The was a large domain that owned all of

Aki Province or Geishū () was a province in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture. History When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province (one for male Buddhist prie ...

and half of Bingo Province. It occupies most of current Hiroshima Prefecture. The domain office was located at Hiroshima Castle in Sato District, Aki Province (renamed Numata District in 1664), Hiroshima (present-day Motomachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture). It is often called Geishu Domain (or Aki Domain). The Hiroshima Domain was based at

Hiroshima Castle , sometimes called , is a Japanese castle, castle in Hiroshima, Japan that was the residence of the ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima Domain. The castle was originally constructed in the 1590s, but was largely destroyed by the Atomic bom ...

, in the modern city of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, located in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 7,328,339 ...

of the island of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. The Hiroshima Domain was ruled for most of its existence by the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of the Asano clan and encompassed Aki Province and parts of Bingo Province with a '' Kokudaka'' system value of 426,500 ''

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 co ...

''. The Hiroshima Domain was dissolved in 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) ...

in 1871 by 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 ...

and its territory was absorbed into Hiroshima Prefecture.

History

During the

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 G ...

, Mori Tsunemitsu granted his fourth son, Mori Tokichika, Yoshidanosho in

. Tokichika's descendants remained in Echigo while ruling indirectly over the territory of Aki. However, during the Northern and Southern Courts period, Mori Tokichika's great-grandson Mori Motoharu moved to Aki and directly ruled over the territory at Koriyama Castle. The Mori clan grew in power and became a prominent feudal lord in Aki Province during the Muromachi period. In the Sengoku period, they defeated various clans, including the Takeda and Ouchi clans, and established their dominance over the Chugoku region.

was built in 1591 and became the Mori clan's residence, making Hiroshima the political and economic center. However, in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

in 1600, Mori Terumoto, the clan's leader, was defeated, and their territory was significantly reduced. Fukushima Masanori became the satrap of Aki and Bingo, succeeding the Mori clan. He re-evaluated the land and obtained a larger territory. Masanori implemented changes in the military and education systems, but compromises were made in Aki due to the influence of local feudal lords. The

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

saw the development of castle towns and domestic industry in Hiroshima. However, in 1615, Aki Province was destroyed, Hiroshima Castle was demolished, and only Kannabe Castle remained in Bingo Province. The Mizuno family destroyed Hiroshima Castle and moved to Fukuyama Castle. Mihara Fortress had been abandoned, but the Fukushima family secretly relocated a turret from the destroyed Tomo Castle. In 1619, Masanori was found guilty of unauthorized renovations to Hiroshima Castle and his territory was significantly reduced. He was transferred to the Kawanakajima Domain. In 1589,

was commissioned by

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overc ...

, head of the powerful

Mōri clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power in Aki Province. Durin ...

and a member of

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: ...

Council of Five Elders In the history of Japan, the was a group of five powerful formed in 1598 by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only five years old and a ...

. In 1591, Terumoto relocated to Hiroshima while it was still under construction, using it as his base to rule his domain covering most of the

. Following the

in 1600, the Mōri were forced out of Hiroshima by

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

and relocated their base to Hagi Castle, losing most of their eastern territories. The Hiroshima '' han'' (domain) was subsequently established with Fukushima Masanori as its ''

'' (feudal lord), covering

and parts of neighboring Bingo Province. However, nineteen years later, Hiroshima Castle suffered extensive

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

damage and Fukushima repaired it in violation of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

's laws on the construction and repair of castles (see '' buke shohatto''). The shogunate then ordered Fukushima to Kawanakajima Domain, and awarded Hiroshima to the Asano clan, who ruled it for the remainder of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. Under the Tokugawa '' Kokudaka'' system for domains the Hiroshima Domain was assessed at 426,500 ''

'', the sixth-largest domain in Japan, excepting those held by the Tokugawa- Matsudaira dynasty. Asano Nagaaki, the second son of Asano Nagamasa, who served as Gobugyo under the Toyotomi administration, became the feudal lord of Aki and eight districts of Bingo from the Kishu Domain. Despite being smaller than the Fukushima territory, it gained approval from the shogunate with a detection level of 426,000 koku.

benefited from excellent maritime transport through the Seto Inland Sea route with Osaka and established a monopoly on timber, iron, paper, and other goods from the early stages of its establishment. Additionally, it made significant profits by skillfully manipulating rice market prices and purchasing rice from other domains at low prices. Chosei followed the policies of the Fukushima clan era while simultaneously adopting a strict approach towards local clans in order to modernize the governing structure. Mitsunori, the second lord of the domain and Nagaaki's second son, was the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. With permission from the shogunate, Mitsunori distributed 50,000 koku to his illegitimate brother, Nagaharu Asano, establishing the Miyoshi domain as a branch domain. Mitsunori focused on improving the roads and was granted permission to use the surname Matsudaira. The third lord of the domain, Asano Tsunaaki, who was Mitsuaki's eldest son, had Kujo Michifusa's daughter as his legal wife and successor wife. Michifusa's mother was Toyotomi Kanshi, the daughter of

Toyotomi Hidekatsu Toyotomi Hidekatsu (豊臣秀勝, 1569 – October 14, 1592)Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991). ''The Cambridge History of Japan'' was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew (later adopted) and a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the lord ...

