Choshu Domain (2/2)A leading figure in the Meiji government

In addition, he appointed Kyuemon Tsuboi, who would later be executed as a member of the Sabaku faction, and promoted reform of the domain government, while building the domain school Yubikan in Edo.
Furthermore, in 1843, a military drill was held in Hagi.

As a side note, one year earlier, in 1842, Yoshida Shoin's uncle had opened the Matsushita Village School in Hagi.
Mori Takachika's reforms did not stop there; in 1849, he began reforming the Meirinkan school, which was a domain school with state permission.
Those who studied at Meirinkan were Kaoru Inoue, Hoyo Ueda, Kogoro Katsura, Masafumi Kunishige, Shinsaku Takasugi, and Shoin Yoshida.

In 1853, when the black ships led by American Admiral Matthew Perry arrived, they were assigned to guard the area around Sagami Province. In August 1858, he received a secret edict and began to devote himself to the cause of ``resonance of the king.''

Then, in 1861, he appointed Nagai Garaku, a prestigious member of the Mori clan's vassals, to seek cooperation between the imperial court and the shogunate through voyage tactics, but this attempt failed due to interference from the Satsuma domain.

After this, the theory of feudal domains began to lean towards Joi, led by Shufu and Katsura Kogoro.
As a result, in 1862, the domain officially decided to expel Joi, and in April of the following year, for reasons of coastal defense, the domain office was relocated from Hagi Castle along the coast to Yamaguchi Castle, and foreign ships were moved to Yamaguchi Castle. will be disbursed.

On August 18, 3rd year of Bunkyu, Emperor Komei, Imperial Prince Nakagawanomiya Asahiko, the Aizu domain, the Satsuma domain, and others staged a coup d'état on August 18th, in which Sanetomi Sanjo and other radical son-in-law nobles and the Choshu domain behind them were expelled from the imperial court. A political coup occurred, and the Choshu clan was forced out of Kyoto.
The following year, in 1864, the Ikedaya Incident broke out. Many retainers of the Choshu clan were killed by the Shinsengumi.

In response to this incident, the Choshu domain went to Kyoto in July 1864 and waged a street battle to eliminate Katamori Matsudaira, the lord of the Aizu domain and Kyoto shugo (Kinmon Incident).

This was the first war between feudal lords since the Summer Campaign in Osaka, and the city of Kyoto suffered a major blow, with 30,000 houses burned down.
However, the Choshu domain was defeated in this battle, and the Sonno-joi faction lost much of its power.
Due to the Kinmon Incident, the Choshu domain became an enemy of the Imperial Court, and the first Choshu conquest was carried out.
In response to this series of incidents, the shogunate stripped Mori Takachika of his official rank.

Furthermore, in August 1864, a combined fleet from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and America attacked Shimonoseki in retaliation for the Choshu clan's attack on foreign ships (Shimonoseki War).

The Shimonoseki War ended with the defeat of the Choshu domain, and when Mori Takachika heard of the first Choshu conquest, he had three chief retainers, including the chief minister of the Kokushi, Chikamasa Masuda, and Motosuke Fukuhara, commit seppuku and submit to Hagi. .

The following year, in the first year of Keio (1865), Shinsaku Takasugi, a graduate of Matsushita Sonjuku, raised an army at Baseki and overthrew the conservatives (Kozanji Raise of Arms).
As a result of this, the government was seized by the anti-shogunate faction, and they incorporated the Kiheitai formed by Shinsaku Takasugi and the Choshu clan troops, which were made up of civilians other than samurai, as ``soldiers of the domain.'' Furthermore, large-scale military reforms were carried out, including the appointment of Masujiro Omura and the adoption of a Western-style military system.

In 1866, the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance was formed through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryoma.
Due to this alliance, the second Choshu conquest was a victory for the combined Choshu and Satsuma domains.

In 1867, the Choshu domain rebuilt its relationship with Britain, and in the same year received a secret order to overthrow the Shogunate.
As a result, in November of the same year, together with the Satsuma clan and others, they organized a government army and moved to Kyoto (the grand edict of the restoration of the monarchy).

Takachika Mori, who accomplished this series of major projects as the feudal lord, went to Kyoto in May 1868, had an audience with Emperor Meiji, received the position of Lieutenant General of the Sakon Guard, and returned to Yamaguchi.

In January 1869, Mori Takachika co-signed with the Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen clans to carry out the restoration of the books. As a result of this, Mori Takachika subsequently obtained the rank of Dainagon and retired, and was succeeded by Motonori Mori, the last lord of the domain, but he soon became a Chihanji (a feudal lord), and with the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures, he was also discharged and moved to Tokyo. He went on to become a bank president and then a member of the House of Lords.

Current Mouri family

Both Takachika Mouri and Motonori Mouri died in their 50s, but Motonori Mouri's eighth son was adopted by Kinmochi Saionji and became Hachiro Saionji, accompanying Emperor Showa on his overseas trips.

Furthermore, Hachiro Saionji remained the heir to the Saionji family, and his second son, Fujio Saionji, became the current president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation after the war. Additionally, he served as president and chairman of Nissan Kogyo.
And that bloodline continues to be passed down to this day.

Choshu domain summary

Speaking of the Choshu domain, it is a domain that was very active at the end of the Edo period. However, throughout the Edo period, the Choshu domain experienced a series of natural disasters and uprisings, and was also in financial crisis.
Furthermore, since Terumoto Mori rebelled against the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu by serving as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, it cannot be said that the Mori family was a daimyo that was submissive to the Tokugawa family.
Other than the 13th lord, Takachika Mori, no other lord has taken center stage in history, but his bloodline continues to this day.