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 Dewa Province

Dewa Province

is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. It was sometimes called .-Historical record:...

. Tendō was a tozama domain

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:...

.

Tendō was the site of a castle built in 1360 by Shiba Yorinao. In the 16th century, it was part of the territory controlled by the Satomi clan

Satomi clan

The Satomi clan was a clan of samurai which claimed descent from Nitta Yoshishige , whose son Yoshitoshi took 'Satomi' as his surname. The Satomi moved from Kōzuke province to Awa province in the mid-15th century, and remained there into the Edo Period. During the Sengoku period, the Satomi were...

. From 1830-1868, its 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...

 was from a branch of the Oda clan

Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...

, direct descendants of the famed Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

.

From 1767, the Oda clan has been based in nearby Takabatake, in Dewa province with revenues of 20,000 koku. However, the Temmei Great Famine of 1782-1783 hit the region very hard, and reduced many of the peasants and even samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

of the domain to starvation. The domain went bankrupt, and the Oda were shifted to the smaller domain of Tendō in 1820. Although Tendō also had nominal revenues of 20,000 koku, it was located in a mountainous area with limited farming prospects, and actual revenue was smaller. To make ends meet, the Tendō samurai were forced to raise and process safflower

Safflower

Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads...

, used in the Edo period primarily as a pigment

Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...

 in foods and cosmetics.

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...

, the forces loyal to Shogun

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...

 were defeated in the Battle of Ueno

Battle of Ueno

The Battle of Ueno was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 , between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops....

, and fled north. However, representatives of the former shogunate peacefully surrendered 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...

 to the new Meiji government. The new government then ordered the daimyo of the northern domains to report and pledge their allegiance to the new government in early 1868.

Oda Nobumichi declared himself too ill to travel, and sent his son Oda Nobutoshi

Oda Nobutoshi

Viscount was a daimyo of the tozama feudal domain of Tendō, in Dewa province, northern Japan. He was a direct descendant of the famed Oda Nobunaga, through Nobunaga's son Oda Nobukatsu. He had the ceremonial court titles of junsammi and Hyōbu-taifu.-Biography:Nobutoshi was born at Tendō Domain's...

 in his place. Oda Nobutoshi and his senior retainer Yoshida Daihachi were ordered to act as guide and escort to the imperial army

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....

 being sent to the Tohoku region

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

 against the northern domains, especially centered around nearby Shōnai domain

Yamagata Domain

Yamagata Domain was a Japanese fief , located in Dewa province, in the Tōhoku region . Modern-day Yamagata Prefecture is roughly contiguous with the domain, and its capital city, also called Yamagata, grew up out of the daimyo's castle town...

. Oda Nobutoshi participated in the attack on Shōnai, and in retaliation, Shōnai forces burned Tendō 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...

and town in April. 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...

 provided a relief fund of 5000 ryō to help with the rebuilding. With the formation of the Ouetsu Reppan Domei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

-External links:**...

of northern domains against the new Meiji government, Tendō initially attempted to remain neutral, but joined the alliance in May 1868. Following the defeat of the northern forces in the Boshin War, Nobutoshi was placed under house arrest

House arrest

In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...

, replaced as daimyo by his infant son Suemaru, and the domain revenues were decreased to 18,000 koku. Tendō domain was abolished with 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...

 in 1871.

The former Tendō domain is now part of Tendō city

Tendo, Yamagata

is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 63,483 and a population density of 562 persons per km²...

, Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture

-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...

.

List of daimyo

• Oda clan
  Oda clan
  The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...
  
  1830-1871

	Name	Tenure
1		1830–1836
2		1836–1868
3		1868-1868
4		1868–1869
5		1869–1871