Matsura Akira
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Count was the 12th and final ''
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
Hirado Domain 270px, Matsura Akira, final daimyo of Hirado Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was centered around Hirado Castle in what is now the city of Hirado, Nagasaki and was ruled by the ''tozama daimyō'' Matsura clan for all of it ...
in
Hizen Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...
,
Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
, Japan. He was also the 37th hereditary head of the
Matsura clan The Matsura clan, also spelled Matsuura, was a medieval and early modern Japanese samurai family who ruled Hirado Domain in Hizen Province on the island of Kyushu. They started as a group of military families under the name Matsura-to. They were ...
, and a noted tea master. His honorary title was. '' Hizen-no-Kami''.


Biography

Akira was born as the 3rd son of Matsura Hiromu, the 10th ''daimyō'' of Hirado. His elder brother, Matsura Terasu became 11th ''daimyō'' of Hirado in 1841; however by 1849, despite having a wife and three official concubines, Terasu was still childless. Therefore, in November 1849, Akira was officially adopted as his son and heir. Terasu died unexpectedly on August 5, 1858, and Akira became the 12th ''daimyō'' of Hirado. Akira was an active ruler, and attempted to continue the efforts started by his brother to strengthen the domain in face of the unsettled
Bakumatsu period were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunat ...
by continuing
land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
s, sponsoring improved agricultural methods and military training. In 1859, he was visited by
Katsu Kaishū Count , born , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer and military commander during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū S ...
and by the Dutch doctor J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort. In 1860, he built coastal defenses as increasing numbers of foreign ships were seen near Hirado's shores. Politically, he supported the moderate ''Kōbu Gattai'' policy of attempting to reconcile the
Tokugawa Bakufu 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 ...
with the Imperial Court. During 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 ...
of 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, he commanded his forces as part of the
Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...
in support of
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
, and fought at the
Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the sho ...
and against the Tokugawa remnants of 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 ...
in northern Japan, at
Morioka is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of t ...
and Akita. In June 1868, the revenues of Hirado domain were raised to 61,700 ''
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 ...
'' as a reward for his loyalty to the new government. However, 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) ...
later that year, he surrendered the title of ''daimyō'' to the
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...
and was appointed governor until Hirado domain was absorbed into
Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...
in July 1871. Awarded 4th Court rank, he moved to
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and entered into service of the
Imperial Household Ministry The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD until the Second World War, it was known ...
. In April 1884, he was made a
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
in the new ''
kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...
'' peerage system. From 1890, he served in the House of Peers of the
Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
. He was later awarded 2nd Court rank. In addition to his political work, Matsura Akira was also heir to the school of the
Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japa ...
begun by the 4th ''daimyō'' of Hirado, Matsura Shigenobu. His former house in
Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,172, and a population density of 120 people per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Hirado City occupies the northern part of Nagasaki P ...
still exists, and is preserved as the Matsura Historical Museum. The building is listed as a National Important Cultural Property. The collection holds household objects,
paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...
,
calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...
, and documents relating to the early foreign trade in the area. All items in the collection had once been the property of the Matsura clan of Hirado.


References

*''The content of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsura, Akira 1840 births 1908 deaths Tozama daimyo Matsura clan People of the Boshin War People of the Meiji era Kazoku Japanese tea masters