| Aizu Domain 会津藩 Aizu-han | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain of Japan | |||||||||
| 1601–1869 | |||||||||
.jpg) ReconstructedTsuruga Castle inAizuwakamatsu | |||||||||
 Flag  Mon of theAizu-Matsudaira | |||||||||
| Capital | Tsuruga Castle | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Daimyō | |||||||||
• 1601–1612 | Gamō Hideyuki(first) | ||||||||
• 1858–1868 | Matsudaira Nobunori(last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Edo period | ||||||||
• Established | 1601 | ||||||||
| 1869 | |||||||||
| Contained within | |||||||||
| • Province | Mutsu | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Fukushima Prefecture | ||||||||
Aizu Domain (会津藩,Aizu-han) was adomain of theTokugawa Shogunate ofJapan during theEdo period from 1601 to 1871.[1]
The Aizu Domain was based atTsuruga Castle inMutsu Province, the core of the modern city ofAizuwakamatsu, located in theTōhoku region of the island ofHonshu. The Aizu Domain was ruled for most of its existence by theshinpandaimyō of theAizu-Matsudaira clan, a localcadet branch of the rulingTokugawa clan, but was briefly ruled by thetozamadaimyō of theGamō and Katō clans. The Aizu Domain was assessed under theKokudaka system with a peak value of 919,000koku, but this was reduced to 230,000koku. The Aizu Domain was dissolved in theabolition of thehan system in 1871 by theMeiji government and its territory was absorbed intoFukushima Prefecture, covering much of the traditional region ofAizu.
The area of Kurokawa, later called "Wakamatsu", was under the control of the powerfulBuddhist temple ofEnichi-ji during theHeian period. However, Enichi-ji sided with theTaira clan during theGenpei War and fell into decline after the victory ofMinamoto no Yoritomo. He awarded the territory to theAshina clan, a powerful localsamurai clan, who ruled from theKamakura period into theMuromachi period. However, in the wars of theSengoku period, the Ashina were defeated by their powerful and aggressive neighbors to the north, theDate clan. In 1590,Toyotomi Hideyoshi awarded the Aizu Basin toGamō Ujisato as part of a 919,000koku fief following the submission ofDate Masamune. Ujisato was succeeded by his son,Gamō Hideyuki, but he fell out of favor with Hideyoshi and was transferred toUtsunomi with a reduction in his holdings to only 180,000koku. The Aizu Basin was then assigned toUesugi Kagekatsu, who was ordered by Hideyoshi to relocate from his power base inEchigo Province.
In 1600, afterTokugawa Ieyasu's victory at theBattle of Sekigahara, Uesugi Kagekatsu was deprived of his holdings in Aizu and was reassigned to the much smallerYonezawa Domain inDewa Province. The Aizu holding was reduced in half, and 600,000koku was returned to Ieyasu's son-in-law, Gamō Hideyuki. However, the death of his son, Gamō Hidesato, in 1627 without a direct male heir provided an excuse for theTokugawa shogunate to order the clan trade places with the Katō clan of theMatsuyama Domain inIyo Province. The Gamō were replaced byKatō Yoshiaki, but reduced to 200,000koku. His son, Katō Akinari was dispossessed due to anO-Ie Sōdō (clan dispute) in 1643.
The Aizu Domain was then given toHoshina Masayuki, theillegitimate son of the second TokugawashōgunTokugawa Hidetada. Masayuki had been adopted into theHoshina clan, who had formerly been senior retainers of theTakeda clan and who weredaimyō of the 30,000kokuTakatō Domain inShinano Province. Masayuki was a senior advisor to third Tokugawashōgun,Tokugawa Iemitsu, and was transferred to the 200,000kokuYamagata Domain in 1636. When Aizu Domain became vacant in 1643, Masayuki was transferred to that holding, whose officialkokudaka was raised to 240,000koku. The actualkokudaka of the domain was perhaps double this, as management of all of thetenryō (directly shogunate owned) holdings within the Aizu region were assigned to Aizu Domain. Masayuki later acted as aregent for Iemitsu's successor, the underage fourthshōgunTokugawa Ietsuna. Masayuki was offered the use of the Tokugawamon and theMatsudaira surname, though he declined, partly out of respect and partly to emphasize that he had no ambitions towards being regarded as part of legitimate Tokugawaline of succession. However, the Matsudaira name and the Tokugawa symbols were later adopted from the time of the 3rddaimyōMatsudaira Masakata and were used by his descendents that ruled the Aizu Domain.
In 1822, the Hoshina-Matsudaira line became extinct with the death of the seventhdaimyō, the 15-year-oldMatsudaira Katahiro, and was succeeded byMatsudaira Katataka, who was a sixth cousin (twice removed) and a member of the Takasu cadet branch of theMito-Tokugawa collateral line. Katataka died without heirs in 1852 and was succeeded by his grandnephew, the famousMatsudaira Katamori, one of the final supporters of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The Aizu Domain was known for its martial skill, and maintained astanding army of over 5000 men. It was often deployed to security operations on the northern fringes of Japan, at the time afrontier region, as far north as southernSakhalin. The Aizu Domain's two sets of formal rules for its army, the Rules for Commanders (将長禁令shōchō kinrei) and Rules for Soldiers (士卒禁令shisotsu kinrei), written in the 1790s, laid down a professional, modern standard for military conduct and operations, including the following two items in the Rules for Soldiers which codified the human rights and protection of enemy noncombatants, over 70 years before the firstGeneva Convention of 1864:
- 敵地といえども猥りに田畑を踏荒らすべからざる事。
"Regardless of whether it belongs to the enemy, trampling and ruining rice fields is forbidden."
