[Miyagi Prefecture during the Boshin War] What was the decision of the Sendai domain, the great domain of Ou?

The Sendai clan became the leader of the Ouetsu clan alliance and played a central role in the battle against the government army, but not much is known about its actions during the Boshin War.

The reality of the largest feudal domain in the Tohoku region, which was said to have a total military force of 35,000, was in constant turmoil between the shogunate and the new Meiji government.

The Sendai domain, which has the highest stone height and status in Oshu

At the end of the Edo period, the Sendai domain was a Tozama daimyo, but it also owned all of Miyagi prefecture and the southern part of Iwate prefecture, and its official stone height of 620,000 koku was the third highest at the time, but it actually exceeded 1 million koku due to the development of the Sendai plain. It is said that

Sendai castle ruins
Sendai castle ruins

In addition, Yoshikuni Date, the lord of the domain, is the 13th generation from the founder of the domain, Masamune, and the 29th head of the Date clan, and holds the high rank of Ju4i (Junior Fourth Rank, Kami-Sakonoe Gon Lieutenant General) and the official rank of ``Mutsu no kami.'' It was a super-large domain that was treated in a different way from other domains in Oshu, as it was granted the status of Matsudaira by the shogunate.

The family vacillates between Sonno-joi and the opening of the Shogunate.

Before the war, the domain consisted of the sonno-joi faction, led by Endo Sanenobu, who sought to approach the Imperial Court and intervene in central politics, and the Tadaki Tosa faction, who opposed the new government and advocated the opening of the Shogunate.・Tosa) and other forces were in conflict.

However, Endo lost the political battle and Tosa Tadaki took control of the domain, and the Sendai domain changed its direction to become a sub-shogunate.

The feudal lord, Yoshikuni, is busy trying to avoid war.

After the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in 1868, the Aizu domain was considered an enemy of the Imperial Court, and the feudal lord, Matsudaira Katamori, returned to Aizu.

The Sendai domain was ordered by the new government to conquer Aizu, and the Aizu domain also asked them to intercede with the Imperial Court.

Yoshikuni requested that the conquest be halted and sent his vassals to Tokyo to propose to the new government that the Aizu and Shonai domains be pardoned, but the conquest army had already departed and they were too late to arrive in time.

Therefore, he sent a proposal to Ou and other domains, requesting their cooperation in petitioning for pardon from the Aizu and Shonai domains, and held a meeting in Shiroishi, within Sendai territory.

On the other hand, Yoshikuni makes a token appearance in response to the order of conquest and advises the Aizu clan to surrender.

However, although the Aizu clan once agreed to surrender, they ultimately refused, and Yoshikuni gave up on trying to persuade him.

Ou Chinpaku Governor-General's Office and Government Army enter Sendai

In March 1868, the Ou Chinpaku Governor-General's Office (Governor Michitaka Kujo) and 500 government troops entered Sendai to conquer Aizu and Shonai.

The government army relied on the military strength of the Ou clans, but they became frustrated with the slow movement of the clans and attacked the Shonai clan alone, only to be repulsed.

Amid growing calls within the domain to join forces with the Aizu and Shonai domains to fight against the government army, the 14 Ou domains held the Shiroishi Conference and submitted a joint petition for pardon.

However, this was rejected by the Governor-General's Office, and the angry feudal domains withdrew their troops to pursue them.

Assassination of the lower staff of the government army and the establishment of the Ouuetsu clan alliance

While the Sendai government army was attacking the Shonai Domain, an incident occurred in which Sera Shuzo, a staff officer under the Governor-General's Office, was captured and beheaded in Fukushima City by Sendai feudal retainers.

Ou-etsu clan alliance flag at Shiroishi Castle
Ou-etsu clan alliance flag at Shiroishi Castle

Sera's reckless behavior made fun of the Sendai clan, which did not move to attack Aizu, and aroused the resentment of the Sendai clan.

This incident and the rejection of the petition led to the establishment of the Ou Etsu Domain Alliance, which was then joined by the Nagaoka Domain and six other Hokuetsu Domains, forming the Ou Etsu Domain Alliance.

INFORMATION

  • Name: Sera Shuzokan Shufun Tomb
  • Address: 5-10 Miyamachi, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture 960-8106
  • URL: Fukushima Inari Shrine HP

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Sendai clan marches into battle! Battle of Shirakawaguchi

The Sendai Domain, which became the leader, placed Governor Kujo and others under house arrest in Sendai Castle, and in collaboration with the Aizu Domain, they recaptured Komine Castle in Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, which had been in the hands of the government army, but it was soon captured by the government army. It will be returned.

Shirakawa Komine Castle Ruins
Shirakawa Komine Castle Ruins

The Aizu-Sendai Allied Forces attacked Komine Castle seven times after that, but were unable to capture it.

INFORMATION

  • Name: Shirakawa Komine Castle Ruins
  • Address: Kakuuchi, Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture 961-0074
  • URL: Shirakawa City HP

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Hamadori in Fukushima is being pushed by the government army

In July 1868, 750 government troops landed at Hiragata in Hitachi (Ibaraki Prefecture), and the allied forces led by the Sendai clan that tried to stop them were defeated, and the government army increased to 1,500 soldiers with reinforcements and headed north.

Iwaki Taira Castle main enclosure site
Iwaki Taira Castle main enclosure site

In the Battle of Iwaki, Iwaki Heijo was captured, and further defeated by the government army when reinforcements arrived, and when the Soma Nakamura clan showed signs of surrender, the Sendai clan retreated to Komagamine, the domain border with the Nakamura clan.

INFORMATION

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The battle of Komagamine and Hatamaki Pass that decided the fate of the Sendai clan

The Sendai Domain stationed 2,000 soldiers at Komagamine, a stronghold on the domain's borders, and 1,200 soldiers at Hatamaki Pass to the west, to face off against the 3,000-man government army that had absorbed soldiers from the Soma Nakamura Domain and others.

In reality, the Sendai domain, which is said to have a military strength of 35,000, could actually move around 7,000 soldiers, and could only deploy 3,200 at strongholds on the domain's borders, and eventually Komagamine was overtaken by the government army, allowing the government army to invade its territory. .

After failing to recapture Komagamine many times, and Hatamaki Pass falling, the government army, refusing to give up on patronage, invaded Aizu, but the Sendai clan was unable to move.

INFORMATION

  • Name: Hatamaki Pass
  • Address: Hatsunouchizawa, Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture 976-0051
  • URL:ー

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The Sendai domain's theory of lordship is towards obedience, the decision of the feudal lord, Yoshikuni

As the Sendai clan continued to lose every time they fought, the idea of ​​surrender gradually grew stronger.

Then, word came that the Yonezawa clan, which they relied on, was planning to surrender, and Yoshikuni, who was sick in his bed at this time, finally decided to surrender.

INFORMATION

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summary

After the war, the Sendai domain was ordered to restrain its lord, Yoshikuni, and confiscate his territory, but later his domain was reduced to 280,000 koku, and his eldest son Munemoto was allowed to inherit the domain.

However, due to the reduction of territory, the domain's economy suffered, and in addition to the vassals returning to farming, the Date clan's Watari feudal lord, Kunishige, and his vassals moved en masse to Hokkaido and developed what is now Date City.

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