Tsuyama DomainRanmaru Mori's younger brother established the clan.

Tsuyama Domain is a domain that governed most of Mimasaka Province, located in the northeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. Before the Edo period, it was ruled by Kobayakawa Hideaki, who was instrumental in the victory of the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara. In the Edo period, Mori Tadamasa, the younger brother of Mori Ranmaru, who shared the fate of Oda Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple, was granted the title and founded Tsuyama Domain.
Let's take a look at the history of Tsuyama Domain.

Tsuyama Domain before the Edo period

Before the Edo Shogunate was established, the land of Tsuyama was bestowed to Kobayakawa Hideaki, who was instrumental in the victory of the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara. Before the Battle of Sekigahara, Kobayakawa Hideaki ruled over Chikuzen and Chikugo, but due to his achievements in the Battle of Sekigahara, he was transferred to Okayama. Kobayakawa Hideaki entered Okayama Castle and ruled, but records show that he was already suffering from physical and mental problems due to alcoholism.

In the end, Kobayakawa Hideaki died without leaving any descendants, and the Kobayakawa family was abolished.
Due to the abolition of the Kobayakawa family, Tsuyama was given to "Mori Tadamasa". Mori Tadamasa was the younger brother of Mori Ranmaru, who shared the fate of Oda Nobunaga in the Honnoji Incident. Like his brother, Mori Tadamasa also served Oda Nobunaga as a page, but after getting into a fight with a colleague in front of Nobunaga, he was returned to his parents' home, with the explanation that "it was too early for him to be a page."
As a result, Mori Tadamasa was spared from being embroiled in the Honnoji Incident.

Later, when Mori Tadamasa's older brother, Kanaga, was killed in the Battle of Komaki Nagakute, the youngest son took over as head of the Mori family. Mori Tadamasa initially served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but after his death he approached Tokugawa Ieyasu and sided with the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara. In 1600 (Keicho 6), the year of the Battle of Sekigahara, Mori Tadamasa was bestowed with Kawanakajima in Shinano and became its feudal lord. During this time, however, he carried out a land survey and imposed heavy taxes on the people of his domain, and when the people rebelled against this he ruthlessly suppressed them with force. There are also records that he tracked down and executed the family of Takasaka Masamoto, who had betrayed his brother Nagayoshi, and so he appears to have been a harsh man.

When Mori Tadamasa entered Tsuyama, he built Tsuyama Castle, moved the location of the castle from Kakuyama to Tsuyama, and at the same time developed the castle town.

Mori family rule

The Mori clan, which began with Mori Tadamasa and continued to rule Tsuyama Domain for nearly 100 years until the fifth lord, Shuri, took over the domain. Even during the time of the first lord, Morita Tadamasa, there were regular disputes between the elder retainers. Furthermore, the fourth lord, Mori Naganari, agreed with the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's "Edict to Show Compassion for Living Things" and paid for the construction of kennels to house stray dogs, which led to the domain's finances going into trouble. The fifth lord, Mori Shuri, was also ordered to be the chief magistrate for the construction of the kennels, but he suddenly went insane in the middle of the task and was forcibly removed from his position as lord of the domain. As he had no children, the Mori family was abolished.

Matsudaira rule

When the Mori family was abolished, Matsudaira Yasunaga, a branch of the Echizen Matsudaira family, entered Mimasaka Province and became the new lord of the Tsuyama domain. From then on, the Matsudaira family ruled the Tsuyama domain until the Meiji Restoration. This was a rare case of a tozama daimyo becoming a related domain.

When Matsudaira Yasunaga, the first head of the Matsudaira clan, was lord of the domain, the Edo domain residence was burned down in a fire, and the cost of rebuilding it and other expenses quickly led to the domain's finances deteriorating. The second lord, Matsudaira Asagoro, became lord at just 11 years old, but died young soon after. The third lord, Matsudaira Nagahiro, was recognized as a terminally adopted son, but his rice yield was reduced from 100,000 koku to 50,000 koku, and he was also treated poorly in official ranks. To make matters worse, a peasant uprising known as the "Yamanaka Disturbance" broke out. In order to resolve the situation, the domain government made the difficult decision to largely accept the demands of the rebels. Perhaps it was the toll of all this stress that led to his death at the young age of 16.

After that, the Tsuyama Domain experienced frequent uprisings and riots, and the domain's governance was unstable. However, the domain continued to engage in cultural activities, such as employing the ukiyo-e artist Masayoshi Kitao.

During the reign of Matsudaira Naratami, the eighth lord of the domain, the kokudaka was finally restored to 100,000 koku. Matsudaira Naratami was the 15th son of Tokugawa Ienari and the half-brother of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. This is why some say the kokudaka was restored. After unifying the domain, which had been in turmoil over the policy of loyalty to the emperor and support for the shogunate, into a loyalist one, he embarked on financial reconstruction and achieved some success. He also contributed to the success of Tokugawa Iesada, who was scheduled to become the 16th shogun.

He also had a deep connection with Tenshoin, known as "Atsuhime," and left behind a sorrowful waka poem when she died. His adopted son, Matsudaira Yoshitoshi, was nominally the last lord of the domain, but he died before the 8th lord, Matsudaira Naritami, so in reality the 8th lord is considered the last lord.

Summary of Tsuyama Domain

Tsuyama Domain has records of uprisings and riots by its citizens, and the domain's administration seems to have been unstable. Nevertheless, the Matsudaira clan, the feudal lords of Tsuyama Domain, also put effort into cultural activities, such as opening a domain school and employing artists. The Matsudaira clan, the feudal lords of Tsuyama Domain, still have descendants, and as direct descendants of Tokugawa Ienari, they put effort into cultural activities.