daimyo, the heads of all three Nanbu branches were relieved of their offices by the abolition of the han system
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...
.
List of daimyo
- Nanbu clanNanbu clanThe ' was a Japanese samurai clan originating in northern Japan, specifically Mutsu Province . The Nanbu claimed descent from the Minamoto clan, and its members first enter the historical record as residents of Kai Province during the Kamakura period. The clan later moved to Mutsu...
(TozamaTozamaA ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...
; 100,000 kokuKokuThe is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
)
- ToshinaoNanbu Toshinao' was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period, who ruled the Morioka Domain.-Biography:Toshinao was born at Tago Castle, in Sannohe, the eldest son of Nanbu Nobunao. In 1599 he succeeded his newly deceased father as head of the Nanbu clan. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, he improved his ties...
- ShigenaoNanbu Shigenao' was a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who was the head of the Nanbu clan and the 2nd lord of the Morioka Domain. He was the 3rd son of Nanbu Toshinao, and was born in Edo. During his tenure, Morioka Castle was completed....
- Shigenobu
- Yukinobu
- Nobuoki
- Toshitomo
- Toshimi
- Toshikatsu
- Toshimasa
- Toshinori
- Toshimichi (n.b.: as this Toshimichi died before his first audience with the shogun, he was replaced by another Toshimichi, also known by his court title, as Nanbu Daizen no daifu)
- Toshitada
- Toshitomo (also known as Nobutomo (信候)
- Toshihisa
- Toshiyuki
Further reading
- Sasaki Suguru 佐々木克 (1977). Boshin sensō: haisha no Meiji ishin 戊辰戦争: 敗者の明治維新. Tokyo: Chūōkōronsha 中央公論社.