Fushimi DomainTokugawa Ieyasu's half-brother was the lord for one generation.

Fushimi Domain is a domain that existed only before and after the Osaka Shogun. Tokugawa Ieyasu's half-brother Sadakatsu Matsudaira served as the feudal lord for only one generation, and soon after that the domain was abolished. Here, we will explain the outline of the Fushimi clan and why the land of Fushimi was considered important.

Geographical value of Fushimi

Fushimi is located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, in the southern part of Kyoto. Because it is a little far from Rakuchu, it was famous as a scenic spot and was home to villas for aristocrats during the Heian period. It is also known as the birthplace of Inari belief. The reason Toyotomi Hideyoshi moved his residence to Fushimi was initially because the moon looked beautiful there.

However, when Fushimi Castle was built, feudal lords and townspeople moved from Jurakudai, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi had lived until then, and cut off Ogura Pond from the Uji River to create the Uji River Branch (Hori River), which was used to transport construction materials for Fushimi Castle. To do. By the way, Ogura Pond has now been reclaimed and turned into a residential area and farmland.

Furthermore, Fushimi Port was constructed at the confluence of the Uji River and the Hori River, completing a route connecting Fushimi and Osaka by river. At that time, ships were the only way to transport large amounts of cargo in a short time and with a small number of people, so Fushimi became the gateway for transporting goods from Osaka to Kyoto.

Fushimi Port is currently called Mukojima, and the ``Jukoku-bune,'' which used to transport rice to Osaka, is still in operation for sightseeing. In the Edo period, Ryoi Kadokura, a merchant famous for building Zuisenji Temple to mourn Toyotomi Hidetsugu, excavated the Takase River, making it possible for large ships to travel, and the water transport route from Kyoto to Fushimi was established. Established. This made it possible to transport goods from Kyoto (Osaka) in large quantities to Osaka (Kyoto) via Fushimi, and the town of Fushimi became very popular as a transit point for logistics.

The reason why Toba and Fushimi became battlefields when the Boshin War broke out at the end of the Edo period was because Fushimi was the main route connecting Osaka and Kyoto.

Reason why Fushimi Domain was created

After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo Shogunate, but Toyotomi Hideyori and his mother, Yodo, were still alive and well in Osaka Castle. Therefore, Fushimi Castle had value as the upper residence of the Tokugawa family.

Therefore, Fushimi Castle was burnt down by Ishida Mitsunari's orders, but Tokugawa Ieyasu rebuilt it, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was declared Seii Taishogun there.

The Fushimi clan was established in 1612 when Tokugawa Ieyasu handed over the title of Seii Taishogun to the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, and retired to Sunpu. The lord of the domain was his half-brother Sadakatsu Matsudaira. However, with the fall of the Toyotomi family in the Battle of Osaka, the military value of Fushimi Castle declined, and the Fushimi domain was abolished, and a magistrate's office was placed in its place.
The first magistrate was Enshu Kobori, who was also famous as a gardener.

Current Fushimi

Fushimi was formed as a post town as the main route for land and water routes connecting Kyoto and Osaka, and was crowded with many people. Fushimi is also known as a sake brewing town, and Gekkeikan and Kizakura were founded in Fushimi. Currently, some of the buildings from the Edo period have been preserved as part of the Bikan Historical Quarter, and Terada-ya, where Ryoma Sakamoto was famously attacked, has been rebuilt.