park

Yamakyo Warehouse

[Yamagata Prefecture during the Boshin War] What were the decisions of the Shonai, Yonezawa, Yamagata, Uenoyama, Tendo, and Shinjo domains?

During the Boshin War, fighting unfolded in Yamagata Prefecture over the Shonai Domain, which, along with the Aizu Domain, was considered an enemy of the imperial court

The prefecture was made up of small domains with less than 50,000 koku, except for the Shonai Domain with 170,000 koku and the Yonezawa Domain with 180,000 koku.Although they were tossed about by the movements of the larger domains, each domain fought hard to survive

The Shonai Domain, the strongest in the Tohoku region, was trusted by its people and supported by wealthy merchants

The 11th feudal lord, Sakai Tadazumi, was the direct descendant of Sakai Tadatsugu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Tokugawa clan, and the 17th head of the Sakai family

They had two branch domains, Tsurugaoka Castle in Tsuruoka City and Kamegasaki Castle in Sakata City

Mount Haguro Five-Story Pagoda (Tsuruoka City)
Mount Haguro Five-Story Pagoda (Tsuruoka City)

During the war, they demonstrated overwhelming strength by repelling the government forces at the Battle of Kiyokawaguchi, capturing Shinjo Castle, Tendo Castle, and even Yokote Castle in Akita

Half of the 4,000 troops were volunteers from the townspeople and farmers, and they fought to the end, even though they suffered more than 300 casualties

Why was the Shonai Domain considered an enemy of the Imperial Court?

As a powerful fudai daimyo, the feudal lord, Tadaatsu, was appointed as the city manager of Edo, and was put in charge of the security organization, the Shinchogumi, and restored public order in Edo, which had been deteriorating

Upon discovering that Satsuma, which had received a secret imperial decree from the Imperial Court to overthrow the shogunate, had organized a group of thieves and was engaging in criminal provocations, the Shonai clan, along with other clans, was ordered by the shogunate to burn down the Satsuma clan's Edo residence

This sparked the Boshin War, which earned him the hatred of the Satsuma domain and led to him being labeled an enemy of the imperial court

The Shonai clan did not join the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, but instead formed the Aizu-Shonai Alliance with the Aizu clan

The Homma family, wealthy merchants who supported the Shonai domain

The Shonai domain was financially supported by the wealthy Honma family of Sakata, who used donations to purchase the latest weapons, making the domain better equipped than the Imperial army

Sankyo Warehouse (Sakata City)
Sankyo Warehouse (Sakata City)

After the war, the feudal lord, Tadaatsu, was placed under house arrest and his territory was confiscated, but the Homma family and other feudal retainers, merchants, and landowners donated 300,000 ryo to the Meiji government, and Tadaatsu was restored to his position as feudal lord with a reduced fief of 120,000 koku

This generous treatment of the Shonai domain is said to be thanks to Saigo Takamori of Satsuma

Tsurugaoka Castle Ruins <Information>

  • Name: Tsurugaoka Castle Ruins
  • Address: 4 Babacho, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, 997-0035
  • URL: Tsuruoka City website

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Yonezawa Domain, vice-leader of the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance

Uesugi Narinori, the 28th head of the Uesugi family and the 12th lord of the Yonezawa domain, was renowned as a wise ruler

Uesugi Shrine (Yonezawa City)
Uesugi Shrine (Yonezawa City)

Although the clan was divided before the war, Sainori attempted to act as a mediator between the Aizu clan and the new government, feeling indebted to the lord of the Aizu clan, Hoshina Masayuki, who had helped him to avoid the extinction of his clan

However, this made him suspicious to the new government, and he was deemed an enemy of the imperial court, becoming the deputy leader of the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans

Submission to the new government

The Yonezawa domain had joined the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, but after receiving advice from their relative, the lord of the Tosa domain, Yamauchi Toyosuke, the domain decided to submit to the new government and withdraw from the Alliance

After the war, his fief was reduced from 180,000 koku to 140,000 koku, and Sainori retired, handing over the family headship to his eldest son, Shigenori

