Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

(July 7, 1852 – February 26, 1887) was the 10th Tamura ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of

Ichinoseki Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan It was located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū. The domain was centered at Ichinoseki jin'ya, located in the center of what is now the city of Ichinoseki in Iwate Prefecture. Histor ...

. His

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some c ...

was ''Sakyō-no-daifu'', and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. Kuniyoshi was the 7th son of Ishikawa Yoshimitsu, the 13th hereditary chieftain of the Ishikawa clan, a cadet branch of the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date family was founded ...

Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of t ...

. In 1863,

Tamura Yukiaki was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan It was located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū. The domain was centered at Ichinoseki jin'ya, located in the center of what is now the city of Ichinoseki in Iwate Prefecture. History ...

, the 9th ''daimyō'' of Ichinoseki Domain was adopted by

Date Yoshikuni was a late-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 13th ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, the 29th hereditary chieftain of the Date clan. He is known primarily for his role as commander-in-chief of the Ōuetsu Re ...

as heir apparent to Sendai Domain, which left Ichinoseki Domain leaderless. Kuniyoshi was appointed by clan elders to become ''daimyō'' and became the adopted son of Yukiaki through marriage to Yukiaki's daughter. He initially took the name of Tamura Yoshiaki (田村栄顕), but later changed to Tamura Kuniyoshi. In 1868, he obeyed the call of Sendai Domain, and led Ichinoseki troops into the

Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black ...

against the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

in the Boshin War.Onodera, p. 134. However, only a few months later, Ichinoseki along with Sendai Domain, was forced to surrender to imperial forces. Kuniyoshi retired in favor of his younger brother, Tamura Takaaki. In 1869 his court rank was increased to Fifth Grade, and he served the new government in various capacities. In 1882, the chieftainship of the Tamura clan was returned from his brother, and in 1884 he was ennobled with the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ...

'' peerage title of ''shishaku'' (

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

). He died in 1887 at the age of 36, and his titles (including clan chieftainship) reverted to Tamura Takaaki; however, Takaaki appointed Kuniyoshi's son as his own heir. His grave is at the

Aoyama Cemetery is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit. History The cemetery was origi ...

in Tokyo.

Notes

References

*Onodera, Eikō (2005). ''Boshin Nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken''. Sendai: Kita no Mori. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Kuniyoshi Tozama daimyo Kazoku People of the Boshin War 1852 births 1887 deaths