was a Japanese domain of 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....

, located in Hizen Province

Hizen Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō...

, in Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. Its seat of government was in Karatsu Castle

Karatsu Castle

is a Japanese castle located in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is a hirayama-jō, a castle built on a plains rather than a hill or mountain. At the end of the Edo period, Karatsu castle was home to the Ogasawara clan, daimyo of Karatsu Domain...

, in modern-day Karatsu, Saga

Karatsu, Saga

is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 kara , and 津 tsu , signifies its historical importance as an ancient trading port between Japan with China and Korea...

.

History

Karatsu domain was founded in 1593, by Terazawa Hirotaka

Terazawa Hirotaka

' was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period. Hirotaka was the builder of Karatsu Castle. He was responsible for part of the overtaxation and mismanagement of local government which instigated the Shimabara Rebellion shortly after his death.Hirotaka is a playable character from the Eastern Army...

, who was granted lordship of Karatsu and landholdings of 83,000 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...

. He was also Nagasaki bugyō

Nagasaki bugyo

were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually fudai daimyō, but this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyō...

under the Tokugawa bakufu. The Terazawa clan took part in the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

 on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa 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...

 and received an additional 40,000 koku of land, bringing the total revenues of the domain up to 123,000 koku. The Terazawa took part in the Shogunate's expedition to suppress the Shimabara Uprising. The family held on to Karatsu until 1647, when Hirotaka's son Katataka committed suicide; due to a lack of heir, the family came to an end and the domain was confiscated by the central government.

Several families were rotated through Karatsu for the next century: two generations of the Ōkubo clan

Okubo clan

The were a samurai kin group which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period and the Edo periods. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōkubo, as hereditary vassels of the Tokugawa clan, were classified as one of the fudai daimyō clans....

; three generations of the Ogyū-Matsudaira

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...

 clan, four generations of the Doi clan, and four of the 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...

, including the famous reformer Mizuno Tadakuni

Mizuno Tadakuni

was a daimyō during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor in service to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpo Reform.-Biography:...

. The domain then passed into the hands of Ogasawara Nagamasa, whose family remained until Karatsu domain was abolished in 1871. During 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 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...

 of 1868-69, Ogasawara Nagamichi

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:...

, the de facto ruler of Karatsu, led a group of his retainers on the side of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

-External links:**...

; after the fall of this alliance he went to 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...

 and fought under the forces of the Ezo Republic. At the same time, Karatsu's domain-based administration was forced to pledge military support to the Satchō Alliance

Satcho Alliance

The ', or Satchō Alliance was a military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan....

 of Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

.

Ogasawara Naganari

Ogasawara Naganari

-References:...

, the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 admiral, was a descendant of the Ogasawara branch which ruled Karatsu.

List of daimyo

• Terazawa clan, 1593-1647 (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:...
  
  ; 83,000->123,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1593-1633	Shima-no-kami	Lower 4th (従四位下)	83,000→ 123,000 koku
2		1633-1647	Hyogoto (兵庫頭)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	123,000 koku

• Ōkubo clan
  Okubo clan
  The were a samurai kin group which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period and the Edo periods. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōkubo, as hereditary vassels of the Tokugawa clan, were classified as one of the fudai daimyō clans....
  
  1649-1678 (Fudai
  Fudai
  was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
  
  ; 83,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1649-1670	Kaga-no-kami	Lower 4th (従四位下)	83,000 koku
2		1670-1678	Kaga-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	83,000 koku

• Matsudaira (Ogyū) 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...
  
  1678-1691 (Fudai
  Fudai
  was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
  
  ; 70,000->60,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1678-1686	Izumi-no-kami	Lower 4th (従四位下)	70,000 koku
2		1686-1690	Izumi-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	70,000 koku
3		1690-1691	Izumi-no-kami	Lower 4th (従四位下)	60,000 koku

• Doi clan 1691-1762 (Fudai
  Fudai
  was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
  
  ; 70,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1691-1713	Suo-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	70,000 koku
2		1713-1736	Oito (大炊頭)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	70,000 koku
3		1736-1744	Oito (大炊頭)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	70,000 koku
4		1744-1762	Oito (大炊頭)	Lower 4th (従四位下)	70,000 koku

• 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...
  
  1762-1817 (Fudai
  Fudai
  was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
  
  ; 60,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1762-1775	Izumi-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
2		1775-1805	Ukonoefu (左近将監)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
3		1805-1812	Izumi-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
4		1812-1817	Echizen-no-kami, Rōjū	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku

• Ogasawara clan
  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...
  
  1817-1871 (Fudai
  Fudai
  was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
  
  ; 60,000 koku)

	Name	Tenure	Courtesy title	Court Rank	Revenue
1		1817-1823	Tomoro-no-tsukasa(主殿頭)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
2		1823-1833	Iki-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
3		1833-1836	Noto-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
4		1836-1840	Sado-no-kami	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku
5		1840-1871	Nakatsukasa daiyū (中務大輔)	Lower 5th (従五位下)	60,000 koku