The was a Japanese feudal 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 southern Shinano Province

Shinano Province

or is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...

. Its capital was at Takatō Castle, in what is today the city of Ina

Ina, Nagano

is a city located in Nagano, Japan.The city was founded on March 31, 2006 when the old city of Ina merged with the town of Takatō and the village of Hase, both from Kamiina District, to form the new city of Ina.-Surrounding municipalities:*Nagano Prefecture...

, Nagano Prefecture

Nagano Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...

.

History

The territory was first consolidated under the name Takatō in the 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...

 by Takatō Yoritsugu (d. 1552). After the castle fell to Takeda Shingen

Takeda Shingen

, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...

 in the Siege of Takatō

Siege of Takato (1545)

The 1545 siege of Takatō castle marked the first time Takatō had been besieged. Takeda Shingen, continuing his sweep through the Ima Valley of Shinano Province, seeking to take control of the entire province, defeated Takatō Yoritsugu, the castellan. Takatō had relied on support from his allies,...

 in 1545, it was given over to one of Shingen's sons, Nishina Morinobu

Nishina Morinobu

was a retainer of the Japanese samurai clan of Takeda during the closing year of the Sengoku period. Born the fifth son of the legendary Takeda Shingen , he was also known as Takeda Harukiyo...

. Takatō then came under the control of Hoshina Masatoshi

Hoshina Masatoshi

' was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Takeda clan. The son of Hoshina Masanori, he ruled Takatō Castle in Shinano Province. He initially opposed Takeda Shingen's invasion of Shinano; however, he later submitted to Shingen and became a Takeda vassal, in command of 120...

, a retainer 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...

, following the defeat and subsequent destruction of the Takeda clan following the second Siege of Takatō

Siege of Takato (1582)

The 1582 siege of Takatō was one of the final battles of the Takeda clan against the forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.After the destruction of the Takeda in Kai province in 1582, resulting in the death of Takeda Katsuyori and many others, Takeda Morinobu , the fifth son of the famed...

 in 1582.

Han Establishment

The territory became an official han (feudal domain) following 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...

 in 1600, and the establishment of the Tokugawa 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...

 in 1603. Hoshina Masamitsu

Hoshina Masamitsu

was a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. Masamitsu was the son of Hoshino Masanao, and after having lent his support to Tokugawa Ieyasu at the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, he was given the Takatō fief in 1600.With his father's death the following year in Takatō,...

, the grandson of Masatoshi, became the first Edo period daimyō

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...

of Takatō, and the domain was officially ranked at an income of 25,000 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...

. Masamitsu raised an illegitimate son of shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 Tokugawa Hidetada

Tokugawa Hidetada

was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...

 as his own, under the name Hoshina Masayuki, and was rewarded with a 5,000 koku increase for his domain in 1618. Following Hidetada's death in 1632, Masayuki was made lord of Yamagata Domain

Yamagata Domain

Yamagata Domain was a Japanese fief , located in Dewa province, in the Tōhoku region . Modern-day Yamagata Prefecture is roughly contiguous with the domain, and its capital city, also called Yamagata, grew up out of the daimyo's castle town...

 in Dewa Province

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:...

 in 1636, with an income of 200,000 koku.

Torii Tadaharu

Torii Tadaharu

was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period who ruled the Takatō Domain in Shinano Province . Tadaharu was the 3rd son of Torii Tadamasa, the lord of the Yamagata Domain. As his father died before a successor was named from among his sons, the Torii family's holdings were confiscated...

 replaced him as lord of Takatō, with an income of 32,000. The next lord, Torii Tadanori

Torii Tadanori

was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period who ruled the Takatō Domain in Shinano Province . Tadanori was the son of Torii Tadaharu, the previous lord. He succeeded to family headship upon his father's death; however, he continued his father's draconian rule of the Takatō domain...

