Fudai
Encyclopedia
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
in 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....
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.
Origins
Many of the families who formed the ranks of the fudai daimyo were families which had served the Tokugawa clan since before its rise to national primacy. Some of these include the HondaHonda clan
The ' is a Japanese family that claims descent from the medieval court noble Fujiwara no Kanemichi. The family settled in Mikawa and served the Matsudaira clan as retainers. Later, when the main Matsudaira family became the Tokugawa clan, the Honda rose in prestige. The clan includes thirteen...
, Sakai
Sakai clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common ancestor of both the Sakai clan and the Matsudaira clan, which the Sakai later served...
, Sakakibara, Ii
Ii clan
The ' is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province. A famed 16th century clan member, Ii Naomasa, served as one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's generals, and received the fief of Hikone...
, Itakura
Itakura clan
The ' is a Japanese clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period. The family claimed descent from Shibukawa Yoshiaki, the son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, a relative of the Ashikaga shoguns...
, and Mizuno clan
Mizuno clan
The was a Japanese clan which claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. In the Edo period, the Mizuno clan produced many men who were fudai daimyo serving the Tokugawa shogun, as well as countless families of hatamoto...
s. Tokugawa Ieyasu's "Four Great Generals
Shitenno (Tokugawa clan)
The is a Japanese sobriquet describing four highly effective samurai generals who fought on behalf of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sengoku period. They were famous during their lifetimes as the four most fiercely loyal vassals of the Tokugawa clan in the early Edo period....
"- Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, Sakai Tadatsugu, and Ii Naomasa, were all pre-Edo era fudai, and went on to become fudai daimyo. In addition, some branches of the Matsudaira clan
Matsudaira clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...
(from which the Tokugawa clan originated), while allowed to retain the Matsudaira surname, were fudai.
In the Edo period
As Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
rose to power in the 16th century, his domains increased, and as his domains increased, he began to hand out landholdings to his vassals, so that one by one, many of them became daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
. This was the birth of the fudai daimyo class. In contrast to the tozama
Tozama
A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...
, the fudai typically ruled small fiefs
Han (Japan)
The or domain was the name of the estate belonging to a warrior in Japan after the 17th century. The fiefs of the daimyos of the samurai class of Japan during the Edo period were called han.-Edo period:...
, many in strategic locations along the principal roads or in the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
near the headquarters of the shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
at Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. High posts in the shogunate, such as Rōjū
Roju
The ', usually translated as Elder, was one of the highest-ranking government posts in Tokugawa Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council as a whole; under the first two shoguns, there were only two Rōjū...
and wakadoshiyori
Wakadoshiyori
The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 17th century Tokugawa Japan. The position was established around 1631, but appointments were irregular until 1662....
, normally went to fudai. In addition, the post of Kyoto Shoshidai
Kyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. However, the significance and effectiveness of the office is credited to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who developed these initial creations as bureaucratic elements in a consistent and...
almost always went to a fudai daimyo.
Other clans which were not pre-Azuchi-Momoyama era retainers of the Tokugawa also came to be counted as fudai: the Ogasawara
Ogasawara clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...
and Doi are among them.
Occasionally, a family could be raised to or from fudai status. For instance, the Matsudaira clan
Matsudaira clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...
to which Matsudaira Sadanobu
Matsudaira Sadanobu
Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief senior councilor of the Tokugawa Shogunate, from 1787 to 1793....
belonged went from being a fudai house to being a recognized
Shinpan (daimyo)
The daimyo were certain relatives of the Tokugawa shoguns of Japan. While all shinpan were relatives of the shogun, not all relatives of the shogun were shinpan; an example of this is the Matsudaira clan of the Okutono Domain. The shinpan lords were also known as kamon daimyō — non-daimyo...
relative of the Tokugawa family. Also, a hatamoto
Hatamoto
A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...
who had an increase in income which raised his income level over 10,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
became a fudai daimyo.
Bakumatsu and beyond
Ogasawara Nagamichi
was the a Japanese samurai and official in the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa Shogunate. Before the Meiji Restoration, his courtesy title was Iki no Kami and lower 5th Court rank.-Biography:...
and Itakura Katsukiyo
Itakura Katsukiyo
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period. Famed for his tenure as rōjū, Itakura later became a Shinto priest.-Biography:Itakura, born to the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira of the Kuwana Domain, was adopted by Itakura Katsutsune, the lord of the Matsuyama domain...
, who were two of the last rōjū
Roju
The ', usually translated as Elder, was one of the highest-ranking government posts in Tokugawa Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council as a whole; under the first two shoguns, there were only two Rōjū...
, and actively worked for reform and strengthening of the ailing shogunate. Others, such as Matsudaira Munehide
Matsudaira Munehide
, also known as ', was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period who ruled the Miyazu Domain . He was known by the titles or .-Official in the bakufu:...
, were involved in diplomacy and foreign affairs.
In the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
of 1868-69, some fudai houses such as the Toda of Ogaki
Ogaki Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain during the Edo period, located in Mino Province .-History:Historically, the Ōgaki area had been a highly important point of transit from Mino Province to Ōmi Province; it was vital to Saitō Dōsan and later to Oda Nobunaga...
and the Tōdō of Tsu sided with the Shogunate during the first battle at Toba-Fushimi. However, after the shogunate's loss there, many fudai houses did not side with the shogunate or with the shogun's former army which moved northward and eventually set up the Ezo Republic. Some remained neutral, while others (like the lords of Ogaki
Ogaki Domain
The ' was a Japanese domain during the Edo period, located in Mino Province .-History:Historically, the Ōgaki area had been a highly important point of transit from Mino Province to Ōmi Province; it was vital to Saitō Dōsan and later to Oda Nobunaga...
and Tsu) switched allegiances and openly supported the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. Ogasawara Nagamichi and Itakura Katsukiyo led small groups of their retainers during the fight against the imperial forces. However, their domains had already been occupied by the imperial army, and were forced to participate in the war on the imperial army's behalf. Only one fudai daimyo, Hayashi Tadataka
Hayashi Tadataka
was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period, who ruled the Jōzai Domain. Later in life, he was also known by his style, . During the Boshin War of 1868, Hayashi led his domain's forces in support of the armies of the former shogun, and then the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei...
of the Jōzai Domain, willingly left his domain early in 1868, and led most of his retainer force on behalf of the armies of the former shogun, in the fight against the imperial army. Also, a handful of fudai in the far north formed part of the Northern Alliance
Ouetsu Reppan Domei
-External links:**...
, fighting for the Alliance but not for the now-retired shogun.
Most of the fudai in the country entered the Meiji era peacefully, and ruled their domains until the domains' dissolution
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...
in 1871. After this, the former families of fudai daimyo became peers
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...
in the new Japanese nobility system.