was a feudal domain under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

Japan, located in

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During ...

in what is now the southern portion of modern-day

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, ...

. It was centered around Akashi Castle, which is located in what is now the city of

Akashi, Hyōgo 260px, Akashi City Hall 260px, Akashi fromAkashi Castle is a city in southern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 304,274 in 135,323 households and a population density of 6,200 people per km². The total area ...

History

At the start of the

, the area around Akashi was part of the vast holdings of the

Ikeda clan was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) of the Seiwa Genji. Minamoto no Yasumasa, the fourth generation descending from Yorimitsu, and younger brother of Minamoto no Yorimasa (1104-1180), was the first t ...

Himeji Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what is now the ...

. In 1617, Ikeda Mitsumasa was transferred to

Tottori Domain 270px, Ikeda Yoshinori 270px, Front gate of the Tottori Domain residence in Edo was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now Tottori Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It controlled all of Inaba Pro ...

and his former estates were divided. Ogasawara Tadazane, the son-in-law of

Matsudaira Nobuyasu was the eldest son of Matsudaira Ieyasu. His ''tsūshō'' ("common name") was . He was called also , because he had become the lord of in 1570. Because he was a son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is often referred to, retroactively, as . Biography No ...

received a 100,000 '' koku'' portion, which formed Akashi Domain, and he was ordered to construct a castle. Akashi Castle was located on a strategic location controlling the San'yōdō highway, which connected the Kinai region with western Japan and was also the main route north to Tanba and

Tango Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba to the south, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name was . It was also referred to as or . In terms of the Gokishichi ...

s. It was also located very near the coast of the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osa ...

, overlooking the narrows to the island of Awaji island. Considered by the

to be a backup to

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of ...

, Akashi Castle was the final line to defend

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metr ...

against any attack from the west. The

Ogasawara clan The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' – Ogasawara, pp. 44–45 Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon.'' (in Fren ...

were transferred to Kokura Domain in 1632, and due to the strategic nature of the domain, it was reassigned only to trusted cadet branches of '' fudai daimyō'' clans: the Toda-Matsudaira, Okubo clan, Fujii-Matsudaira clan and the Honda clan. After Honda Masatoshi was demoted for poor governance in 1682, the domain was entrusted to a '' Shinpan'' clan: the Echizen-Matsudaira, formerly of Ono Domain, which retained it to the

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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

. The 8th ''daimyō'', Matsudaira Narikoto , was an adopted heir and was born the 25th son of

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ienari ( ja, 徳川家斉, November 18, 1773 – March 22, 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern ...

. As an indication of his status, the domain was increased in ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of '' koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. ...

'' from 60,000 to 80,000 ''koku'' and was given administrative control over an additional 20,000 ''koku'' of ''tenryō'' lands. However, this was not enough to offset the vast outlay of funds which the domain had been forced to pay the shogunate for the "privilege" of having the son of a Shogun as heir, and the domain faced financial difficulties. In the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...

, the domain was ordered by the shogunate to construct twelve artillery batteries for coastal defense, and also to provide troops to man the defenses of

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

Shinagawa is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English language, English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density ...

and along the coast of

Sagami Province was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Pac ...

. The domain also provided troops for the

First Chōshū expedition The First Chōshū expedition ( ja, 第一次長州征討) was a punitive military expedition by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Chōshū Domain in September–November 1864. The expedition was in retaliation for Chōshū's role in the attack ...

in 1864 and

Second Chōshū expedition The Second Chōshū expedition (Japanese: 第二次長州征討), also called the Summer War, was a punitive expedition led by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Chōshū Domain. It followed the First Chōshū expedition of 1864. Background The ...

in 1866. However at the start of the Boshin War, as Matsudaira Yoshinori was leading his armies in support of Tokugawa forces at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he received word that the Shogun

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

had abandoned his army and had fled Osaka by ship back to Edo. He decided to return to Akashi without combat and soon after defected to the

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 ...

. His forces were ordered to fight in the Boshin War as part of the rear guard against Himeji Domain and in

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

. In 1871, with the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

, Akashi Domain became Akashi Prefecture, and was incorporated into Hyōgo prefecture via Himeji Prefecture and Shikama Prefecture. The Echizen Matsudaira family became a

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 ...

in 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 system in 1884.

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

Unlike most domains in the

han system ( ja, 藩, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) ...

