Tateyama DomainIt was once abolished

Tateyama Castle was a domain that ruled the Awa region in the southern part of Chiba Prefecture. It was founded by the Awa Satomi clan, famous for the long fantasy novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, but it was abolished after only one generation and was later relegated to a state of disuse over 100 years. It has a unique history, having been revived as a domain by Inaba Masaaki. Let's take a look at the history of the Tateyama domain.

The Satomi era

The Satomi clan is a branch of the Nitta clan, whose ancestor was Nitta Yoshishige, a military commander active from the end of the Heian period to the early Kamakura period. The Satomi clan expanded their territory into Awa, Kazusa, and Shimousa provinces while repeatedly engaging in conflict and reconciliation with the Later Hojo clan, who ruled the Sagami region.

Satomi Yoshiyori, the 7th head of the Satomi clan and the builder of Tateyama Castle, married Hojo Ujiyasu's daughter and sister in succession, and while making peace with the Hojo clan, he fought with his nephew Satomi Yoshishige for the family headship and took control of Awa, Kazusa, and Shimousa. Around this time, Oda Nobunaga was aiming to unify the country in Azuchi, and Takeda Katsuyori, who succeeded Takeda Shingen, was trying to advance into the center of Kai.

In 1582, Oda Nobunaga destroyed Takeda Katsuyori, but was himself killed by Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnoji Incident. As a result, the Tensho Jingo War broke out over the Takeda clan's former territories, but Satomi Yoshiyori used his skillful diplomatic skills to clash and then make peace with the Hojo clan, eventually joining the side of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Yoshiyori's eldest son, Yoshiyasu, sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Odawara Campaign to subjugate the Later Hojo clan, but was found guilty of disobeying the Sombu Rei (General Order) and issuing his own bill, and was instead granted the provinces of Kazusa and Shimousa, with only Awa being secured.

Afterwards, Satomi Yoshiyasu became a vassal of the Toyotomi clan with a daimyo with a stipend of 92,000 koku. At the same time, he approached Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had offered to mediate when he had incurred the wrath of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and sided with the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. As a result of his military achievements in the Battle of Sekigahara, he was given a territory of 30,000 koku in Kashima County, Hitachi Province, in addition to Awa, and the Satomi clan became a daimyo with a stipend of 122,000 koku.

However, Satomi Tadayoshi, who succeeded Satomi Yoshiyasu, married the granddaughter of the senior councilor Okubo Tadachika, which incurred the displeasure of Tokugawa Ieyasu and led to Okubo Tadachika being stripped of his position, and Satomi Tadayoshi was also implicated and stripped of his position.

Satomi Tadayoshi's land was confiscated and he was transferred to a fief with a stipend of only 100 people. Perhaps the physical and mental strain of the loss of title took its toll on Satomi Tadayoshi, as he died at the young age of 29, and with no legitimate son, the Satomi family line became extinct. However, according to one theory, there are records of several illegitimate children who served other families as hatamoto vassals and still have descendants. There is also a legend that the core of Satomi Tadayoshi, known as the Eight Wise Men, died in the line of duty, and there is an anecdote that Takizawa Bakin got the idea for Nansō Satomi Hakkenden from these Eight Wise Men.

Restoration of the Tateyama Domain by the Inaba family

After the Tateyama Domain was abolished, the former Tateyama Domain's territory was divided into the Tojo Domain (10,000 koku) in 1620, the Awa-Katsuyama Domain (30,000 koku) in 1622, the Hojo Domain (10,000 koku) and the Awa-Saeda Domain (10,000 koku) in 1638. However, with the exception of the Awa-Katsuyama Domain and the Hojo Domain, the families of the lords of all the domains died out early on, and the only one that survived until the end of the Edo period was the Awa-Katsuyama Domain.

However, in 1781, the first year of the Tenmei era, the Tateyama Domain was revived when the hatamoto Inaba Masaaki became its lord. More than 100 years had passed since the domain was abolished. Inaba Masaaki was a powerful man who had wielded power under Tanuma Okuji under Tokugawa Ieharu. However, when Tokugawa Ieharu died, Tanuma Okuji was ousted, and Inaba Masaaki was implicated and had his rice stipend reduced from 13,000 koku to 10,000 koku by Matsudaira Sadanobu. Nevertheless, he was pardoned from inheriting the family headship, and the Tateyama Domain continued to exist until the end of the Edo period.

The Inaba clan appeared on the historical stage again during the time of the fourth feudal lord, Inaba Masami. Under Tokugawa Ienari, he was promoted to the position of young lord, and in 1866, he was appointed as the army magistrate, senior councilor, and naval governor. He was a very capable feudal lord, and during the reign of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, he held important positions in the shogunate, such as young lord, senior councilor, naval governor, army magistrate, chief clerk, and military affairs minister. However, during the Boshin War, he resigned from all his positions and tried to submit to the new government. As the Tateyama domain was close to Edo, it was attacked by both the shogunate and the new government forces, but it barely managed to repel them and welcomed the Meiji Restoration.

summary

The Tateyama Domain has a unique history, having been abolished once in the early Edo period, only to be revived more than 100 years later. Many of the lords of the domain, such as the Satomi clan and the Inaba clan, were capable, and the Satomi clan supported the Edo Shogunate when it was established, and the Inaba clan supported the Shogunate at the end of the Edo period.

The abandoned Tateyama Castle has now been rebuilt and is now a museum for the Nanso Satomi Hakkenden. The descendants of the Satomi clan are still alive today.