Kurokawa Domain
Kurokawa Domain (黒川藩 Kurokawa-han) was a fudai feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan.[1] It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Kurokawa Jin'ya, located in what is now part of the city of Tainai in Niigata Prefecture.[2]
History
In 1724, the eldest son of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was transferred from Kofu Domain to Yamato-Koriyama Domain. As a result of this transfer, a 10,000 koku holding in Echigo Province was left open, and Yoshiyasu arranged for this to be assigned to his 4th son, Yanagisawa Tsunetaka. This marked the start of Kurosawa Domain. Although the Yanagisawa clan remained in control until the Meiji restoration, they preferred to reside in Edo and rely on the collection of revenues as absentee landlords. As a result, the finances of the domain were perpetually in a state of bankruptcy, which was complicated by the fact that much of the domain was mountains and forests and unsuitable for rice farming. The actual revenues of the domain often fell short of 10,000 koku and the domain was forced to resort to frequent loans from the parent house of the Yanagisawa clan in Yamto-Koriyama for financial assistance. By 1843, the domain was over 5000 Ryō in debt. The 7th daimyo, Yanagisawa Mitsuteru, was the first daimyo to actually visit the domain. He established a Han school and joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the Boshin War. However, the domain was too small and too weak to provide any meaningful military support.
In July 1871, with the abolition of the han system, Kurokawa Domain briefly became Kurokawa Prefecture, and was merged into the newly created Niigata Prefecture. Under the new Meiji government, Yanagisawa Mitsukuni was given the kazoku peerage title of shishaku (viscount),[3] and later served as a member of the House of Peers
Bakumatsu period holdings
As with most domains in the han system, Kurokawa Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.[4][5]
- Echigo Province
- 43 villages in Kanbara District
List of daimyo
| # | Name | Tenure | Courtesy title | Court Rank | kokudaka | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Yanagisawa clan (fudai) 1724-1868 | ||||||
| 1 | Yanagisawa Tsunetaka (柳沢経隆) | 1724-1725 | Gyobu-no-sho (刑部少輔) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 2 | Yanagisawa Satozumi (柳沢里済) | 1725-1735 | Gyobu-no-sho (刑部少輔) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 3 | Yanagisawa Satoakira (柳沢里旭) | 1735-1736 | -none- | -none- | 10,000 koku | |
| 4 | Yanagisawa Yasutaka (柳沢保卓) | 1736-1774 | Minbu-no-sho (民部少輔) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 5 | Yanagisawa Nobutō (柳沢信有) | 1774-1797 | Ise-no-kami (伊勢守) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 6 | Yanagisawa Mitsuhi (柳沢光被) | 1797-1836 | Ise-no-kami (伊勢守) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 7 | Yanagisawa Mitsuteru (柳沢光昭) | 1836-1868 | Ise-no-kami (伊勢守) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
| 8 | Yanagisawa Mitsukuni (柳沢光邦) | 1868-1871 | Gyobu-no-sho (刑部少輔) | Lower 5th (従五位下) | 10,000 koku | |
See also
References
- The content of this article was largely derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.
- Papinot, E (1910). Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan. Tuttle (reprint) 1972.
External links
- "Kurokawa" at Edo 300 (Japanese)
Notes
- ↑ Ravina, Mark. (1998). Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan, p. 222.
- ↑ "Echigo Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-4-7.
- ↑ Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon; Papinot, (2003). "Yanagisawa" at Noblaire du Japon, p. 71.
- ↑ Mass, Jeffrey P. and William B. Hauser. (1987). The Bakufu in Japanese History, p. 150.
- ↑ Elison, George and Bardwell L. Smith (1987). Warlords, Artists, & Commoners: Japan in the Sixteenth Century, p. 18.