was the 11th (and final) ''

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

Honjō Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Honjō Castle in what is now the city of Yurihonjō, Akita. History Much of Dewa Province was controlled by the powerf ...

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

, Japan (modern-day

Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its geographic area is 1 ...

). 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 ...

before 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 ...

was ''Hyōgō-gashira'', and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. His name is also sometimes transliterated as Rokugō Masaakira.

Biography

Rokugō Masakane was the eldest son of Rokugō Masatada and became ''daimyō'' in 1861 on the death of his father. he was received in formal audience by

Shōgun , 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 Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Iemochi (July 17, 1846 – August 29, 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. ...

in 1862. In 1866, he was assigned to the guard of Edo Castle. In early 1868, with the start of the Boshin War of the

, he led his domain into the pro-Tokugawa ''

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 ...

'', however, after only a few months, he switched sides to the imperial cause. 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 ...

ordered him to participate in the campaign against

Shōnai Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tsuruoka Castle in what is now the city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, and was thus also known as the . It was g ...

; however, the domain had only a very weak military capability and obsolete weapons. The much stronger Shōnai forces not only easily repulsed his attack, but counterattacked and burned down

Honjō Castle is a Japanese castle located in Yurihonjō, southern Akita Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Honjō Castle was home to the Rokugō clan, ''daimyō'' of Honjō Domain. The castle was also known as or . History Tateoka Mitsush ...

. Rokugō Masakane fled to

Kubota Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its ...

, where the government awarded him 3000 ''

ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in J ...

'' in compensation. Meiji government forces recovered Honjō two months later. At the end of the war, he was rewarded with an increase 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. ...

'' of 10,000 '' koku''. In June 1869, he was appointed imperial governor. 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) ...

in 1871, he relocated to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. In 1884 he 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 ...

(''shisaku'') under 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 his final years, he returned to Honjō. He died in 1907 at the age of 46. His court rank was posthumously elevated to Upper Third Rank. Rokugō Masakane's wife was a younger daughter of Okabe Nagahira ''daimyō'' of

Kishiwada Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Izumi Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. It was centered around Kishiwada Castle and was controlled by the ''fudai dai ...

. He was succeeded as chieftain of the

Rokugō clan Rokugō ''kamiyashiki'' in Edo near Sensō-ji) in 1850 The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Fujiwara clan and was based at Senboku County Dewa Province in the late Sengoku period. It should not be confused with a sam ...

and as viscount by his eldest son, Rokugō Masakata (1872-1926). His grave is at the temple of Eizen-ji in

Yurihonjō is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 76,077 in 30,639 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest corner of Akita Pre ...

References

* ''The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.'' {{reflist Tozama daimyo Rokugō clan 1848 births 1907 deaths People of the Boshin War Kazoku