was the 11th ''

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

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 ...

during

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. ...

Japan. 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 ...

was ''Saemon-no-jō''.

Biography

Sakai Tadazumi was the fifth son of

Sakai Tadaaki ,Keene, Donald. (2002) ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912'', p. 43./ref> also known as Sakai Tadayoshi,Meyer, Eva-Mari Universität Tübingen (in German); Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy ...

, the 5th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai. When his elder brother, the 10th ''daimyō'' of Shōnai Sakai Tadatomo died with heir, he was named successor posthumously in 1862 and his position was officially confirmed by the shogunate in 1863. A couple of months later, he was appointed the commander of the '' Shinchōgumi'' and elite paramilitary force of ''

Rōshigumi The Rōshigumi (浪士組, meaning "the rōnin squad"), the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai (''rōnin''), founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Toku ...

'' who were created to provide extra security for the city 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 ...

. In 1864, Tagawa and Yuri districts in

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 ...

were added to his domains, raising his ''

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. ...

'' by 27,000 '' koku'' to 170,000 ''koku''. However, in 1867 growing dissatisfaction over high taxation and a severe crop failure led to widespread rioting and unrest in Shōnai Domain. Tadazumi remained in Edo, largely leaving affairs of the domain to his ''

karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anoth ...

'' and other retainers. He led the ''Shinchōgumi'' in an arson attack which burned the Edo residence of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshim ...

at the end of 1866. In 1868, during the Boshin War, Shōnai Domain became a key member of 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 ...

. In the early stages of the conflict, Shōnai forces won several key military engagements against

Akita 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 ...

and

Shinjō Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Dewa Province Japan and ruled by the Tozawa clan. It was centered on Shinjō Castle in what is now the city of Shinjō, Yamagata and occupied all of what is now Mogami District with 86 villag ...

; however, towards the end of the year it became clear to Tadazumi that the pro-Tokugawa cause was ultimately doomed. Although the domain had not suffered any military defeat, he surrendered 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 ...

at the end of the year. Accused by the new government of treason, Tadazumi was forced into retirement in favor of his adopted son, and the domain was reduced to 120,000 ''koku''. In 1869 he was pardoned, and in 1870 was sent to Satsuma for military training, returning to a post in the

Ministry of the Army The , also known as the Ministry of War, was the cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). It existed from 1872 to 1945. History The Army Ministry was created in ...

in 1871. In 1872, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the fledgling

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

and was sent to Germany for training in April of that year. He returned to Japan in June 1879. In 1880, Sakai Masamichi retired, and Tadazumi resumed the position of chieftain of the Tsuruoka Sakai clan. He returned to Tsuruoka in 1881. In 1884, he became 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 Yor ...

(''hakushaku'') in the new ''

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.

References

Papinot, Edmond. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)
* ''The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakai, Tadazumi 1856 births 1905 deaths Fudai daimyo Kazoku People of the Boshin War Imperial Japanese Army officers Sakai clan