Ise Kameyama Domain (1/2)Ruled by many feudal lords

The Ise Kameyama domain was ruled by eight daimyo families. Although it was a small domain, it had strong ties with the shogunate, as it owned Seki, a key point on the Tokaido. Here, let's unravel the history of the Ise Kameyama domain.

Yoshikatsu Okamoto, who laid the foundation for Ise Kameyama

Yoshikatsu Okamoto was a military commander who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and was confined in Kameyama Castle with 22,000 koku. Yoshikatsu Okayama expanded Kameyama Castle's castle tower, Honmaru, Ninomaru, Sannomaru, etc., making it similar to its current form. We also carry out land surveys and develop the castle town. For this reason, some people consider Yoshikatsu Okamoto to be the first lord of the domain. Yoshikatsu Okamoto committed suicide at the age of 59 after being raped for siding with the Western army at the Battle of Sekigahara.

After Yoshikatsu Okamoto, Kazumasa Seki became the lord of the Ise Kameyama domain. Kazumasa Seki was the son of Morinobu Seki, who was appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to be the lord of the Kameyama domain in Ise before Yoshikatsu Okamoto, but he had been transferred to Minotara by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, due to his contribution to the Eastern Army at the Battle of Sekigahara, he was given 30,000 koku as the lord of the Ise-Kameyama domain. Kazumasa Seki worked on the maintenance of Kameyama-juku and the castle, but on July 19, 1610, he was transferred to the Hoki Kurosaka domain.

The Ise Kameyama domain was once abolished.

After Kazumasa Seki was transferred, Tadaaki Matsudaira became the lord of the Ise Kameyama domain with 50,000 koku from the Sakute domain in Mikawa province. Tadaaki Matsudaira is the fourth son of Nobumasa Okudaira, a senior vassal of the Tokugawa family, and his mother is Kamehime, the daughter of Ieyasu Tokugawa. However, in May 1615, when the Osaka Summer Siege occurred and the Toyotomi family was destroyed, Matsudaira Tadaaki was transferred to the Settsu Osaka domain. The Ise Kameyama clan, whose feudal lords changed every five years, was abolished for a period of time and became a territory under the direct control of the shogunate. During that time, the Ise Kameyama domain was ruled by Mitsukatsu Mizutani, the magistrate of Yokkaichi, and the lord of the Tsu domain.

The Miyake family enters the Ise-Kameyama domain.

In 1619, Yasunobu Miyake entered the Ise-Kameyama domain from the Mikawa Koromo domain with 10,000 koku. Yasunobu Miyake was a military commander who accompanied Tokugawa Ieyasu in numerous battles, including the Odawara conquest, and achieved great military prowess. He served as Yokosuka Castle Keeper during the Battle of Sekigahara, and after the war, he served as Castle Keeper (assistant to the castle lord) of Ise-Kameyama Castle. In 1620, Yasunobu Miyake served as a guard when Hidetada Tokugawa's daughter Kazuko entered the temple. Yasunobu Miyake served as the lord of the domain until his death in 1632. After Yasunobu's death, Yasumori Miyake became the second lord of the domain, but in 1636 he was returned to the Mikawa Koromo domain and the Miyake family left Ise Kameyama.

Successive feudal lords

After the Miyake family left, Honda Shunji, who was transferred from the Mikawa Nishio clan, became the lord of the Ise Kameyama clan in his place. The Ise-Kameyama domain's koku increased to 20,000 koku under the Miyake family, and increased to 50,000 koku when Shunji Honda included it.
Honda Shunji established a large-scale district public prosecutor's office in 1637, the following year in 1638, he established the magistrate/daishoya system, and he also actively carried out renovations of Kameyama Castle in Ise and the administration of the domain. However, 14 years later, in 1651, the domain was transferred to the Omi Zeze domain, and Noriyuki Ishikawa was given the same amount of 50,000 koku, but seven years later, in 1669, It was transferred to the Yamashiro Yodo domain. Noriyuki Ishikawa is known as a daimyo who actively rescued victims of the Great Fire of Meireki.

After Noriyuki Ishikawa was transferred, Shigetsune Itakura was included in the Ise Kameyama domain in 1669. He energetically worked on the administration of the domain, including renovating and expanding Kameyama Castle, thoroughly implementing temple and shrine policies, and developing new rice fields. It is said that he enacted good government that was considerate of the people, such as reducing corvée duties and reducing taxes, but due to continued poor harvests, the domain's finances were in dire straits. As a result, the finances of the Ise-Kameyama domain, which was burdened with large amounts of debt, were severely affected. After Shigetsune Itakura retired, Shigefuyu Itakura and Shigeharu Itakura succeeded him, but Shigeharu Itakura was transferred to the Shima-Toba domain in 1710 without making any notable contributions.

After Shigeharu Itakura was transferred to the Shima-Toba domain, Matsudaira Norimura was replaced and included. Matsudaira Norimura later rose to the rank of rojū of the shogunate, and around this time he served as the lord of several domains, including Yamashiro Province and Osaka Castle. Matsudaira Norimura was transferred to the Yamashiro Yodo domain in 1717. After that, Shigeharu Itakura was recalled again and assumed the position of lord of the domain.

However, Shigeharu Itakura died at the young age of 28. His eldest son, Katsumi Itakura, succeeded him. However, in 1744, he was transferred to the Bicchu Matsuyama domain, replacing Sokei Ishikawa.
In this way, the lord of the Ise Kameyama domain was frequently transferred. As a result, the national government was not stable and the domain's finances were in trouble.

National politics finally becomes stable with the transfer of the Ishikawa family.

After Sokei Ishikawa was transferred to the Ise-Kameyama domain, he took charge of the domain's affairs, including serving as a receptionist for Korean envoys at Moriyama-juku. However, the debt accumulated by the previous feudal lord had ballooned to nearly 50,000 ryo, putting pressure on the domain's finances. The ``Suzuka Gunno History'' describes the debt left behind by the Itakura family as ``a serious loss of prestige as a samurai.'' Ishikawa Sokei seems to have issued a frugal edict, but it had no effect. While attempting to rebuild the domain's finances, Ishikawa Sokei encouraged the domain's doctrine and invited scholars such as Heiji Maeda, Fujiyoshi Ikegami, and Sukezo Fukushima to join the domain.
The domain government that placed great importance on such studies continued until the end of the Edo period.