, however, died in an incident at Edo Castle

Edo Castle

, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...

 in 1689, leaving the clan's succession in the hands of the shogunate. Tadanori's successor in the family, Torii Tadahide, was given a 10,000 koku holding, the Shimomura Domain in Noto Province

Noto Province

was an old province in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called . Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces....

. As a result, Takatō came briefly to be administered directly by the shogunate until 1691, when Naitō Kiyokazu left his Tondabayashi Domain in Settsu Province

Settsu Province

was a province of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or .Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province.-History:...

 to become lord of Takatō. The domain began to have financial troubles beginning under the following lord, Naitō Yorinori, who made efforts at reforms and innovations to solve the problems. The Ejima-Ikushima affair

Ejima-Ikushima affair

The was the most significant scandal in the Ōoku, the shogun's harem, during the Edo period of the history of Japan.On the twelfth day of the first month of the fourth year of the Shōtoku era , Ejima, a high-ranking lady in the Ōoku, visited the grave of the late shogun Tokugawa Ienobu in the name...

 occurred around the same time, resulting in a shogunal consort named Ejima, banished from Edo, being left in the custody of Takatō.

Development

The seventh Naitō lord of Takatō, Naitō Yoriyasu, oversaw numerous development projects, including a trading market, a mulberry

Mulberry

Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....

 plantation operated directly by the domain, educational institutions and land intensification projects. These changes, however, brought numerous peasant revolts

Ikki

The term Ikki can refer to:*In Japanese history, leagues of samurai, farmers, and clergy who engaged in common defense against shogunal forces and greater lords, initiating large and destructive agrarian uprisings. The uprisings were also called ikki...

, and instability to the realm.

Towards the end of the Edo period, the final lord, Naitō Yorinao, established han-supported schools

Han school

The han school was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of daimyo and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital...

 and took part in the campaigns of the Chōshū Domain. During the 1868 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....

, however, Naitō sided with the newly-founded Meiji

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 :...

 government army against the last supporters of the shogunate.

Naitō remained governor of Takatō when the lands were formally handed over to the Emperor. In 1871, the domains were abolished, and Takatō became "Takatō Prefecture", only to be subsumed into Tsukama Prefecture and, eventually, into Nagano Prefecture, which remains today.

Lords of Takatō

• Hoshina clan
  Hoshina clan
  The is a Japanese clan which claims descent from Emperor Seiwa, and is a branch of the Minamoto clan. They were famous for their role as retainers of the Takeda clan in the 16th century. In the Edo period, the clan produced two daimyo families: one ruling the Aizu domain, the other one ruling the...
  
   (25,000 koku, later 30,000)
  1. Hoshina Masamitsu
     Hoshina Masamitsu
     was a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan. Masamitsu was the son of Hoshino Masanao, and after having lent his support to Tokugawa Ieyasu at the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, he was given the Takatō fief in 1600.With his father's death the following year in Takatō,...
     
     
  2. Hoshina Masayuki

• Torii clan (32,000 koku)
  1. Torii Tadaharu
     Torii Tadaharu
     was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period who ruled the Takatō Domain in Shinano Province . Tadaharu was the 3rd son of Torii Tadamasa, the lord of the Yamagata Domain. As his father died before a successor was named from among his sons, the Torii family's holdings were confiscated...
     
     
  2. Torii Tadanori
     Torii Tadanori
     was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period who ruled the Takatō Domain in Shinano Province . Tadanori was the son of Torii Tadaharu, the previous lord. He succeeded to family headship upon his father's death; however, he continued his father's draconian rule of the Takatō domain...
     
     

• Naitō clan
  Naito clan
  The ' was a Japanese clan which claimed its descent from Fujiwara no Hidesato. The Naitō became daimyo during the Edo period.-References:...
  
   (33,000 koku)
  1. Naitō Kiyokazu
  2. Naitō Yorinori
  3. Naitō Yoriyuki
  4. Naitō Yoritaka
  5. Naitō Nagayoshi
  6. Naitō Yorimochi
  7. Naitō Yoriyasu
  8. Naitō Yorinao