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| Kagoshima Domain (1869–1871)鹿児島藩 Satsuma Domain (1600–1869)薩摩藩 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain of Japan | |||||||||||||
| 1600–1871 | |||||||||||||
 Former site of Kagoshima Castle inKagoshima | |||||||||||||
 Maximum extent of Satsuma Domain during theSengoku period, 1586[clarification needed] | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Kagoshima Castle | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| Daimyō | |||||||||||||
• 1602–1638 | Shimazu Iehisa(first) | ||||||||||||
• 1858–1871 | Shimazu Tadayoshi(last) | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Edo period | ||||||||||||
• Established | 1600 | ||||||||||||
| 1871 | |||||||||||||
| Contained within | |||||||||||||
| • Province | Satsuma,Ōsumi,Hyūga | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Whole: Kagoshima Prefecture Kumamoto Prefecture Miyazaki Prefecture Partial: Fukuoka Prefecture Oita Prefecture | ||||||||||||
TheSatsuma Domain (薩摩藩,Satsuma-han Ryukyuan: Sachima-han), briefly known as theKagoshima Domain (鹿児島藩,Kagoshima-han), was adomain (han) of theTokugawa shogunate ofJapan during theEdo period from 1600 to 1871.
The Satsuma Domain was based atKagoshima Castle inSatsuma Province, the core of the modern city ofKagoshima, located in the south of the island ofKyushu. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by theTozamadaimyō of theShimazu clan, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in theprovinces of Satsuma,Ōsumi andHyūga. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under theKokudaka system and its value peaked at 770,000koku, the second-highest domain in Japan after theKaga Domain.[1][2][3]
The Satsuma Domain was one of the most powerful and prominent of Japan's domains during the Edo period, conquering theRyukyu Kingdom as avassal state after theinvasion of Ryukyu in 1609, and clashing with theBritish during thebombardment of Kagoshima in 1863 after theNamamugi Incident. The Satsuma Domain formed theSatchō Alliance with the rivalChōshū Domain during theMeiji Restoration and became instrumental in the establishment of theEmpire of Japan. The Kagoshima-han was dissolved in theabolition ofhan and establishment ofken in 1871 by theMeiji government when Kagoshima-han becameKagoshima-ken, with some parts of the domain separated as part ofMiyakonojō Prefecture (Miyakonojō-ken). The first prefectural governor of Kagoshima wasŌyama Tsunayoshi until 1877 when he was executed in theSatsuma Rebellion. Since the 1880s, the former territory of Kagoshima Domain is now part of Kagoshima andMiyazaki Prefecture which was ultimately split from Kagoshima in 1883.
TheShimazu family controlled Satsuma province for roughly four centuries prior to the beginning of the Edo period. Despite being chastised byToyotomi Hideyoshi in his 1587Kyūshū campaign, and forced back to Satsuma, they remained one of the most powerful clans in the archipelago. During the decisivebattle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Shimazu fought on the losing side. Satsuma was one of the most powerful feudal domains inTokugawaJapan. It was controlled throughout the Edo period by thetozamadaimyō of theShimazu clan.
Since the mid-15th century, Satsuma fought with theRyukyu Kingdom for control of theNorthern Ryukyu Islands, which lie southwest of Japan. In 1609,Shimazu Iehisa requested permission from the shogunate to invade Ryukyu. After athree-month war which met stiff resistance, Satsuma captured the Ryukyuan capital ofShuri and KingShō Nei. In the ensuing peace treaty, Satsuma annexed theAmami andTokara Islands, demanded tribute, and forced the King and his descendants to pledge loyalty to Satsuma'sdaimyō.
For the remainder of the Edo period, Satsuma influenced their politics and dominated their trading policies to take advantage of Ryukyu'stributary status with China. As strictmaritime prohibitions were imposed upon much of Japan beginning in the 1630s, Satsuma's ability to enjoy a trade in Chinese goods, and information, via Ryukyu, provided it a distinct and important, if not entirely unique, role in the overall economy and politics of the Tokugawa state. The degree of economic benefits enjoyed by Satsuma, and the degree of their influence in Ryukyu, are subjects debated by scholars, but the political prestige and influence gained through this relationship is not questioned. The Shimazu continually made efforts to emphasize their unique position as the only feudal domain to claim an entire foreign kingdom as its vassal, and engineered repeated increases to their own official Court rank, in the name of maintaining their power and prestige in the eyes of Ryukyu.
In 1871, however,Emperor Meijiabolished thehan system, and the following year informed KingShō Tai that he was designated "Domain Head ofRyukyu Domain", transferring Satsuma's authority over the country to Tokyo.
Though not the wealthiesthan in terms ofkokudaka (the official measure of the wealth and therefore power of ahan, measured inkoku), Satsuma remained among the wealthiest and most powerful domains throughout the Edo period. This derived not only from their connection to Ryukyu, but also from the size and productive wealth of Satsuma province itself, and from their extreme distance fromEdo, and thus from theshōgun's armies.
The Shimazu exercised their influence to exact from the shogunate a number of special exceptions. Satsuma was granted an exception to the shogunate's limit of one castle per domain, a policy which was meant to restrict the military strength of the domains; the Shimazu then formed sub-fiefs within their domain, and doled out castles to their vassals, administering the domain in a manner not unlike a mini-shogunate. They also received special exceptions from the shogunate in regard to the policy ofsankin-kōtai, another policy meant to restrict the wealth and power of the daimyō. Under this policy, every feudal lord was mandated to travel to Edo at least once a year, and to spend some portion of the year there, away from his domain and his power base. The Shimazu were granted permission to make this journey only once every two years. These exceptions thus allowed Satsuma to gain even more power and wealth relative to the majority of other domains.
