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Morioka Domain
300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, covering the eastern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture and the northern two-thirds of what is now Iwate Prefecture and the Kazuno District of what is now Akita Prefecture. The domain was centered at Morioka Castle in the city of Morioka. For most of its history, Morioka Domain had an official '' kokudaka'' of 100,000 ''koku'', although its actual revenues were much higher. Towards the end of the Edo period, the domain’s status was raised to 200,000 ''koku''. History The Nanbu clan was a branch of the Seiwa Genji originally from Kai Province, who settled in what is now the town of Nanbu, Aomori after the conquest of the Hiraizumi Fujiwara by Minamoto no Yoritomo. Along with the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province, the Nanbu clan h ...
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Han System
(, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) served as a system of ''de facto'' administrative divisions of Japan alongside the ''de jure'' Provinces of Japan, provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s. History Pre-Edo period The concept of originated as the personal Estate (land), estates of prominent warriors after the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, which also saw the rise of feudalism and the samurai noble warrior class in Japan. This situation existed for 400 years during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333), the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336), and the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573). became increasingly important as ''de facto'' administrative divisions as subsequent Shoguns stripped the Imperial Provinces of Japan, pr ...
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Koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before cooking), used to this day for the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers. The ''koku'' in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in ''koku'' was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain ('' han'') was evaluated. A feudal lord was only considered ''daimyō'' class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 ''koku''. As a rule of thumb, one ''koku'' was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity is the ''shi'' or '' dan'' () also known as ''hu'' (), now approximately 103 litres but historically about . Chinese equivalent The Chinese 石 ''dan'' is equal to 10 ''d ...
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Siege Of Odawara (1590)
The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear. Thus, despite the overwhelming force brought to bear by Hideyoshi, the siege saw little actual fighting. Background In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded in re-unifying the nation, after several campaigns following the death of Oda Nobunaga in 1582. Hideyoshi asked Hōjō Ujimasa and Ujinao (father and son), to attend the imperial visit to Jurakudai (Hideyoshi's residence and office in Kyoto), but Ujimasa refused. However, Ujimasa proposed to reschedule the visit to spring or summer of 1590, but Hideyoshi in turn refused the proposal, which worsened their relationship. In May 1590, Hideyoshi launched the Odawara Campaign against Hōjō. Ujimasa held a faint hope that Date Masamune would come to offer ...
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Although he came from a peasant background, his immense power earned him the rank and title of and , the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first person in history to become a ''Kampaku'' who was not born a noble. He then passed the position and title of ''Kampaku'' to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as , the title of retired ''Kampaku'', until his death. It is believed, but not certain, that the reason he refused or could not obtain the title of , the leader of the warrior class, was because he was of peasant origin. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the pr ...
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Oath Of Fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also referred to the duties incumbent upon a vassal that were owed to the lord, which consisted of service and aid.Coredon, ''A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases'', p. 120 One part of the oath of fealty included swearing to always remain faithful to the lord. The oath of fealty usually took place after the act of homage, when, by the symbolic act of kneeling before the lord and placing his hands between the hands of the lord, the vassal became the "man" of the lord. Usually, the lord also promised to provide for the vassal in some form, either through the granting of a fief or by some other manner of support.Saul, "Feudalism", ''Companion to Medieval England'', pp. 102–105 Typically, the oath took place upon a religious object such as ...
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Nanbu Nobunao
was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai, and ''daimyō'' and the 26th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. His courtesy title was ''Daizen Daibu'', and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. Nobunao was the second son of Nanbu Masayasu, the 22nd chieftain of the Nanbu clan, and was born at the clan’s Ikatai Castle in what is now the town of Iwate in 1546. In 1565, he was adopted by his cousin, the 24th chieftain of the Nanbu clan Nanbu Harumasa to be his heir, and resided at Sannohe Castle. In 1566 and 1568 he successfully defended the clan’s territory in Kazuno against incursions by the forces of Andō Chikasue. In 1570, one of Harumasa’s concubines gave birth to a biological son, Nanbu Harutsugu. Nobunao remained heir, but in 1576, Nobunao’s wife (the daughter of Harumasa) died. Fearing his position had been perhaps fatally undermined, Nobunao formally renounced his position as heir and went into hiding, taking refuge at Ne Castle with the Hachinohe ...
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Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical power to, and consolidated the political system under, the Emperor of Japan. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Bakumatsu) and the beginning of the Meiji era, during which time Japan rapidly Industrialization, industrialised and adopted Western culture, Western ideas and production methods. The origins of the Restoration lay in economic and political difficulties faced by the Tokugawa shogunate. These problems were compounded by the encroachment of foreign powers in the region which challenged the Tokugawa policy of , specifically the arrival of the Pe ...
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Kamakura Period
The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan. There are various theories as to the year in which the Kamakura period and Kamakura shogunate began. In the past, the most popular theory was that the year was 1192, when Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed . Later, the prevailing theory was that the year was 1185, when Yoritomo established the , which controlled military and police power in various regions, and the , which was in charge of tax collection and land administration. Japanese history textbooks as of 2016 do not specify a specific year for the beginning of the K ...
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Satsuma Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation was . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. During the Sengoku period, Satsuma was a fief of the Shimazu ''daimyō'', who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their castle at Kagoshima city. They were the initial patrons of Satsuma ware, which was later widely exported to the West. In 1871, with the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures after the Meiji Restoration, the provinces of Satsuma and Ōsumi were combined to eventually establish Kagoshima Prefecture. Satsuma was one of the main provinces that rose in opposition to the Tokugawa shogunate in the mid 19th century. Because of this, the oligarchy that came into power after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 had a strong representation from the Satsuma province, with leaders such as Ōkubo Toshimichi and ...
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Shimazu Clan
The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan. History The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto. The Shimazu would become one of the families of Edo period ''daimyō'' to have held their territory continuously since the Kamakura period, and would also become, at their peak, the wealthiest and most powerful Tozama daimyō family with an income in excess of 700,000 ''koku''. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa (d. 1227), was a son of ''Shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu. Tadahisa's wife was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu, a descendant of the Hata clan, whose name Tadahisa took at first. He received the domain ...
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Minamoto No Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his death. Yoritomo was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and belonged to Seiwa Genji's prestigious Kawachi Genji family. After successfully maneuvering himself to the position of rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, he led his clan against the Taira clan, Taira from his capital in Kamakura, beginning the Genpei War in 1180. After five years of civil war, the Minamoto clan finally defeated the Taira in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo established the supremacy of the samurai caste and the first shogunate (''bakufu'') which was to be centered around Kamakura, thus beginning the History of Japan#Feudal Japan, feudal age in Japan, which lasted until the 17th century. Early life Yoritomo was t ...
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Northern Fujiwara
The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.Esashi Fujiwara no Sato
(in English)
They succeeded the semi-independent Emishi families of the 11th century, who were gradually brought down by the Minamoto clan loyal to the Imperial Court in Kyoto. They ruled over an independent region that derived its wealth from gold mining, horse-trading and as middlemen in the trade in luxury items from contine ...
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