Hachinohe DomainBecame independent from Morioka Domain

The Hachinohe Domain was created when the second lord of the Nanbu Morioka Domain, Nanbu Shigenao, died without appointing a successor. By order of the shogunate, 20,000 koku of land was allocated from the 100,000 koku land of the Nanbu Morioka Domain, and Nanbu Shigenao's younger brother, Nakazato Kazuma (Nambu Naofusa), became the first lord of the domain. Let's unravel the history of the Hachinohe Domain.

Established after independence from the Nanbu Morioka Domain

Mutsu Province, centered around Morioka, was ruled by the Morioka Domain, which was established by the Sannohe Nanbu Clan. However, the second lord of the domain, Nanbu Shigenao, died of illness without appointing a successor, and the domain was born.

Just before his death, Nanbu Shigenao asked the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, to select a successor and ensure the continuation of the Nanbu clan. In response to this request, Ietsuna gave 80,000 koku of his 100,000 koku estate to Shigenao's younger brother, Shichinohe Shigenobu, and the remaining 20,000 koku to his younger brother, Nakazato Naoyoshi, who established the Hachinohe Domain.

Nakazato Naoyoshi was born to Nanbu Toshinao, the first lord of the Nanbu Morioka Domain, and his concubine Senjuin, and changed his name to Nanbu Naofusa when the Hachinohe Domain was established. As the seventh son of Nanbu Toshinao, he would not normally have been able to aspire to the position of lord, but he became lord after his elder brother died without appointing a successor.

He built Hachinohe Castle and devoted himself to the development of the castle town, but died of illness at the young age of 41. At the time, rumors spread that he had been poisoned by the Morioka Domain, and there are records that the shogunate launched an investigation.

History up to the end of the Edo period

The Hachinohe clan's samurai also have a history of fighting famine. Since the time of the second clan lord, Nanbu Naomasa, the clan's finances had been strained by famine caused by poor harvests.

During the time of the fourth feudal lord, Nanbu Hironobu, there were 33 famines. Incidentally, the Hachinohe domain was ruled by nine feudal lords until the end of the Edo period, but the only lords who never experienced a famine were the 8th and 9th feudal lords at the end of the Edo period. Many of the Hachinohe feudal lords were cultured people who excelled in both literature and martial arts, but the heavy physical and mental burden meant that many of them died in their 30s and 40s.

The last lord of the domain, Nanbu Nobuyuki, was the 14th son of Shimazu Shigehide, the lord of the Satsuma domain, and had no particular connection to the Nanbu clan. However, due to his deep ties with the Satsuma domain, he was directly exposed to pressure from the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance during the Boshin War, which put him in danger. However, he managed to navigate the situation well and entered the Meiji era without participating in any fighting.

Summary of Hachinohe Domain

The Hachinohe Domain was a small domain that separated from the Nanbu Morioka Domain in the early Edo period. Due to the lack of a successor, the domain was divided and separated in an unusual way, which may have led to rumors that the first and second lords were poisoned.
After that, nine feudal lords were born until the end of the Edo period, but almost all of them suffered from famine.