was a feudal domain under 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 ...

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 ...

Japan, located in

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

(modern-day

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was centered on Tatebayashi Castle in what is now the city of

Tatebayashi, Gunma 250px, Tsutsujigaoka Koen, or Azalea Park in Tatebayashi is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 74,027 in 34,486 households, and a population density of 1200 people per km². The total area of the ...

History

Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590,

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: ...

assigned the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

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 ...

, who confirmed

Sakakibara Yasumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. As one of the Tokugawa family's foremost military commanders, he was considered one of its Shitennō (Tokugawa clan), "Four Guardian ...

, one of this Four Generals as

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 Tatebayashi, with revenues of 100,000 ''

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 ...

''. Yasumasa built Tatebayashi Castle and the surrounding

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

, as well as constructing waterworks protecting the new town from flooding. His son Sakakibara Yatsukatsu participated in the

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, and his nephew and heir Sakakibara Tadatsugu received permission to use the Matsudaira surname and an increase in revenues to 110,000 ''koku'' in 1625. He was transferred to

Shirakawa Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in southern Mutsu Province. It was centered on Komine Castle in what is now the city of Shirakawa, Fukushima. Its most famous ruler was Matsudaira Sadanobu, the arc ...

in Mutsu Province in 1643. Tatebayashi Domain was then assigned to

Matsudaira Norinaga was a ''daimyō'' during early-Edo period Japan. He was the second head of the Ogyū-Matsudaira clan. Biography Matsudaira Norinaga was the eldest son of Matsudaira Ienori, a Sengoku period samurai and daimyō of Iwamura Domain in Mino Provin ...

, who served as ''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder (administrative title), Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a wh ...

'' under Shōgun

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

with revenues set at 60,000 ''koku''. However, when his son,

Matsudaira Norihisa The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the ...

took over the domain in 1654, he set aside 5,000 ''koku'' for his younger brother Norimasa. He was transferred to

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hist ...

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

in 1661. The domain was then given to the younger brother of Shōgun

Tokugawa Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. ...

, the future Shōgun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

with revenues increased to 250,000 ''koku''. However, Tsunayoshi never actually set foot in Tatebayashi, preferring to remain in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

. After he became Shōgun in 1680, he assigned Tatebayashi to his infant son, Tokugawa Tokumatsu. When Tokumatsu died in 1683, Tatebayashi Castle was allowed to fall to ruin and the domain was abolished. The domain was revived in 1707 for the grandson of Shōgun

Matsudaira Kiyotake The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the ...

, who was allotted only 24,000 ''koku''. He received an increase to 34,000 ''koku'' in 1710 and to 54,000 ''koku'' in 1712. His grandson Matsudaira Takechika was transferred to

Tanakura Domain was a ''fudai'' Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura, Fuk ...

in Mutsu in 1728. He was replaced at Tatebayashi by the ''

wakadoshiyori The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in the Edo period Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' we ...

Ōta Sukeharu Ōta, Ota, or Ohta may refer to the following: People * Ota (wife of Arnulf of Carinthia), Queen of the East Franks 888-899, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire 896-899 *Ota (cartoonist), Brazilian cartoonist * Atsuya Ota, Japanese basketball pla ...

who remained until appointed ''

Osaka-jō dai were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Those appointed to this prominent office were exclusively ''fudai daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 326. Conventiona ...

'' in 1734. Tatebayashi remained vacant in 1740, when Sukeharu's son Ōta Suketoshi was finally appointed daimyo. He was transferred to

Kakegawa Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The domain was centered at Kakegawa Castle in Tōtōmi Province, in what is now the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka.

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

in 1746 and Matsudaira Takechika (now a ''rōjū'') returned from Tanakura. In December 1769, his holdings were increased to 61,000 ''koku''. His grandson Matsudaira Nariyasu was transferred to Hamada Domain in

Iwami Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Iwami bordered Aki, Bingo, Izumo, Nagato, and Suō provinces. In the Heian period (794–1192) the capital was at moder ...

in 1836. Inoue Masaharu was then transferred from Tanakura to Tatebayashi, and his revenues were set at 60,000 ''koku''. In 1845 he was sent to

Hamamatsu Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu was the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu for m ...

. In 1845, Akimoto Yukitomo was transferred from

Yamagata Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yamagata Castle in what is now the city of Yamagata. Unlike some ''han'' whose control was relatively stable throughou ...

to Tatebayashi. He was, along with

Tokugawa Nariaki Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration. Biography Clan leader ...

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sou ...

'' movement. However, he opposed the actions of

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

, and retired after receiving word of the

Kinmon Incident The , also known as the , was a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan that took place on 20 August unar calendar: 19th day, 7th month 1864, near the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. History Starting with the Convention of Kanagawa in ...

. The domain attempted to remain neutral 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 ...

, but after paying a fine of 20,000

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 Ja ...

to 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 ...

, was allowed to send its forces to participate in the campaign in the northern Japan against the remaining pro-Tokugawa forces 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 ...

, for which it received an increase in revenues to 70,000 ''koku''. After the end of the conflict, 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 July 1871, Tatebayashi Domain became “Tatebayashi Prefecture”, which later became part of Gunma Prefecture. The domain had a population of 75,057 people in 15,868 households per a census in 1869.

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

As with most domains in the

han system (, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encycloped ...

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

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. 5 ...

'', 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 represente ...

surveys and projected agricultural yields.Elison, George and Bardwell L. Smith (1987)
''Warlords, Artists, & Commoners: Japan in the Sixteenth Century,'' p. 18
*

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 ...

**39 villages in Murayama District *

**1 village in Nitta District **43 villages in Ōra District *

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

**3 villages in Tsuga District **1 villages in Aso District *

Kawachi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in th ...

**10 villages in Tannan District **16 villages in Tanboku District **11 villages in Yakami District

List of daimyō

References

Notes

External links

Tatebayashi on "Edo 300 HTML"
{{Authority control Domains of Japan 1590 establishments in Japan States and territories established in 1590 1871 disestablishments in Japan States and territories disestablished in 1871 Kōzuke Province History of Gunma Prefecture Matsudaira clan Ogyū-Matsudaira clan Ōta clan Sakakibara clan Tokugawa clan