Though arguably opposed to the shogunate, Satsuma was perhaps one of the strictest domains in enforcing particular policies. Christian missionaries were seen as a serious threat to the power of thedaimyō, and the peace and order of the domain; the shogunal ban on Christianity was enforced more strictly and brutally in Satsuma, perhaps, than anywhere else in the archipelago. The ban on smuggling, perhaps unsurprisingly, was not so strictly enforced, as the domain gained significantly from trade performed along its shores, some ways away fromNagasaki, where the shogunate monopolized commerce. In the 1830s, Satsuma used its illegal Okinawa trade to rebuild its finances underZusho Hirosato.
The Satsumadaimyō of the 1850s,Shimazu Nariakira, was very interested in Western thought and technology, and sought to open the country. At the time, contacts with Westerners increased dramatically, particularly for Satsuma, as Western ships frequently landed in the Ryukyus and sought not only trade, but formal diplomatic relations. To increase his influence in the shogunate, Nariakira engineered a marriage betweenShōgunTokugawa Iesada and his adopted daughter, Atsu-hime (laterTenshō-in).
In 1854, the first year of Iesada's reign,Commodore Perry landed in Japan and forced an end to the isolation policy of the shogunate. However, the treaties signed between Japan and the western powers, particularly theHarris Treaty of 1858, put Japan at a serious disadvantage. In the same year, both Iesada and Nariakira died. Nariakira named his nephew,Shimazu Tadayoshi, as his successor. As Tadayoshi was still a child, his father,Shimazu Hisamitsu, effectively held the power in Satsuma.
Hisamitsu followed a policy ofKōbu gattai, or "unity between the shogunate and the imperial court". The marriage betweenTokugawa Iemochi, the nextshōgun, and imperial princessKazunomiya was a major success for this faction. However, this put Satsuma at odds with the more radicalSonnō jōi, or "revere the Emperor and repel the barbarians" faction, withChōshū as the major supporter.
In 1862, in theNamamugi Incident an Englishman was killed by retainers of Satsuma, leading to thebombardment of Kagoshima by theRoyal Navy the following year. Even though Satsuma was able to withstand the attack, this event showed how necessary it was for Japan to import western technology and reform its military.
Meanwhile, the focus of Japanese politics shifted to Kyoto, where the major struggles of the time occurred. The shogunate entrusted Satsuma andAizu with the protection of the Imperial court, against attempts of theSonnō jōi faction to take over, as in theKinmon Incident of 1864. The shogunate decided to punish Chōshū for this event with theFirst Chōshū expedition, under the leadership of a Satsuma retainer,Saigō Takamori. Saigō, however, avoided a military conflict and allowed Chōshū to resolve the issue with theSeppuku of the three perpetrators behind the attack on the Imperial palace.
When the shogunate decided to finally defeat Chōshū in aSecond Chōshū expedition the next year, Satsuma, under the lead of Saigo Takamori andŌkubo Toshimichi, decided to switch sides. TheSatchō Alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū was brokered bySakamoto Ryōma fromTosa.
This second expedition ended in a disaster for the shogunate. It was defeated on the battlefield, and Shōgun Iemochi died of illness inOsaka Castle. The nextshōgun,Tokugawa Yoshinobu, brokered a cease fire.
Despite attempts by the new shōgun to reform the government, he was unable to contain the growing movement to overthrow the shogunate led by Satsuma and Chōshū. Even after he stepped down asshōgun and agreed to return the power to the Imperial court, the two sides finally clashed in theBattle of Toba–Fushimi 1868. The shōgun, defeated, escaped to Edo. Saigo Takamori then led his troops to Edo, where Tenshō-in was instrumental in the bloodlesssurrender of Edo castle. TheBoshin War continued until the last of the shogunate forces were defeated in 1869.
TheMeiji government, which was established in the aftermath of these events, was largely dominated by politicians from Satsuma and Chōshū. Though the samurai class, domain system, and much of the political and social structures surrounding these wereabolished shortly afterwards. The Satsumarebelled against the imperial government in 1877 as their authority withered, culminating in the destruction of hereditary rule in Japan. Figures from these two areas dominated theJapanese government roughly untilWorld War I.
However, the beginning of the period was marked by growing discontent of the former samurai class, which erupted in theSatsuma Rebellion under Saigo Takamori in 1877.
The hereditarydaimyōs were head of the clan and head of the domain.
Shimazu clan 1602–1871 (Tozama; 770,000koku)
| Name | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shimazu Iehisa (島津家久) | 1602–1638 |
| 2 | Shimazu Mitsuhisa (島津光久) | 1638–1687 |
| 3 | Shimazu Tsunataka (島津綱貴) | 1687–1704 |
| 4 | Shimazu Yoshitaka (島津吉貴) | 1704–1721 |
| 5 | Shimazu Tsugutoyo (島津継豊) | 1721–1746 |
| 6 | Shimazu Munenobu (島津宗信) | 1746–1749 |
| 7 | Shimazu Shigetoshi (島津重年) | 1749–1755 |
| 8 | Shimazu Shigehide (島津重豪) | 1755–1787 |
| 9 | Shimazu Narinobu (島津斉宣) | 1787–1809 |
| 10 | Shimazu Narioki (島津斉興) | 1809–1851 |
| 11 | Shimazu Nariakira (島津斉彬) | 1851–1858 |
| 12 | Shimazu Tadayoshi (島津忠義) | 1858–1871 |
Meiji period statesmen and diplomats
Artists
Entrepreneurs
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