- 敵地に入って、婦女を犯し、老幼を害し、墳墓を荒らし、民家を焼き、猥りに畜類を殺し、米金を掠取り、故なく林木を伐り、作毛を刈取べからざる事。
"In enemy territory, it is forbidden to rape women, harm the elderly and children, desecrate graves, torch the homes ofcommoners, slaughter livestock needlessly, pillage money and rice, cut trees without reason, and steal crops in the field."
Around the time of thePerry Expedition, Aizu had a presence in security operations aroundEdo Bay. During theBakumatsu period, the domain deployed massive amounts of troops toKyoto, where Katamori served asKyoto Shugoshoku. Operating under the orders of the Shogunate, they also acted as the first official supervisor and patron of theShinsengumi. Earning the enmity of theChōshū Domain, and alienating theSatsuma Domain, Katamori retreated toEdo with the finalshōgunTokugawa Yoshinobu in 1868 at the start of theBoshin War. Following Yoshinobu's resignation, Katamori took great pains to avoid conflict with the newMeiji government which could only be averted by an equitable settlement with the Tokugawa clan. However, the new government was filled with anti-Tokugawa clansmen from the Satsuma and Chōshū domains, who sought to settle old scores. During the Boshin War, Aizu fought as an ally of theŌuetsu Reppan Dōmei, although it was not an official member. In October 1868,Aizuwakamatsu Castle, the seat of the Aizu Domain, eventually fell during theBattle of Aizu. Although branded as an "enemy of theCourt", Matsudaira Katamori was placed underhouse arrest and was later allowed to serve as the headkannushi for theNikkō Tōshō-gū shrines to the Tokugawa clan. The Aizu Domain was assigned by the Meiji government toSakai Tadamichi, formerly of theShonai Domain, as theImperial Governor from 1868 to 1869. After theabolition of the han system, the Aizu Domain was absorbed into the newIwashiro Province, and subsequently intoFukushima Prefecture.
| # | Name | Tenure | Courtesy title | Court Rank | kokudaka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gamō clan, 1601–1627 (tozama)[2] | |||||
| 1 | Gamō Hideyuki ((蒲生 秀行) | 1601–1612 | Sangi /Jijū | Senior 3rd (従三位) | 919,000koku |
| 2 | Gamō Tadatoshi (蒲生忠郷) | 1612–1627 | Sangi /Jijū | Senior 3rd (従三位) | 600,000koku |
 Katō clan, 1627–1643 (tozama)[2] | |||||
| 1 | Katō Yoshiaki (加藤嘉明) | 1627–1631 | Sama-no-suke /Jijū | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 400,000koku |
| 2 | Katō Akinari (加藤明成) | 1631–1643 | Shikibu-Shōbu /Jijū | Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (従四位下) | 400,000koku |
.svg) Hoshina clan /Aizu-Matsudaira clan, 1643–1868 (shinpan)[2] | |||||
| 1 | Hoshina Masayuki (保科正之) | 1643–1669 | Sakonoegonchūjō /Higo-no-kami | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 2 | Hoshina Masatsune (保科正経) | 1669–1681 | Chikuzen-no-kami /Jijū | Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (従四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 3 | Matsudaira Masakata (松平正容) | 1681–1731 | Higo-no-kami/Sakonoegonchūjō | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 4 | Matsudaira Katasada (松平容貞) | 1731–1750 | Higo-no-kami/Sakonoegonshōshō | Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (従四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 5 | Matsudaira Katanobu (松平容頌) | 1750–1805 | Higo-no-kami/Sakonoegonchūjō | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 6 | Matsudaira Kataoki (松平容住) | 1805 | Higo-no-kami | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 7 | Matsudaira Katahiro (松平容衆) | 1806–1822 | Higo-no-kami/Sakonoegonshōshō | Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (従四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 8 | Matsudaira Katataka (松平容敬) | 1822–1852 | Higo-no-kami/Sakonoegonchūjō | Senior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (正四位下) | 230,000koku |
| 9 | Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保) | 1852–1868 | Higo-no-kami/Sangi | Senior 3rd (正三位) | 230,000 ->280,000koku |
| 10 | Matsudaira Nobunori (松平喜徳) | 1868–1891 | Wakasa-no-kami,Jijū | Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade (従四位下) | 280,000 -> 30,000koku |
Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1st Tokugawa Shōgun (1543–1616; r. 1603–1605)Tokugawa Hidetada, 2nd Tokugawa Shōgun (1579–1632; r. 1605–1623)
I. Hoshina Masayuki, 1stdaimyō of Aizu (cr. 1643) (1611–1673; r. 1643–1669)II. Hoshina Masatsune, 2nddaimyō of Aizu (1647–1681; r. 1669–1681)III. Matsudaira Masakata, 3rddaimyō of Aizu (1669–1731; r. 1681–1731)IV. Katasada, 4thdaimyō of Aizu (1724–1750; r. 1731–1750)V. Katanobu, 5thdaimyō of Aizu (1744–1805; r. 1750–1805)VI. Kataoki, 6thdaimyō of Aizu (1779–1806; r. 1805)VII. Katahiro, 7thdaimyō of Aizu (1803–1822; r. 1806–1822)X. Nobunori, 10thdaimyō of Aizu, 10th family head, Viscount (1855–1891; Lord: 1868; Viscount: cr. 1884)IX. Katamori, 9thdaimyō of Aizu (1836–1893; r. 1852–1868)VIII. Katataka, 8thdaimyō of Aizu (1806–1852; r. 1822–1852)Unlike with most domains in thehan system, Aizu Domain consisted of a continuous territory calculated to provide the assignedkokudaka, based on periodiccadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.[4][5] At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the domain consisted of the following holdings:
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