Hikone Domain (2/2)Ruled by the Ii family, the head of the Fudai daimyos.

On the other hand, they are immersed in their studies and hobbies, acquiring knowledge and culture. When he was 35 years old, Naomoto, who had been the adopted heir of the 14th lord of the domain, Naosuke Ii (Naonaka's third son), died of illness, so he became his successor.
Naosuke Ii, who became the lord of the Hikone domain, began to reform personnel affairs and prioritized his close vassals. Also, when he first entered Hikone as the feudal lord from Edo, he toured the villages within the territory. From then on, tours of the territory became a regular practice during Naosuke's stay in the country.

In 1853, a black ship arrived, and in 1858, Naosuke Ii became Tairo. The process leading up to the signing of the Japan-U.S. Commerce Treaty is very complicated, so I will not explain it here, but it has been described in detail in many novels, manga, dramas, movies, etc. set at the end of the Edo period, so if you are interested. Please do read it. Naosuke Ii's hard-line policies aroused strong opposition from the Sonno-joi faction, whose loyal vassals were the Satsuma, Choshu, and Mito domains. The strategy taken by Naosuke Ii to eradicate such opposition was the Great Prison of Ansei. Naosuke Ii forced the court nobles and colleagues who opposed him to retire, retire, or be dismissed from office one after another.

Ii Naosuke was assassinated in 1860 by the Sonno-joi faction who were angry about this. This incident is famous as the ``Sakuradamon Incident'', and the assassination took place outside Sakuradamon, which is where the Ii family's domain residence was, so it got its name.
Naosuke Ii's death was strictly kept secret, and his succession to the family headship was finally allowed one month after he was notified. Moreover, after his second son, Naosuke Ii, took over as head of the family, the Hikone domain was reduced by 100,000 koku due to Naosuke Ii's mismanagement of politics. With his death, the Edo shogunate hastened its path to destruction.
Although Naosuke Ii is often portrayed as a villain in novels and dramas, he also had the side of being a good lord who had a deep heart for his people.

Hikone Domain from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period

Naosuke Ii, the second son who succeeded Naosuke Ii, became the 16th generation and the last lord of the Hikone domain. He took over as head of the family at the young age of 13 years old (12 years old). After his father's death, the shogunate denounced Naosuke Ii's tyrannical and tyrannical rule. Naonori Ii executed his father's confidant in the Hikone domain to take responsibility for his father's policies, but relations with the shogunate did not improve for a while. However, 30,000 koku of the 100,000 koku lost due to the Ikedaya Incident and the Kinmon Incident were restored. Although he belonged to the former shogunate army until the Choshu conquest, he joined the new government army in the battles of Toba and Fushimi, and was also involved in the capture of Isamu Kondo.

In the 2nd year of Meiji, he was promoted from the lord of the Hikone domain to the governor of the Hikone domain, and two years later, in the 4th year of Meiji, he traveled to America and England to study. Also, one of the attendants was Soma Eitane, who became the founder of Senshu University. As a side note, Rokuichiro Masushima, the founder of Chuo University, one of the famous private universities in the Kanto region along with Senshu University, was from the Hikone clan. Masushima moved to Tokyo in 1898, studied abroad in England after Naonori Ii, and obtained the qualifications of a lawyer.
After returning to Japan, he was dismissed from his position as governor, and in 1884 was appointed earl under the Peerage Ordinance. After that, Hikone Castle was converted into a property of the imperial family. Naonori's grandson, Naoai Ii, served as the mayor of Hikone for 36 years from 1958 and was affectionately known as ``Tonosama Mayor.'' When he was mayor, he entered into a friendship city agreement with Mito City, with which he had a feud dating back to the days of Naosuke Ii.

The Ii family still exists today, and the current head of the family is Mr. Takeo Ii, the 18th generation. I work at Hikone City's city hall and am the director of the Hikone City Museum.

summary

This time, we will take a look at the history of the Hikone domain along with its successive lords. The Ii family had very strong ties to the Shogunate as the head of the feudal lords, and many of the successive feudal lords served as Tairo of the Shogunate. Therefore, it is said that most of the administration of the Hikone domain was carried out by vassals. Even so, the domain's government remained stable because there were few natural disasters and the domain's finances were never in dire straits. It was also fortunate that one family continued to rule one domain without changing countries. Although the Ii family produced many great feudal lords, many feudal lords died young, and there were only a few feudal lords who left notable achievements. Even so, the family has continued to exist to this day, and the current head of the family is also responsible for protecting Hikone's cultural properties and passing on the history of Hikone to future generations.