Toyama DomainA branch of the Kaga domain

The Toyama Domain was founded as a branch of the Kaga Domain by Maeda Toshitsugu, the second son of Maeda Toshitsugu, the third lord of the Kaga Domain, and the Maeda family served as the domain's lords until the Meiji Restoration.
Let's take a look at the history of the Toyama domain.

A clan that supported its finances by selling medicines in Etchu

The Toyama Domain was established in 1639 with a fief of 100,000 koku by Maeda Toshitsugu, the second son of Maeda Toshitsugu, the third lord of the Kaga Domain. The first lord, Maeda Toshitsugu, had initially planned to build a new castle on the grounds of Momozuka in Fushiki County within his domain, and had received permission from the shogunate, but financial difficulties prevented the construction from coming to fruition. Records show that he was forced to negotiate with the Kaga Domain, exchanging part of his domain for the land on which Toyama Castle stands, and renovating Toyama Castle to use as his castle. In other words, the finances of the Toyama Domain were by no means rich even from the time it was established.

The first lord of the domain, Toshitsugu Maeda, established the domain law "Komatsu Gojomoku", developed new fields, carried out flood control works, organized the vassals, built a castle town, and established the foundations of the domain's administration. However, as Komatsu was a branch domain of the Kaga domain, most of the good land, including land that was easy to produce rice for, which supported the domain's finances, was controlled by the Kaga domain, and it was difficult to enrich the domain by promoting agriculture such as developing new fields.
As a result, the Toyama Domain suffered financial difficulties until the domain's demise with the Meiji Restoration.

The second feudal lord, Masataka Maeda, was interested in pharmacology due to his own poor health, and had a wealth of knowledge about compound medicines. He is also the protagonist of an anecdote in which the lord of Miharu, Teruki Akita, suffered from stomach pain in Edo Castle, and miraculously recovered after taking a medicine he had prepared himself, "Hangontan."

Although this famous anecdote has no historical basis, it is true that he was knowledgeable about herbal medicine. In addition, there were mountain ascetics in the Toyama domain who practiced asceticism in the Tateyama mountain range, and some of them were knowledgeable about medicine.

Masataka Maeda issued a decree allowing citizens to do business anywhere in the country outside of his domain, creating a system for them to sell across the country. At the same time, he protected the businesses of pharmaceutical stores and drug dealers in the castle town of Toyama, encouraging them to sell as part of the industry. Although compounded medicines and selling medicines were practiced nationwide, the Toyama domain was the first to encourage them as a domain industry.

In the late Edo period, medicine sales became a major industry in the Toyama domain. Merchants established business ethics and gained credibility, and the domain established an organization called the Hangontan Office to protect the business.

Through these efforts, the medicines sold by Toyama medicine sellers gained trust, and the "home medicine" system that continues to this day was established. Incidentally, the "first use, second profit" system, in which medicines were paid for after use, was also made possible thanks to the backing of the domain.

The Hangontan Office also oversaw the drug sellers, not only cracking down on counterfeit drugs but also providing financial assistance such as loans to cover the cost of purchasing medicines.

Additionally, there are records that terakoya, educational institutions for the common people that were opened within the Toyama domain, placed more importance on arithmetic (arithmetic) than reading and writing, and books on sold medicines and compounded medicines, such as "Yakumeicho" (Medicine Book) and "Combined Medicine Book," were used as textbooks.

The feudal lord also contributed to selling medicine

The 10th feudal lord, Maeda Toshiyasu, was known as a daimyo of natural history along with the lord of Fukuoka, Kuroda Nariyoshi. During his time as feudal lord, the finances of the Toyama domain became increasingly strained, until the shogunate finally exempted the domain from sankin-kotai (alternate attendance). The domain issued currency notes, but they were ineffective, and poor harvests made the finances even worse.

Maeda Toshiyasu encouraged industries such as pottery manufacturing and medicinal herb cultivation, and he himself studied under botanical scholar Iwasaki Kan'en and others, writing such books as "Honzo Tsukushi," "Honzo Chokai," "Honzo Tsukushi Seizu," and "Bankouenri Kadan Gangmoku."

In order to create illustrations for this book, the Toyama domain dramatically improved its printmaking techniques, and "medicine prints" were born, which were given away as a freebie with medicines. Prints, which became popular in the Toyama domain, eventually became famous nationwide as "Toyama-e."
Additionally, Maeda Toshiyasu constructed the vast Chitose Palace in the area adjacent to the northeast of the castle, where he spent his retirement years.

Relationship with the main Maeda family

Toyama Domain was a branch domain of Kaga Domain, and the relationship with the Maeda family of Kaga was like that of a main family and a branch family. For this reason, the Maeda family of Kaga Domain frequently intervened in the affairs of Toyama Domain. After the retirement of the 10th lord, Maeda Toshiyasu, the family's vassals split over the succession, and a family dispute arose, but the lord of Kaga Domain at the time also intervened to resolve this. In addition, the 11th lord of the domain was appointed by Toshimichi, the son of the 12th lord of Kaga Domain, Maeda Nariyasu, and a senior retainer was dispatched from Kaga Domain as his vassals, and from then on the Kaga Domain's political intervention in Toyama Domain continued until the Meiji Restoration.

After the Meiji Restoration, Maeda Toshimichi served in various important positions in the new government, including as a secretary at the French Embassy, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a ceremonial official at the Imperial Household Ministry, before becoming a count.

Summary of Toyama Domain

Because Toyama Domain was a branch domain of Kaga Domain, it had a difficult financial situation from the time of its establishment, and successive feudal lords suffered financial difficulties. However, it was because of the financial difficulties that industries other than rice cultivation were encouraged that the "Toyama Medicine Sellers" were born, which continue to this day. The medicine selling continues to this day as "door-to-door medicine sales."