Funai Domain (2/2)often hit by natural disasters

During the era of Matsudaira Chikasada, the fourth lord of the domain, a huge fire broke out in the castle town and the Great Kyoho Famine occurred. Furthermore, locust damage occurred, and the domain's finances suddenly deteriorated.
At this time, the Funai domain borrowed more than 5,000 ryo from the shogunate and tried to rebuild its finances by issuing strict frugal orders, but it did not go well.

The 5th and 6th generations of the feudal lords also worked hard to rebuild their finances, but the domain was plagued by insect damage, large fires, and floods, and the ``Zenbeishi Rebellion'' over the border between the Funai domain and Akamatsu Village, which was the Tenryō territory, began. A fight broke out, and the fifth lord, Matsudaira Kinkata, was sentenced to two months of siege.

Moreover, the 6th lord, Matsudaira Chikinori, did not intend to relinquish real power even after his retirement, the 7th lord was only in his 30s, and his lifespan was short, and the 8th lord was unable to control the administration of the domain as expected due to differences of opinion with the 6th lord. Unable to steer the ship, he retires disappointed.

In the era of the 9th lord Matsudaira Chikanobu, finances were so tight that he sold off his Edo mansion. Therefore, it was during the era of the last feudal lord, Matsudaira Kinsetsu, that the domain schools were able to focus on academics.

Matsudaira Chikinori's theory is that at the end of the Edo period, he concurrently held important positions in the shogunate such as Wakayori, temple and shrine magistrate, and treasurer magistrate, but in Kunimoto, after the restoration of Taisei, Chikaatsu Masuzawa (the eldest son of Chikinori Matsudaira, the 8th lord of the domain), who was loyal to the king, became the lord of the domain. I was forced to act as a proxy and felt betrayed by my homeland.

After the restoration of imperial rule, he went to Kyoto to show his obedience, but suffered many hardships, such as being ordered to refrain, and was appointed governor of the domain in 1869. However, two years later, he was removed from his post as governor due to the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures, and he retired.

Funai clan summary

The Funai domain was a small domain with a total of 20,000 koku, and was often prone to natural disasters. In addition to floods and droughts, there were also many insect damage, fires, and earthquakes, and it was not uncommon for feudal lords to spend their lives trying to deal with these disasters.

In particular, during the Matsudaira family's rule, the domain's finances were almost bankrupt, and they even sold off their Edo mansion.
Therefore, when the castle tower was destroyed in a fire in 1743, it was not rebuilt until the end of the Edo period.

The last feudal lord, Matsudaira Kinsetsu, changed his surname to Ogyu at the end of the Edo period and adopted an adopted son.
His adopted son, Chikataka Ogyu, became a member of the House of Peers as a viscount and also served the imperial family.