| Yamaguchi Domain (1869–1871)山口藩 Chōshū Domain (1600–1869)長州藩 | |
|---|---|
| Domain of Japan | |
| 1600–1871 | |
 Former site of Hagi Castle inHagi | |
| Capital | Hagi Castle (1600–1862) Yamaguchi Castle [ja] (1862–1871) |
| Government | |
| Daimyō | |
• 1563–1623 | Mōri Terumoto(first) |
• 1858–1871 | Mōri Motonori(last) |
| Historical era | Edo period |
• Established | 1600 |
| 1871 | |
| Contained within | |
| • Province | Nagato |
| Today part of | Yamaguchi Prefecture |
TheChōshū Domain (長州藩,Chōshū-han), also known as theHagi Domain (萩藩,Hagi-han), was adomain (han) of theTokugawa Shogunate ofJapan during theEdo period from 1600 to 1871.[1]
The Chōshū Domain was based atHagi Castle inNagato Province, in the modern city ofHagi, located in theChūgoku region of the island ofHonshu. The Chōshū Domain was ruled for its existence by thetozamadaimyō of theMōri, whose branches also ruled the neighboringChōfu andKiyosue domains and was assessed under theKokudaka system with peak value of 369,000koku. The Chōshū Domain was the most prominent anti-Tokugawa domain and formed theSatchō Alliance with the rivalSatsuma Domain during theMeiji Restoration, becoming instrumental in the establishment of theEmpire of Japan and theMeiji oligarchy. The Chōshū Domain was dissolved in theabolition of the han system in 1871 by theMeiji government and its territory was absorbed intoYamaguchi Prefecture.
The rulers of Chōshū were the descendants of the greatSengoku warlordMōri Motonari. Motonari was able to extend his power over all of theChūgoku region of Japan and occupied a territory worth 1,200,000 koku. After he died, his grandson and heirMōri Terumoto becamedaimyō and implemented a strategy of alliance withToyotomi Hideyoshi. This would later prove to be a great mistake. After Hideyoshi's death, thedaimyōTokugawa Ieyasu challenged the Toyotomi power and battled with Hideyoshi's trusted advisorIshida Mitsunari at theBattle of Sekigahara. Mōri Terumoto was the most powerful ally of the Toyotomi and was elected by a council of Toyotomi loyalists to be the titulary head of the Toyotomi force. However, the Toyotomi forces lost the battle due to several factors tied to Mōri Terumoto:
Despite its inactivity, theMōri clan was removed from its ancestral home inAki toNagato Province (also known as Chōshū), and its holdings were drastically reduced from 1,200,000 to 369,000koku.
This was seen as a great act of betrayal to the Mōri clan, and Chōshū later became a hotbed of anti-Tokugawa activities. The origins of this were evident in the tradition of the clan's New Year's meeting. Every year during the meeting, the elders and the administrators would ask the daimyo whether the time to overthrow the shogunate had come, to which the daimyo would reply: "Not yet, the shogunate is still too powerful."
This dream would eventually be realized some 260 years later, when the domain joined forces with theSatsuma Domain and sympatheticcourt nobles to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1865, the domain bought a warshipUnion (ja) fromGlover and Co., an agency ofJardine Matheson established inNagasaki, in the name ofSatsuma Domain. They led the fight against the armies of the former shōgun, which included theŌuetsu Reppan Dōmei,Aizu, and theEzo Republic, during theBoshin War. The domains' military forces of 1867 through 1869 also formed the foundation for theImperial Japanese Army. Thanks to this alliance, Chōshū and Satsuma natives enjoyed political and societal prominence well into theMeiji and evenTaishō eras.
The initial reduction of 1.2 million to 369,000koku resulted in a large shortfall in terms of military upkeep and infrastructure maintenance, despite which the domain remained the seventh largest in Japan outside the shogunate-controlled domains. In order to bring the domain's finances out of debt, strict policies were enforced on the retainers:
Previously, as a result of high taxation, farmers secretly developed farms far inside the mountains as a private food source. A new land survey was conducted within the domain in which many hidden farms were discovered and taxed. The domain also began a strict policy with regard to trade.
