Sendai Domain (2/2)The Date family continues to rule.

Date Tsunamune retired at the age of 21, and Date Tsunamune, who succeeded him as the fourth lord of the domain, was only 2 years old. At this age, he was incapable of carrying out any political affairs, and his great-uncle, Munekatsu Date, assumed the position of guardian and held the actual power of the domain. However, this led to conflicts among his vassals, and a situation occurred in which Date Tsunamura himself was almost poisoned. This led to the Shogunate summoning senior retainers of the Sendai domain, including Choi Shibata and Yoshinori Furuuchi, to hold an inquest. I will not go into details about this, but an incident occurs in which a man named Muneshige Date, who complained to the Edo shogunate about his vassals and Senyoku Munekatsu, was cut down by Sosuke Harada, one of the retainers who instructed Munekatsu Date.
This came to be known as the ``Kanbun Date Riot'' in later generations.

Muneshige Date died from his wounds at this time, and Munesuke Harada was also killed by Choi Shibata and Yoshinori Furuuchi.
As a result of this, the Date family was pushed to the brink of being destroyed, but due to the fact that the feudal lord, Date Tsunamura, was still a child, he was able to avoid being destroyed. However, the Ichinoseki domain, where Muneshige Date served as the domain lord, was rewritten.

After this turmoil, Date Tsunamura began to take charge of government affairs himself from the age of 13, but as he carried out a series of costly construction projects such as installing windbreaks, developing canals, and repairing his own company, the domain's finances declined. It gets worse rapidly. Date Tsunamura tried to resolve the situation by issuing han bills, but instead prices rose and the country's finances continued to deteriorate.
As a result, there were calls to force him to retire, but in the end that did not materialize, and at the age of 34 Tsunamura handed over the position of lord to his cousin Dateyoshimura and retired.

The numerous disturbances that occurred between Tsunamura's appointment as lord of the domain and his retirement are now collectively referred to as the ``Date Riots.'' This show-stopping riot has become the subject of numerous novels and plays. Particularly famous is the Kabuki play ``Kara Sendai Hagi.'' In Kabuki, Date Tsunamune, Date Tsunamune's father, is supposed to have killed Takao Dayu of Yoshiwara, but this is fiction.

Date Yoshimura, the fifth generation lord of the domain, ruled for over 40 years. When he became the feudal lord, the Sendai domain's finances were completely bankrupt. For this reason, Date Yoshimura decided to reorganize positions and restructure his vassals, and produced Kan'ei Tsuho in Ishinomaki and distributed it within the Sendai domain on the condition that the copper produced by the Sendai domain be used. In addition, the rice purchasing system was strengthened, and rice was purchased from farmers on a semi-forced basis. Around this time, the Kyoho famine occurred, but because Sendai had a good harvest, the rice they bought was sold at a high price, and the Sendai domain finally escaped its financial crisis.
Although Date Yoshimura implemented good governance in this way, there were some policies that failed, such as stopping detection midway through.

Sendai domain until the end of the Edo period

During the era of Date Shigemura, the seventh lord of Sendai, the Sendai domain once again became unstable due to famine and worsening finances. Date Shigemura clashed with his vassals over policy, and two major suspected prison incidents occurred, including Horeki Doubt and Ansei Doubt. In addition, Shigemura himself conducted a hunting campaign against Shigego Shimazu, the lord of the Satsuma domain, and used the domain's scarce resources, causing its finances to worsen.

Date Saimura, the eighth lord of the domain, died of illness at the age of only 23, and his eldest son, Date Shumune, became the ninth lord a few months after his birth. Shumune Date contracted smallpox at the age of 14, never recovered, and requested to retire at the age of 17. Among all the feudal lords, Date Shumune was never seen as a shogun, and of course he did not have any legitimate children. As a result, there was a time when his family was in danger of being cut off as he had no legitimate children, but since his wife was the daughter of the 11th shogun, Ienari Tokugawa, his younger half-brother Date Saimune became the 10th lord of the domain as a special exception. However, he also died from illness at the age of 22.
The 11th generation lord, Date Saiyoshi, also died of illness at the age of 29, and the 12th generation, Date Saikuni, died of illness at the age of 25. During this period, the Date clan's lords continued to have short lives, and were repeatedly exposed to the danger of extinction. However, each time the Edo shogunate allowed late-stage adoption as a ``special exception,'' and the Date family continued to exist.

Date Yoshikuni, the 13th feudal lord, fought against the Meiji government as the leader of the Ouuetsu clan alliance. The result was a crushing defeat. Originally, Yoshikuni Date was scheduled to become an asset, but he was allowed to inherit the family headship on the condition that his private residence and kokudaka were strictly sealed at 280,000 koku.

Date family after Meiji era

Muneki Date, the eldest son of the 12th lord of the Date domain, was still young, so when he became the 13th lord of the domain, the Meiji government appointed Date Yoshikuni's adopted son Muneatsu Date as governor. . After resigning from his position as governor of the domain due to the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures in 1888, Muneatsu Date went to England to study, and after returning to Japan, he became a peerage for life and founded the Date Baron family. He will serve as a member of the House of Peers for four terms.
In addition, the main family, the Date family, became a count, and Muneki Date became a count.

summary

The Sendai domain was ruled by the Date family from the time it was established until the abolition of the domain and the establishment of prefectures in the Meiji period. While there were many famines in the Tohoku region and many feudal domains had severe financial conditions, the Sendai domain was relatively wealthy because it was able to obtain cash income from an early stage through a system of purchasing rice. However, due to constant internal conflicts, including the Date Riots, and a succession of short-lived feudal lords from the eighth generation onwards, it seems that in the end, the family was overwhelmed with the need to continue its existence. In addition, finances became tight after the third generation, and like other domains, the situation seemed to be quite difficult at the end of the Edo period. The Date family still exists today, with Yasumune Date serving as the current head of the family. Mr. Yasumune Date is the supervisor of the taiga drama ``One Eyed Dragon Masamune'', which features Date Masamune as the main character, and has also written a book about the Date family.