, which consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned ''

'', based on periodic

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented gra ...

surveys and projected agricultural yields, Akashi Domain was a single unified holding. *

**144 villages in Akashi District (entire district) **70 villages in Mino District

List of daimyō

Simplified genealogy (Matsudaira)

*Matsudaira Naomitsu, 3rd head of the Matsudaira ( – ) **Chikatada, 4th head of the Matsudaira (c. 1431–1531) *** Nagachika, 5th head of the Matsudaira (1473–1544) ****Nobutada, 6th head of the Matsudaira (1490–1531) ***** Kiyoyasu, 7th head of the Matsudaira (1511–1536) ****** Hirotada, 8th head of the Matsudaira (1526–1549) *******

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...

, 1st Tokugawa ''shōgun'' (1543–1616; r. 1603–1605) ********Kame-hime (1560-1625), m. Okudaira Nobumasa, 1st ''daimyō'' of Kanō (1555–1615) ********* daughter, m. Ōkubo Tadatsune, 1st ''daimyō'' of Kisai (1580–1611) ********** Ōkubo Tadamoto, ''daimyō'' of Akashi (1604–1670) ********Yūki (Matsudaira) Hideyasu, 1st ''daimyō'' of Fukui (1574–1607) ********* Naoyoshi, Lord of Ōno (1605-1678) ********** I. Naoakira, 1st ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1656–1721; Lord of Akashi: 1682–1701) *********** II. Naotsune, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1679–1744; r. 1701–1743) ************ III. Naosumi, 3rd ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1727–1764; r. 1743–1764) ************* IV. Naohiro, 4th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1749–1804; r. 1764–1784) ************** V. Naoyuki, 5th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1768–1786; r. 1784–1786) ************** VI. Naochika, 6th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1773–1828; r. 1786–1816) *************** VII. Naritsugu, 7th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1803–1868; r. 1816–1840) **************** IX. Yoshinori, 9th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1826–1897; r. 1844–1869) ***************** X. Naomune, 10th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1849–1884; Lord: 1869; Governor: 1869–1871) ********Tokugawa Yorinobu, 1st ''daimyō'' of Kishū (1602–1671) ********* Tokugawa Mitsusada, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kishū (1627–1705) **********

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimune ...

, 8th Tokugawa ''shōgun'' (1684–1751; 5th Lord of Kishū: 1705–1716; 8th Tokugawa ''shōgun'': 1716–1745) ***********Tokugawa Munetada, 1st Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family head (1721–1765) ************Tokugawa Harusada, 2nd Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family head (1751–1827) *************

, 11th Tokugawa ''shōgun'' (1773–1841; r. 1786–1837) ************** VIII. Matsudaira Narikoto, 8th ''daimyō'' of Akashi (3rd creation) (1825–1844; r. 1840–1844) ******** Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st ''daimyō'' of Mito (1603–1661) ********* daughter, m. Honda Masatoshi, ''daimyō'' of Akashi (1641–1707) **** Nobusada (d. 1538) ***** Kiyosada ****** Ietsugu (d. 1563) ******* Tadayoshi (1559–1582) ******** Nobuyoshi, ''daimyō'' of Sasayama (1580–1620) ********* I. Tadakuni, 1st ''daimyō'' of Akashi (2nd creation) (1597–1659; Lord of Akashi: 1649–1659) ********** II. Nobuyuki, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Akashi (2nd creation) (1631–1686; r. 1659–1679) ** daughter, m. Toda Munemitsu (1439–1508) *** Toda Norimitsu **** Toda Masamitsu ***** Toda Yasumitsu (d. 1547) ****** Toda Yoshimitsu ******* Toda Tadashige ******** Matsudaira Yasunaga, ''daimyō'' of Matsumoto (1562–1633) *********Tadamitsu (1598–1629) ********** II. Mitsushige, 2nd ''daimyō'' of Akashi (1st creation) (1622–1668; r. 1634–1639) ********* I. Yasunao, 1st ''daimyō'' of Akashi (1st creation) (1617–1634; Lord of Akashi: cr. 1633) Genealogy (Echizen-Matsudaira) (jp)
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Domains of Japan 1617 establishments in Japan States and territories established in 1617 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871 Harima Province Domains of Hyōgo Prefecture Akashi-Matsudaira clan Fujii-Matsudaira clan Honda clan Ogasawara clan Ōkubo clan Toda-Matsudaira clan

History

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

List of daimyō

Simplified genealogy (Matsudaira)

See also

Further reading

References