Tottori Domain (1/2)Ruled by three Ikeda families

The Tottori Domain was a large domain that ruled Inaba Province and Hoki Province (present-day Tottori Prefecture). The stone value was as high as 325,000 koku, and the Ikeda clan continued to rule it throughout the Edo period.

The Ikeda clan has three families, and in the early Edo period, land exchanges took place between the Ikeda clans.
Let's unravel the history of the Tottori clan.

Early Edo period ruled by Terumasa Ikeda's younger brother

After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tottori domain was established by Nagayoshi Ikeda, the younger brother of Terumasa Ikeda, who is also famous for making Himeji Castle what it is today.

Nagayoshi, together with Nagayuki Ikeda, who became the second lord of the domain, renovated Tottori Castle and established a castle town in the early modern castle, creating the foundation of the Tottori domain.

Immediately after Nagayuki Ikeda became the second lord of the domain, he received an additional 5,000 koku of rice and moved from Tottori to Bitchu Matsuyama.
Later, Mitsumasa Ikeda, the grandson of Terumasa Ikeda and the lord of Himeji Castle, joined the Tottori domain.

Mitsumasa Ikeda, who became the third lord of the domain, had 100,000 koku less stone than when he was the lord of Himeji Castle, and the number of vassals remained the same, so he had a hard time allocating land and supporting his vassals.

As a result, the stipends of retainers were reduced to 60% of what they were during the Himeji era, and lower-ranking samurai, with no place to live, moved to the native land and began to live semi-peasant-like lives.

Even so, they continued to build on Tottori Castle and expand the castle town.
In the 9th year of Kanei, his uncle, Tadao Ikeda, the lord of Okayama domain, passed away.

He was succeeded by his 3-year-old nephew, Mitsunaka Ikeda. Since he was too young to rule the Okayama Domain, which was a key point on the Sanyo Road, Mitsumasa was transferred to the Okayama Domain, and Mitsunaka was transferred to the Tottori Domain.

Afterwards, Mitsumasa Ikeda and his descendants would rule Okayama until the Meiji Restoration.

The reign of the third Ikeda family, which ruled Tottori until the end of the Edo period.

Now, Mitsunaka Ikeda, the fourth generation lord of the Okayama domain, has lived in the Edo domain residence for a long time, and in 1648, 16 years after becoming the lord of the domain, he entered Tottori for the first time.

By the way, Mitsunaka Ikeda is the great-grandson of Ieyasu Tokugawa, so he has strong ties to the shogunate, and his legal wife is Chachahime, the eldest daughter of Yorinobu Tokugawa, the lord of the Kishu domain.

After entering the territory, he actively worked on the affairs of the domain, sometimes even dismissing the chief retainer to strengthen his own power.

Even after passing over the headship of the family to his eldest son and retiring, he continued to be involved in the domain's politics throughout his life, such as by establishing a branch domain, the Shikako domain (Tottori Higashikan Nitta domain).