Laws were also passed through which the profitable trade of the "four whites" was controlled by the domain: paper, rice, salt, and wax. Some of the profits, and a large amount of the tax revenue from this trade, went into the domain coffers.
These policies greatly strengthened the domain's finances and allowed the daimyo more effective control over his territory. However, these policies angered peasants and displaced samurai alike, resulting in frequent revolts.
The capital of the domain was the castle town ofHagi, which was the source of Chōshū's alternate name of Hagi han (萩藩).
The domain remained under the rule of the Mōri family for the duration of theEdo period. Because the shogunate frequently confiscated domains whose daimyo were unable to produce heirs, the Mōri daimyo created four subordinate han ruled by branches of the family:
During the Edo period, the main branch died out in 1707, after which heirs were adopted from the Chōfu branch, which also became extinct in 1751. The family then continued through the Kiyosue branch.
The Mōri daimyo, as with many of his counterparts throughout Japan, was assisted in the government of his domain by a group ofkarō, or domain elders. There were two kinds of karō in Chōshū: hereditarykarō (whose families retained the rankin perpetuity) and the "lifetimekarō", whose rank was granted to an individual but could not be inherited by his son.
The hereditary karō were either members of minor branches of the Mōri family, or members of related families such as the Shishido and the Fukuhara, or descendants of Mōri Motonari's most trusted generals and advisors such as the Mazuda, the Kuchiba and the Kunishi.
The lifetimekarō were middle or lower samurai who displayed great talent in economics or politics and were promoted tokarō by thedaimyō. One such person was the great reformer Murata Seifu.
| Name | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元) | 1563–1623 |
| 1 | Mōri Hidenari (毛利秀就) | 1623–1651 |
| 2 | Mōri Tsunahiro (毛利綱広) | 1651–1682 |
| 3 | Mōri Yoshinari (毛利吉就) | 1682–1694 |
| 4 | Mōri Yoshihiro (毛利吉広) | 1694–1707 |
| 5 | Mōri Yoshimoto (毛利吉元) | 1707–1731 |
| 6 | Mōri Munehiro (毛利宗広) | 1731–1751 |
| 7 | Mōri Shigetaka (毛利重就) | 1751–1782 |
| 8 | Mōri Haruchika (毛利治親) | 1782–1791 |
| 9 | Mōri Narifusa (毛利斉房) | 1791–1809 |
| 10 | Mōri Narihiro (毛利斉熙) | 1809–1824 |
| 11 | Mōri Narimoto (毛利斉元) | 1824–1836 |
| 12 | Mōri Naritō (毛利斉広) | 1836 |
| 13 | Mōri Takachika (毛利敬親) | 1836–1869 |
| 14 | Mōri Motonori (毛利元徳) | 1869–1871 |
I. Terumoto, 1st Lord of Chōshū (cr. 1600) (1553–1625; r. 1600–1623)II. Hidenari, 2nd Lord of Chōshū (1595–1651; r. 1623–1651)III. Tsunahiro, 3rd Lord of Chōshū (1639–1689; r. 1651–1682)IV. Yoshinari, 4th Lord of Chōshū (1668–1694; r. 1682–1694).V. Yoshihiro, 5th Lord of Chōshū (1673–1707; r. 1694–1707)XV. Motonori, 15th Lord of Chōshū, 1st Prince (1839–1896; r. 1869, Governor of Hagi 1869–1871, family head 1871–1896, created 1st Prince 1884)VI. Yoshimoto, 6th Lord of Chōshū (1677–1731; r. 1707–1731)VII. Munehiro, 7th Lord of Chōshū (1715–1751; r. 1731–1751)VIII. Shigetaka, 8th Lord of Chōshū (1725–1789; r. 1751–1782)IX. Haruchika, 9th Lord of Chōshū (1754–1791; r. 1782–1791)X. Narifusa, 10th Lord of Chōshū (1779–1809; r. 1791–1809)XI. Narihiro, 11th Lord of Chōshū (1784–1836; r. 1809–1824)XIII. Naritō, 13th Lord of Chōshū (1815–1836; r. 1836).XII. Narimoto, 12th Lord of Chōshū (1794–1836; r. 1824–1836)XIV. Takachika, 14th Lord of Chōshū (1819–1871; r. 1836–1869)| International | |
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