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At the end of the Edo period, Akita Prefecture consisted of only the Kubota Domain (Akita Domain) with 200,000 koku and its branch domains, as well as small domains such as Kameda Domain, Honjo Domain, and Yajima Domain with less than 20,000 koku
In the Kubota Domain and other domains in Akita Prefecture, loyalist sentiment prevailed, and they acted as government troops at an early stage in the Oshu region
The Kubota Domain (Akita Domain) - a pro-imperial ideology surrounded by enemies
The Kubota domain's official land yield was 205,800 koku, but its actual yield was said to be 400,000 koku
Statue of Satake Yoshitaka at the ruins of Kubota Castle
The 12th feudal lord, Satake Yoshitaka, was the 30th head of the Satake clan (later the 32nd head). The Satake clan was descended from the Seiwa Genji clan and was a daimyo with 540,000 koku of land in Hitachi (Ibaraki Prefecture) until the Battle of Sekigahara, but he sided with the Western Army and was reduced in fief and transferred to another province
There were two branch domains in the Shinden area, and their castle was Kubota Castle (Senshu Park, Akita City)
Of the large domains in the Tohoku region with an income of over 200,000 koku, it was the only one that sided with the government forces, and as a result was subjected to concentrated attacks, with around two-thirds of its territory reduced to ashes
Loyalist ideology lives on within the domain
Kubota Domain was the birthplace of Hirata Atsutane, a scholar who was considered a central pillar of the Sonno Joi movement at the end of the Edo period
At the age of 20, Atsutane fled his domain and was adopted by the military strategist Hirata Atsuyasu in Edo. He studied a variety of subjects and established a restorationist Shinto theology that states that "the Emperor is the sovereign of all nations."
At the age of 65, he was exiled to Edo, but returned to the Kubota domain and was employed as a scholar of Japanese classics. He spread the idea of loyalty to the emperor in the education of the domain's children, and had a great influence on the domain's samurai
The Kubota clan wavers between loyalism and pro-Shogunate
The Kubota clan received orders from the new government to attack the Shonai clan, and together with the Kameda clan, Honjo clan, and Yajima clan, they raised an army
The front gate of Kubota Castle
However, there was an atmosphere of suspicion within the domain as to how the Shonai domain had been labeled an enemy of the Imperial Court, and morale was low.The Shonai domain, sensing the deployment of troops, launched a preemptive attack, resulting in a complete collapse and defeat
The Akita War: A Lonely Fight
Eventually, the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance of Daimyo was formed, and Kujo Michitaka and others from the Oshu Pacification Headquarters, who had been under house arrest in Sendai, were released and entered the territory of the Kubota domain, which became a gathering place for the government army
Then an envoy arrived from the Sendai domain urging Japan to join the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, but pro-imperial samurai within the domain killed the envoy, and as a result, the domain sided with the new government and raised the ``Imperial Flag.''
Battles with the Shonai Domain and the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Domains
The Shonai clan captured Shinjo Castle, the residence of the Tozawa clan, the lord of Shinjo domain, and their forces continued to win battle after battle, taking control of the Kubota, Yajima, and Honjo territories
The Shonai clan attacked the Kubota territory from the inland Yamamichiguchi and the Kaidoguchi along the Sea of Japan, forcing the Kameda clan to surrender and approaching Kubota Castle
However, the Kubota Domain and other domains in Akita Prefecture, which received reinforcements from the government army and were provided with new guns, defeated the Shonai Domain in the decisive battle at Tsubakidai, and the defeated Shonai Domain sent its troops home to defend its territory
Kubota Castle Ruins <Information>
Name: Kubota Castle Ruins
Address: 1-4 Senshu Park, Akita City, Akita Prefecture, 010-0876
Kameda Domain, a small domain sandwiched between two large rival domains
The first lord of the domain, Iwaki Yoshitaka, was the nephew of Satake Yoshinobu, the first lord of the Kubota domain, and was adopted by Yoshinobu, changing his name to Satake Yoshitaka and succeeding to the Kubota domain
Replica castle tower at Kameda Castle ruins
In addition, the second feudal lord, Nobutaka, was Yoshinobu's younger brother (Yoshitaka's uncle), and the Satake clan ruled the domain up to the fourth feudal lord
As a result, the early administration of the Kameda domain received full support from the Kubota domain and was treated like a branch domain
However, the fifth lord of the domain, Takatsugu, was adopted from the Date clan, and there was no blood relationship with the Satake clan, so the relationship between the two domains gradually became estranged
He was tormented by the large domains and became an enemy of the Imperial Court
Since the clan had many loyalists, including the 12th lord of the domain, Takakuni, they initially sided with the government forces along with the Kubota domain
However, he was constantly overworked on the front lines as a vanguard, and was troubled by the tyrannical behavior of Yamamoto Tomonosuke, who had come to oversee the government army
Then, fearing a fierce attack by the Shonai army, Yamamoto retreated to Akita, and the Kameda clan, which was left behind, made peace with the Shonai clan, joined the Alliance of the Satsuma and Choshu Clans, and became an enemy of the Imperial Court
In the end, Kameda Castle was burned down and the clan surrendered to the government forces, but Kuroda Kiyotaka, who received a petition for surrender, understood the complicated situation of the Kameda clan and leniently punished Takakuni by forcing him to retire and reducing his fief by 2,000 koku
Kameda Castle Ruins＜Information＞
Name: Kameda Castle Ruins
Address: 45 Kamedacho, Kameda-cho, Iwaki, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, 018-1217
URL:ー
Google Map
Two small domains that followed the Kubota domain: Honjo domain and Yajima domain
The Rokugo family, lords of Honjo Domain, had been local lords since before the Battle of Sekigahara and were treated as daimyo with a fief of 20,000 koku, but the Ikoma family, lords of Yajima Domain, were alternate-holding hatamoto
Honjo Castle Ruins
This is one of the ranks of hatamoto families, and is considered to be a rank similar to that of a daimyo, as hatamoto families who perform alternate attendance from their territories
The 11th lord of the Hongo domain, Rokugo Masakane, and the lord of Yajima, Ikoma Chikayuki, were both attacked by the Shonai domain and had to seek refuge in the Kubota domain, but after the war they each received increased lands, and the Ikoma family became daimyo-level
Honjo Castle Ruins <Information>
Name: Honjo Castle Ruins
Address: 8 Ozaki, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, 015-0871
URL:ー
Google Map
summary
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Satake clan was forced to move from Hitachi to Dewa by the Tokugawa shogunate, and some say this was one of the reasons they sided with the government forces in the Boshin War
“Boshin War and Ou-etsu Domain Alliance” Articles from other prefectures
I am a former Edo guy who loves Morioka, loves the six prefectures of Tohoku, and loves history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. We'll introduce you to some interesting, delicious, and good things about Tohoku!
![0fb6939d60ada03f05f13ef893cd6663](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/0fb6939d60ada03f05f13ef893cd6663-150x150.jpg.webp "The battle for bone flesh unfolded in Yokote Basin: "Three Years of Second Year Battle" [Akita Prefecture]")
