For the feudal domain also known as Akita, see Kubota Domain

Kubota Domain

The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Dewa Province . Its main castle was in modern-day Akita, Akita. The Kubota Domain was also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its history by the Satake clan. In the Boshin War of 1868-69, it joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, the...

The was a Japanese samurai clan of northern Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

 that claimed descent from Abe no Sadato

Abe no Sadato

was a samurai of the Abe during the Heian period of Japan. Sadato was the son of Abe no Yoritoki, the chinjufu shogun...

. The Akita clan was originally known as the . In the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

, they were installed in the Tsugaru district

Tsugaru District, Aomori

Tsugaru was a district located in Iwate, Japan. The district once had a land in Southern Hokkaido but in 1878, the district dissolved by splitting up the district.-Description:...

 of Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

 to trade with Ainu people

Ainu people

The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

 for the Hōjō clan

Hojo clan

See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...

, and to administer Ezo

Ezo

is a Japanese name which historically referred to the lands to the north of Japan. It was used in various senses, sometimes meaning the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and sometimes meaning lands and waters further north in the Sea of Okhotsk, like Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands...

 as a penal colony

Penal colony

A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...

.

In Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 Andō clan was driven out by Nanbu clan

Nanbu clan

The ' was a Japanese samurai clan originating in northern Japan, specifically Mutsu Province . The Nanbu claimed descent from the Minamoto clan, and its members first enter the historical record as residents of Kai Province during the Kamakura period. The clan later moved to Mutsu...

, and migrated to neighbor province Dewa

Dewa Province

is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. It was sometimes called .-Historical record:...

. Andō Chikasue

Ando Chikasue

was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period, who was a powerful figure in the north half of Dewa Province. Chikasue was the son of Andō Kiyosue.Chikasue united Ando family who had been divided. And he obtained some mines, and ruled the Akita port directly. However, he had died of sickness...

 changed the clan's name to Akita. It was Akita Sanesue

Akita Sanesue

was a Japanese daimyo who lived during the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was son of Andō Chikasue, a powerful figure in Dewa Province. Sanesue pledged loyalty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 during the Siege of Odawara, and served under him in various campaigns such as the Korean...

 who was the first Akita daimyo during the Edo period. However, Sanesue lost his land and was sent to Shishido

Shishido Domain

The ' was a han of Japan's Edo period. Located in Hitachi Province , it was ruled for the majority of its history by a branch of the Tokugawa clan of Mito. The domain was confiscated for action in support of the Tengu Party in 1864, but was restored to the family, after the shogunate's fall in 1868...

 in Hitachi

Hitachi Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces....

 in 1602 by the Tokugawa

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

 because he performed very poorly during the Sekigahara Campaign.

The Akita survived as daimyo during the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, becoming lords of Miharu Domain

Miharu Domain

Miharu han was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Mutsu Province. It was ruled by three different families over the course of its history: the Katō , the Matsushita , and for the remainder of the Edo period by the Akita...

 (Mutsu Province, 50,000 koku). They were signatories to the pact that formed the Ouetsu Reppan Domei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

-External links:**...

 in 1868, but switched sides and assisted the imperial government in subduing the northern domains. After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the Akita, as with all other daimyo, were relieved of office

Abolition of the han system

The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...

, and their territories were turned into prefectures

Prefectures of Japan

The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 subnational jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...

. Akita Akisue, the last daimyo, was given the title of viscount

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

(shishaku).