. As a result, the Asano clan inherited the bloodline of the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

through the female line. After the death of the 14th shogun,

Tokugawa Iemochi (17 July 1846 – 29 August 1866) was the 14th '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. I ...

, and the defeat of the shogunate army in the Second Long March, the Hiroshima domain gradually aligned itself with the Choshu Domain. In 1867, they formed an alliance with the Choshu and Satsuma clans to overthrow the Shogunate. However, their plea to restore imperial rule to the 15th Shogun,

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, 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 his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...

, was seen as opportunistic, leading to mistrust and their removal from the mainstream of the Meiji Restoration. Despite this, the Hiroshima Domain joined the government army and fought in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. In 1869, the 12th lord of the domain, Asano Nagakoto, became the governor of the Hiroshima Domain after the restoration of land ownership. The domain reported a total debt of 3,742,290 ryo to the

in the same year. In 1871, the Hiroshima Domain was abolished and became Hiroshima Prefecture, along with the establishment of prefectures nationwide. Reports indicated that there were over 830,000 ryo of uncollected domain bills, which were to be exchanged by the

, after the abolition of domains and the establishment of prefectures.

Hiroshimashinden Domain

The Hiroshimashinden Domain (広島新田藩), founded in the 1730s by Asano Nagakata, member of the Asano clan, received 30,000 koku of rice. Governed by daimyo Edo Sadafu, the main family lived in Edo. In 1864, the Hiroshimashinden Domain established a Yoshida Jinya in Yoshida, now Akitakada City. By 1869, it was absorbed into the Hiroshima Domain, ending the Hiroshimashinden Domain.

List of daimyo

: ; Hiroshimashinden Domain : *''The years listed are those in which the lord occupied Hiroshima castle, not the years of his life.'' **''All of the lords after Asano Nagaakira enjoyed the same 426,500'' koku.

Simplified family tree of the Asano lords of Hiroshima

The following a simplified family tree of the Asano lords.Bunshun Shinsho (2003) 『大名の日本地図. New book label. ISBN 978-4166603527. (in Japanese) * I. Nagaakira, 1st Lord of Hiroshima (cr. 1619) (1586–1632; Lord: 1619–1632) ** II. Mitsuakira, 2nd Lord of Hiroshima (1617–1693; r. 1632–1672) *** III. Tsunaakira, 3rd Lord of Hiroshima (1637–1673; r. 1672–1673) **** IV. Tsunanaga, 4th Lord of Hiroshima (1659–1708; r. 1673–1708) ***** V. Yoshinaga, 5th Lord of Hiroshima (1681–1752; r. 1708–1752) ****** VI. Munetsune, 6th Lord of Hiroshima (1717–1788; r. 1752–1763) ******* VII. Shigeakira, 7th Lord of Hiroshima (1743–1814; r. 1763–1799) ******** VIII. Narikata, 8th Lord of Hiroshima (1773–1831; r. 1799–1830) ********* IX. Naritaka, 9th Lord of Hiroshima (1817–1868; r. 1831–1858) ********** X. Yoshiteru, 10th Lord of Hiroshima (1836–1858; r. 1858) ********Nagatoshi ********* XI. Nagamichi, 5th Lord of Hiroshima-Shinden, 11th Lord of Hiroshima, 26th family head (1812–1872; Lord of Hiroshima-Shinden: 1824–1858; Lord of Hiroshima: 1858–1869; 26th family head: 1869–1872) *********Toshitsugu ********** Nagayuki, 28th family head, 2nd Marquess (1864–1947; 28th family head and 2nd Marquess: 1937–1940) *********** Nagatake, 29th family head, 3rd Marquess (1895–1969; 29th family head: 1940–1969; 3rd Marquess: 1940–1947) ************ Nagayoshi, 30th family head (1927–2007; 30th family head: 1969–2007) ************* Nagataka, 31st family head (b. 1956; 31st family head: 2007–present) *********Toshiteru ********** XII. Nagakoto, 6th Lord of Hiroshima-Shinden, 12th Lord of Hiroshima, 27th family head, 1st Marquess (1842–1937; Lord of Hiroshima-Shinden: 1858–1869; Lord of Hiroshima: 1869; Governor of Hiroshima: 1869–1871; 27th family head: 1872–1937; Marquess: cr. 1884)

References

*Hiroshima Castle tourist brochure obtained at the castle. {{Authority control Domains of Japan History of Hiroshima Prefecture

History

Hiroshimashinden Domain

List of daimyo

Simplified family tree of the Asano lords of Hiroshima

See also

References