Hidehan (1/2)Dedicated by a family connected to Toyotomi Hideyoshi

The Hiji domain was a small domain with an income of 25,000 koku that covered the entire Hayami district of Oita prefecture. Kinoshita Nobutoshi, the third son of Kinoshita Iesada, the older brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's legal wife One (Kodaiin), became the first lord of the domain, and the Kinoshita family continued to serve as the domain lord until the Meiji Restoration without being transferred.
Let's unravel the history of the Hiji clan.

History up to the establishment of the Hiji clan

The Hide domain was founded by Nobutoshi Kinoshita, the third son of Iesada Kinoshita, the older brother of One (Kodaiin), the legal wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Nobutoshi Kinoshita was employed by Hideyoshi and became the lord of Obama, Wakasa Province, and later became the lord of Bitchu Ashimori. Furthermore, Nobutoshi Kinoshita is also the older brother of Hideaki Kobayakawa, who became famous for betraying the Western army at the Battle of Sekigahara.

Nobutoshi Kinoshita was married to the sister of Tadaoki Hosokawa, known as Hosokawa Garasha's husband, and at the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the Eastern Army on his advice.

As a result of his achievements, he was granted the territory of the Hiji clan. The amount of territory that was granted was 30,000 koku, but during the era of the second lord, Toshiharu Kinoshita, he distributed 5,000 koku to his younger brother Nobuyoshi Kinoshita, making it 25,000 koku.
The Hiji clan maintained this stone height until the end of the Edo period. This is extremely rare.

Nobutoshi Kinoshita is also famous as the author of a diary commonly known as the Keicho Diary.
This diary records the events of the year from New Year's Day to New Year's Eve in the 18th year of Keicho (1613), without missing a single day. It is a valuable document that allows us to learn about the movements leading up to Osaka's winter camp.

Nobutoshi Kinoshita was also a military commander who dispatched troops during the Shimabara Rebellion that occurred in 1637, but he lived to the age of 66, which was a fairly long lifespan at the time, and died in Edo.

Hinode domain in the Edo period

Shunji Kinoshita, the second lord of the domain, worked hard to enrich the domain by inheriting Shichitoran, the material used for tatami mats, from the Satsuma domain and working to produce it domestically, but at the age of 48 he stopped working for the domain. He died suddenly during the shift.

During the era of the third and fourth feudal lords, Toshinaga Kinoshita and Toshiyoshi Kinoshita, the domain was developed by cultivating new farmland and carrying out flood control work on Nagawara and Tomisui Pond.
However, there were incidents such as farmers escaping, and due to this, the third lord of the domain, Toshinaga Kinoshita, was temporarily suspended.