Marugame Domain (2/2)ruled by three houses

The second lord of the domain, Takatoyo Kyogoku, had a deep knowledge of art and had interactions with potter Ninsei Nonomura and others. Takatoyo. In 1688, he built a daimyo garden in Shimokanakura village of the Marugame domain and named it ``Banshoen.'' This garden still exists, and the Marugame Art Museum is attached to the site. It is also one of Japan's three major seaside gardens.

The Marugame clan had a warm climate and few disasters, and one of its main sources of revenue was tourism for visitors to Kotohira Shrine, so it had relatively comfortable finances.

The first clan banknotes were issued in 1705 (Hoei 2nd year).
After the 6th lord, Kyogoku Takaaki, became the lord of the castle in 1811, finances became tight, so he encouraged his vassals to make fans as a side job, which was well received. Today, Marugame fans are still popular as a specialty product of Marugame.
In addition, Takao Kyogoku was a very intelligent person, so he opened Shugikan, a domain school, in the Edo domain residence. Furthermore, in order to encourage people to be frugal and frugal, they enacted 10 laws focusing on frugality and good morals.
He can be said to be the person who rebuilt the finances of the Marugame clan, which had been in turmoil.

The last lord of the domain, Kotetsu Kyogoku, was the fifth son of Takashu Kyogoku, the son of Takanori Kyogoku, the younger brother of the fifth lord, Takashi Kyogoku, and was adopted by Takaaki Kyogoku, the sixth lord of the domain, in 1844. He became the lord of the domain.

Inheriting his adoptive father's political policies, he reformed the domain's administration by issuing frugal edicts, encouraging industry and restricting imports, and harshly punishing fraud.

At the end of the Edo period, he acted as a king-respecter, and in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in 1868, the neighboring domain of Takamatsu became an enemy of the Imperial Court, so he was ordered by the Meiji government to move to Takamatsu along with the Tosa domain. He was also responsible for the memorial service for the clan.
However, he was later asked by Yoritsune Matsudaira, the lord of the Takamatsu domain, to mediate with the new government, and he agreed. Thanks to the efforts of Akotetsu Kyogoku, Yoritsune Matsudaira was pardoned.

In 1869, he was the first in the domain to apply for the return of land ownership and was appointed governor of the Marugame domain. As the governor of the domain, he will adjust the domain's administration so that the people can live peacefully under the new system.

In 1871, when Marugame Prefecture was created through the abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures, he became the first governor of Marugame Prefecture and continued to rule.
However, he resigned as prefectural governor after just four months and moved to Tokyo, where he ended his life.

summary

The Marugame domain is a small domain in Shikoku, but it continued to prosper throughout the Edo period as a relatively calm and wealthy domain, experiencing no major disasters or famine.

This is probably due to the fact that the Marugame clan's main industry was tourism.
In addition, making fans, which started as a side job, has now become a specialty of Marugame.
Even now, as you walk through the castle town of Marugame City, you can still feel the remnants of the Edo period townscape.