Kitsuki 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:...
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....
, located in modern-day Ōita Prefecture
Oita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
, Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
.
History
At the start of the Edo periodEdo 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....
, the territory which became Kitsuki (then spelled 木付) was part of the Nakatsu domain (later called Kokura), the 399,000 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...
territory ruled by Hosokawa Tadaoki
Hosokawa Tadaoki
was the eldest son of Hosokawa Fujitaka. He fought in his first battle at the age of 15. In that battle, he was in the service of Oda Nobunaga. He was given the Province of Tango in 1580. Soon after that, he married Hosokawa Gracia, the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. In 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide...
. The territory's name came from the family, the relatives of the Ōtomo clan
Otomo clan
The Ōtomo clan was a Japanese clan whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū....
, who had once resided there. However, in 1593, Ōtomo Yoshimune incurred the disfavor of 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...
, and had his territory confiscated; the Kitsuki lost their lands at the same time. The land was then passed to Sugiwara Nagafusa, Hayakawa Nagamasa, and finally to Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1599, upon his move from the 120,000 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...
fief of Miyazu
Miyazu Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tango Province .-List of lords:*Kyōgoku clan, 1600-1666 #Takatomo#Takahiro#Takakuni*Tenryō, 1666-1669...
, in Tango Province
Tango Province
was an old province in the area that is today northern Kyoto Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Tamba Province. Tango bordered on Tajima, Tamba, and Wakasa provinces....
. The Kitsuki region, valued at 60,000 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 ruled on Tadaoki's behalf by castle wardens (Matsui Yasuyuki, Ariyoshi Tatsuyuki, and others) posted to its central castle. For his distinguished service at 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 1600, Tadaoki was granted the entire province of Bizen
Bizen Province
was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchu and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces....
, and moved his seat of government first to Nakatsu Castle, then to Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle
in Kitakyushu, Japan was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan between 1632 and 1860. The castle was burnt down in 1865 in the war between the Kokura and Chōshū clans....
. The Hosokawa remained in Bizen until 1632, when Tadaoki's son Hosokawa Tadatoshi
Hosokawa Tadatoshi
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period, who ruled the Kumamoto Domain. He was a patron of the martial artist Miyamoto Musashi.Tadatoshi's grave is in Kumamoto. His Grandfather was Hosokawa Fujitaka-Gallery:...
was transferred to the Kumamoto Domain
Kumamoto Domain
The was han or a Japanese feudal domain that was located in Higo Province apart from Kuma District and Amakusa District and part of Bungo Province . It was also known as...
in neighboring Higo Province
Higo Province
Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces....
.
The former Hosokawa landholding in Bizen was partitioned; Ogasawara Tadazane
Ogasawara Tadazane
Japanese daimyō of the early Edo Period, the son of Ogasawara Hidemasa .Following the deaths of his father and elder brother in the Osaka Summer Campaign, his holdings were transferred from Akashi Domain in Harima Province to the Kokura domain Buzen Province.Famed as the lord who employed...
, who had ruled the Akashi Domain
Akashi Domain
The was a feudal domain of Japan. It occupied Akashi District and surroundings in Harima Province. Fudai and Shimpan daimyo were assigned, and frequently reassigned, to Akashi. The domain had its administrative headquarters at Akashi Castle.Akashi was established in 1617 when Ikeda Mitsumasa was...
of Harima Province
Harima Province
or Banshu was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tamba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji....
, was granted 150,000 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...
of land in northern Bizen, with the territory's seat of government being placed at Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle
in Kitakyushu, Japan was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan between 1632 and 1860. The castle was burnt down in 1865 in the war between the Kokura and Chōshū clans....
. The secondary castle of Nakatsu became the center of the new Nakatsu Domain
Nakatsu Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was headquartered at Nakatsu Castle in what is now Nakatsu, Oita, in Kyushu.The Meiji-era scholar Fukuzawa Yukichi was a former samurai of the Nakatsu domain.-List of lords:...
, which was granted to Tadazane's nephew Ogasawara Nagatsugu. Simultaneously, Tadazane's younger brother Ogasawara Tadatomo, who had been a hatamoto
Hatamoto
A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...
, was given Kitsuki Castle and the surrounding 40,000 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...
worth of territory, making him a daimyo
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...
. Tadatomo retained rulership of Kitsuki until 1645, when he was moved to the Yoshida Domain
Yoshida Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in eastern Mikawa Province , Japan. It was centered on Yoshida Castle in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi. It was ruled by a number of different fudai daimyō over the course of the Edo period, before finally passing into the hands of the...
of Mikawa Province
Mikawa Province
is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....
.
Matsudaira Hidechika, the lord of the Takada Domain
Takada Domain
, also known as Takata domain, was an Edo period fiefdom in Echigo province. The region is located south of modern Niigata, which is the capital city of today's Niigata Prefecture....
in Bungo Province
Bungo Province
was a province of Japan in eastern Kyūshū in the area of Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, Hyūga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces.-History:...
replaced Ogasawara Tadatomo as lord of Kitsuki, being given a slightly reduced domain of 32,000 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...
. His descendants ruled Kitsuki 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...
. As flatland was scarce in Kitsuki, land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
and industrial arts were encouraged; Hidechika brought around 100 peasants with him from Mikawa; they formed what became commonly known as the Mikawa-shinden farmland.
The domain's name spelling was changed in 1711, during the tenure of the third lord, Matsudaira Shigeyasu. Since then, it has been spelled 杵築. Kitsuki domain finances deteriorated due to the major famine in the Kyōho era; Miura Baien
Miura Baien
was a Japanese philosopher of the Tokugawa era. A scholar often qualified as prolific original thinker in economy, interested in epistemology, he studied nature in a methodical way.-Life:...
, a scholar then residing in the domain, was commissioned to solve the crisis. Among his reforms was the opening of the domain school, the Gakushūkan
Han school
The han school was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of daimyo and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital...
, in the Tenmei era (1781-1789).
Kitsuki was abolished
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...
along with the other Japanese domains in 1871, when it became . It was later absorbed into Ōita Prefecture
Oita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
, and the territory remains part of Ōita to the present day. The former ruling family were made shishaku (子爵) (viscounts) 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...
nobility system in 1884.
Lords of Kitsuki
- Ogasawara clanOgasawara clanThe was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...
, (1632-1645) (FudaiFudaiwas 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:...
; 40,000 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...
)
- Tadatomo
- Matsudaira (Nomi) clanMatsudaira clanThe was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...
, (1645-1871) (FudaiFudaiwas 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:...
; 32,000 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...
)
- Hidechika
- Shigeyoshi
- Shigeyasu
- Chikazumi
- Chikamitsu
- Chikasada
- Chikakata
- Chikaakira
- Chikayoshi
- Chikataka