Kishu Domain (1/2)Ruled by the Kii Tokugawa family, one of the three Tokugawa families.

The Wakayama (Kishu) domain was a domain that ruled over Kii Province, the southern part of present-day Wakayama Prefecture and Mie Prefecture, and the southern part of Ise Province. The Wakayama domain was given the name after the restoration of the Taisho, and during the Edo period it was called the Kishu domain.
From the time Tokugawa Yorinobu, the tenth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and younger brother of the second shogun Hidetada, entered the castle, it was ruled by the Tokugawa family as one of the three Tokugawa families, the Kii Tokugawa family, until the Meiji era.
It is also known for producing the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune. Let's unravel the history of the Wakayama domain.

Establishment of Wakayama (Kishu domain)

Under the Toyotomi government, Shigeharu Kuwayama ruled Wakayama with a 30,000 koku power from 1586.
At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Kazuharu Kuwayama, the grandson of Shigeharu Kuwayama, sided with the eastern army, and was given land in Wakayama for 20,000 koku. However, he was soon transferred to the Yamato-Shinjo domain. After that, Yukinaga Asano, who also belonged to the Eastern Army, became the lord of the Kishu domain with 376,000 koku.

Yukinaga Asano renovated Wakayama Castle and developed a castle town, but in 1619, he was transferred to the Hiroshima domain and left Kishu in place of Masanori Fukushima, who was transferred to the castle town.
Later, Yorinobu Tokugawa, the tenth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, entered the castle and established the Kii Tokugawa domain with a total of 555,000 koku, which included Asano's old territory and Minami Ise.

Reign of the Kii Tokugawa family

The first lord of the domain, Yorinobu Tokugawa, is said to have had the personality of a Sengoku warlord, and when he entered Kishu, he had many Ronin servants.

In addition, during the Keian Incident that occurred in 1651, the ringleader, Masayuki Yui, forged Yorinobu's seal document, and was suspected of rebellion by the Shogunate, including Nobutsuna Matsudaira and Masamori Nakane. There is an anecdote that he was kept in Edo for many years and was unable to return to Wakayama.

He also received 5,000 kan of silver from the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, and underwent major renovations to Wakayama Castle, but it is said that the construction work was so large that he was suspected of treason.
During the feudal administration, castle towns were developed and a landowner system was implemented to appease local nationals.

The second lord of the domain, Mitsusada Tokugawa, was the biological father of the eighth shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa. He was also a cousin of the third shogun, Iemitsu Tokugawa, and ruled the domain for a long period of 31 years, from 1667 to 1698.

He enacted 27 articles of law and was admired by the people of his territory, but he also strengthened his ties with the shogun family when Tsuruhime, the eldest daughter of the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi, married his eldest son Tsunanori. However, Tsuruhime passed away in 1704, followed by his eldest son Tsunanori the following year, and the fourth lord Tokugawa Yorimichi, who succeeded him in a hurry, also suddenly died after the funeral. Tragedy struck.
This incident is a scene that is often depicted when Tokugawa Yoshimune becomes a shogun, so many people may know it from novels and dramas.

The third lord Tokugawa Tsunanori died at the age of 39, and the fourth lord Tokugawa Yorimichi died at the age of 26.

The fifth lord of the domain was Tokugawa Yoshimune, who also became the eighth shogun.
Yoshimune was the fourth son of Mitssusada Tokugawa, and his chances of becoming the lord of the domain were very low due to his mother's low social status, but he assumed the position of lord at the age of 22 due to the deaths of his older brothers one after another. .
Yoshimune, who became the lord of the Kishu domain, began reforms to the domain's administration, including simplifying the domain's administrative structure, implementing frugal frugality, and rebuilding finances.

At this time, the Kishu domain paid for the funeral expenses of his two older brothers and father. Finances had deteriorated considerably due to borrowed money from the shogunate and restoration costs from the Hoei earthquake and tsunami that occurred in 1707.
Yoshimune not only demonstrated his skill in rebuilding the castle, but also strove to reform public morals, such as setting up a lawsuit box in front of the Otemon gate of Wakayama Castle to directly collect petitions, listen to the voices of the people, and encourage literary and martial arts.
After serving as the lord of the domain for 10 years and 6 months, Yoshimune assumed the position of 8th shogun after the 7th shogun, Ietsugu Tokugawa, died of illness at the age of 8 without leaving any successor.

The reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune has been featured in many dramas and novels, and he is also famous as the ``father of the restoration of the Edo Shogunate.''
He was a cousin of Tokugawa Yoshimune and ruled Kishu for 41 years.
They tried to rebuild their finances by issuing clan notes and minting copper coins, but they did not seem to have had much effect.

The seventh lord of the domain, Munemasa Tokugawa, had a shorter lifespan at 46 years old than his father, who lived a long life, and he was in charge of the domain for less than 10 years.
It is recorded that he did not show much interest in feudal politics, converted to Buddhism, and fiercely rejected the Nichiren sect.

Shigenori Tokugawa, the 8th lord of the domain, was a unique man, having assumed the position of lord at the age of 20, retired at the age of 30, and remained in retirement for over 50 years.
The most popular theory is that he was so reckless that the shogunate finally prohibited him from visiting the castle, and he was forced to retire.