was a tozama

Tozama

A ' 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:...

han

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:...

(feudal domain) of 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....

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, with its territory extending from northern Hizen Province

Hizen Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō...

 to the offshore Iki Province

Iki Province

was a province of Japan in the area of Nagasaki Prefecture. The province which occupied the entire area of Iki Island. It is also known as .- Political History :...

. The domain was headquartered in Hirado Castle

Hirado Castle

was the seat of the Matsuura clan, the daimyo of Hirado Domain, of Hizen province, Kyūshū. It is located in present-day Hirado city Nagasaki prefecture, Japan...

 in present-day the city of Hirado

Hirado, Nagasaki

is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on the island of the same name. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyūshū...

 in modern Nagasaki Prefecture

Nagasaki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

.

History

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

’s successful conquest of Kyushu, local warlord Matsuura Shigenobu was granted Hirado County and the Oki Islands

Oki Islands

are a group of islands in the southwestern part of the Sea of Japan and belong to Japan.-Geography:The Oki Islands are situated between 40 to 80 kilometers north of the coast of Honshū.The islands are of volcanic origin and have a total area of 346,1 km2...

 to be his domain. During the Japanese invasions of Korea, Hirado was a forward base of operations for Japanese forces. In 1599, Matsuura Shigenobu erected a castle called Hinotake-jō on the site of the present-day Hirado Castle. However, he burned the castle down himself in 1613, as a gesture of loyalty towards Shōgun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa 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...

, having served in the losing Toyotomi side 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 return, he was allowed to retain his position as daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

of Hirado Domain under the Tokugawa bakufu.

The present Hirado Castle was constructed in 1704 by order of the 5th daimyō of Hirado domain, Matsuura Takashi with the assistance of the Tokugawa shogunate to be the keystone in seaward defenses of Japan in the East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

 region, now that the country had implemented a policy of national seclusion

Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...

 against western traders and missionaries. Also during the period of Matsuura Takashi, a subsidiary domain (Hirado Nitta Domain) of 10,000 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...

was created for his younger brother, Matsuura Masashi. Matsuura Takashi served in a number of important posts in the Tokugawa Shogunate, including that of Jisha-bugyō

Jisha-bugyo

was a "commissioner" or an "overseer" of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always fudai daimyō, the lowest-ranking of the shogunate offices to be so restricted...

, a post traditionally reserved only for fudai

Fudai

was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...

 daimyō. However, his expenses in rebuilding Hirado Castle all but bankrupt the domain.

The 9th daimyō, Matsuura Kiyoshi, was a noted essayist and political commentor. The final daimyō, Matsuura Akira

Matsuura Akira

Count was the 12th and final daimyō of Hirado Domain in Hizen Province, Kyūshū, Japan. He was also the 37th hereditary head of the Matsuura clan, and a noted tea master. His honorary title was. Hizen-no-Kami.-Biography:...

, he commanded his forces as part of the Satchō Alliance

Satcho Alliance

The ', or Satchō Alliance was a military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan....

 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 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...

, in support of Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

, and fought at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi

Battle of Toba-Fushimi

The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 , when the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and the allied forces of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa domains clashed near Fushimi...

 and against the Tokugawa remnants of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

-External links:**...

 in northern Japan, at Morioka

Morioka, Iwate

is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 300,740 and a population density of 588.11 persons per km². The total area is 489.15 km²....

 and Akita

Akita, Akita

is the capital city of Akita Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan.As of June 11, 2005, with the merger of the former Kawabe District , the city has an estimated population of 323,310 and density of...

. In April 1884, he was made a count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 in the new kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

peerage system. From 1890, he served in the House of Peers

House of Peers (Japan)

The ' was the upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan ....

 of the Diet of Japan

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

. He was later awarded 2nd Court rank.

List of daimyo

• Matsuura clan

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1587–1600	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 4th (従四位下)	63,200 koku
2		1600–1602	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	63,200 koku
3		1603–1637	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	63,200 koku
4		1637–1689	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	61,700 koku
5		1689–1713	Hizen-no-kami, Jisha-bugyō	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
6		1713–1727	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
7		1727–1728	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
8		1728–1775	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
9		1775–1806	Iki-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
10		1806–1841	Hizen-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
11		1841–1858	Iki-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	51,700 koku
12		1858–1871	Hizen-no-kami	2nd (正二位), Count (伯爵)	61,700 koku