was a Japanese feudal domain 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 Suruga Province

Suruga Province

was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay.-History:...

. Ojima was a Fudai domain

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:...

. It was centered on what is now the Ojima district of Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka

Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka

is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the eastern part of the city.-Geography:Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay of the Pacific Ocean and covers a wide area from a coastal plain to the hills...

.

History

In May 1689, Matsudaira Nobunari, the adopted son of the Castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 of Sumpu Castle, and a wakadoshiyori

Wakadoshiyori

The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 17th century Tokugawa Japan. The position was established around 1631, but appointments were irregular until 1662....

in the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 was elevated from his former 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...

 status of 4000 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...

, to 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...

 status of 10,000 koku, and assigned the territory of Ojima, to the east of Sumpu, to be his domain. He was also authorized to start his own branch of the Matsudaira clan

Matsudaira clan

The 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...

, the . However, due to the small size of his domain, he was not authorized to build a castle

Japanese castle

' were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century...

, but ruled from a fortified residence, or jin'ya

Jin'ya

During the Edo period of Japanese history, a was the administrative headquarters of a small domain or parcel of land held by the Tokugawa shogunate, as well as the residence of the head of the administration, and the associated grain storehouse. While larger domains had castles, certain smaller...

.

During the period of the 4th daimyō, Matsudaira Masanobu, the domain faced bankruptcy, which he attempted to resolve with such a large increase in taxes that its peasants rose in a revolt in 1768. Fiscal problems continued over the years, with the 8th daimyō, Matsudaira Nobumoto publishing a tract attempting the explain to both his retainers and his peasants on the need for high taxes and fiscal restraint. The 9th daimyō, Matsudaira Nobuyuki, made all industry within the domain a government monopoly, and sold off permits to raise money.

During the Bakumatsu period, the 11th (and final) daimyō, Matsudaira Nobutoshi, sided with the new Meiji government in 1867. His domain was abolished with the creation of Shizuoka Domain for the retired ex-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 Yoshinobu

Tokugawa Yoshinobu

was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful...

, and Nobutoshi was transferred to Sakurai Domain in Kazusa province

Kazusa Province

was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or .Kazusa is classified as one of the...

 in July 1869.

The site of the former Ojima Jinya is now a local history museum, and the remnants of some foundation walls were proclaimed a National Historic Site in 2006.

List of daimyō

• Matsudaira (Takiwaki) clan
  Matsudaira clan
  The 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...
  
  (fudai, 10,000 koku)

#	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank
1		1689–1690	Tajima-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
2		1690–1724	Shimotsuke-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
3		1724–1731	Awa-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
4		1731–1771	Awa-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
5		1771–1800	Tamba-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
6		1800–1815	Awa-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
7		1815–1836	Tango-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
8		1836–1851	Tango-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
9		1851–1863	Tango-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
10		1863–1864	Tango-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)
11		1864–1868	Tango-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)