Yonezawa Castle Ruins＜Information＞

  • Name: Yonezawa Castle Ruins
  • Address: 1-4-13 Marunouchi, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture 992-0052
  • URL: Yamagata Travel Website

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A small domain caught between large domains: Part 1: Yamagata Domain

Following the neighboring large domains, the domain joined the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, but the domain's lord, Mizuno Tadahiro, was 13 years old and in Kyoto with his father, Tadayoshi, who was retired at the time the domain joined the alliance

Yamagata Castle Ruins (Kajo Park)
Yamagata Castle Ruins (Kajo Park)

Mizuno Motonobu, the chief retainer of the province, was held responsible for joining the alliance and executed, and Tadaaki and his son Tadahiro were transferred to the Asahiyama domain in Omi (Shiga Prefecture) with a fief of 50,000 koku

Yamagata Castle Ruins＜Information＞

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A small domain caught between large domains, part 2: Kaminoyama Domain

Located between the Yonezawa and Yamagata domains, it participated in the attack on the Kubota domain, which had joined the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans and sided with the government forces

Kaminoyama Castle Local Museum (Kamiyama Castle Ruins)
Kaminoyama Castle Local Museum (Kamiyama Castle Ruins)

With the Yonezawa domain to the south submitting, the Tokugawa clan feared an attack from behind and withdrew its troops to show its submission. After the war, its fief was reduced from 30,000 koku to 27,000 koku, and the domain's lord, Matsudaira Nobutsune, retired, with his half-brother Nobuyasu succeeding as head of the family

Kaminoyama Castle Local History Museum <Information>

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Tendo Domain, unable to refuse orders from the new government

The lord of the domain was Nobumichi, the ninth generation lord of the domain from Oda Nobunaga's second son, Nobukatsu, and the second lord of the Tendo domain

Shogi Memorial Tower (Tendo City)
Shogi Memorial Tower (Tendo City)

Just before the war, he received an order from the new government to go to Kyoto, but due to illness he sent his eldest son, Nobutoshi, to Kyoto.He was then appointed leader of the Oshu pacification mission and sided with the government forces

He led the government forces' attack on Shinjo, but the Shinjo forces counterattacked fiercely and burned down Tendo Castle

The domain then joined the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans and surrendered to the Imperial Army, and the third lord, Nobutoshi, retired, but was later pardoned and became lord again

Tendo Castle Ruins <Information>

  • Name: Tendo Castle Ruins
  • Address: 〒994-0000 Yamagata Prefecture, Tendo City, Tendo, Shiroyama
  • URL: Tendo City HP

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The Shinjo Domain, torn between the Alliance of the Satsuma and the Imperial Army

The Tozawa clan, the feudal lord of the domain, had been a powerful clan in Dewa since the Kamakura period, but after the Battle of Sekigahara they were transferred to Hitachi, before returning to Dewa and founding the Shinjo domain

Shinjo Castle Ruins (Shinjo City)
Shinjo Castle Ruins (Shinjo City)

When the government army attacking Shonai passed through his territory, he joined forces with them, but was defeated

Afterwards, they joined forces with the Shonai clan as part of the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, but withdrew when the Kubota clan joined the government forces

As a result, the Shonai clan attacked, Shinjo Castle fell, and the 11th clan lord, Tozawa Masazane, fled to the Kubota clan, but his territory was increased after the war

Shinjo Castle Ruins <Information>

  • Name: Shinjo Castle Ruins
  • Address: 6-86 Horibatacho, Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture, 996-0085
  • URL: Shinjo City HP

Google Map

summary

Among the various domains in Yamagata Prefecture during the Boshin War, the Shonai domain stood out as particularly strong, and this is believed to be due to the economic support of wealthy merchants in Sakata and the foresight to adopt new weapons

A certain magazine ran a project called "Ranking of the Strongest Domains of the Late Edo Period," and Shonai Domain was ranked fifth, surpassing Sendai Domain as the strongest domain in the Tohoku region

“Boshin War and Ou-etsu Domain Alliance” Articles from other prefectures

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