Matsumae Domain (1/2)Supported the country through trade with the Ainu and forestry

Matsumae Domain was a domain located in Matsumae Town, Matsumae District, Hokkaido. The Matsumae clan has been the lord of the domain since before the Edo period, and it is an unusual land that was repeatedly controlled by the Matsumae clan and under the direct control of the shogunate until the Meiji Restoration.

In addition, since rice cultivation was not possible, the domain's finances were supported by a monopoly on trade with the Ainu.
Therefore, it was an exceptional domain in that it was not officially recognized as a ``daimyo'' or ``han'' even though it was actually a daimyo or a domain.
Let's unravel the history of the Matsumae clan.

The beginning of the Matsumae clan's rule over Ezo

The Matsumae clan, which served as the lord of the Matsumae domain throughout the Edo period, is a family whose founder was Nobuhiro Takeda during the Muromachi period.
Nobuhiro Takeda claims to be a descendant of the Kai-Genji and Wakasa-Takeda clans, and his family crest also uses a split rhombus, also known as ``Takeda Hishi'', but its authenticity is uncertain.

Nobuhiro Takeda became the successor of Suishige Kakizaki, who served Masasue Ando, who ruled Mutsu, Ezochi, and Dewa, and took the name Kakizaki clan. After establishing himself in the southern part of the Oshima Peninsula, he became I'll keep layering them.

During the reign of Toshihiro Kakizaki, he made peace with the Ainu of Chikomotain in the east and Hashitain in the west, laying the foundations for domination of Ezo.
Yoshihiro Matsumae, the third son of Toshihiro Kakizaki, had an audience with Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and was relieved of his fief and appointed to Daisuke Minbu, Junior Fifth Rank.
With this, the Kakizaki clan (Matsumae clan) is considered to have become independent from the Ando clan.

Also, in 1591, when the Kunohe Masazane Rebellion broke out in the southern region, there is a record that he participated in the subjugation at the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and that Ainu poison arrows were very effective at that time. It is left behind.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, in 1599, Matsumae Yoshihiro submitted to Tokugawa Ieyasu and was granted control over the Ezo region by presenting the Ezo map as a gift.
It was during this period that Yoshihiro Matsumae officially changed his surname to Matsumae.

Matsumae domain in the Edo period

The Battle of Sekigahara occurred in 1600, and the Tokugawa shogunate was established in 1603.
In 1604, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted the Matsumae clan a black seal, granting them exclusive rights to trade with the Ainu.
There is an opinion that the Matsumae clan was established with this, but to be more precise, the Matsumae clan was not a daimyo but a rotating group.
A katamoto is one of the family ranks of a hatamoto, and even though it is a hatamoto, it resides in the territory and is obligated to participate in sankin kotai.
This is because Matsumae at that time was too cold to grow rice, and the Matsumae clan was formally known as ``no-high''.
Then, in 1719, he was upgraded to a daimyo rank with a rank of 10,000 koku (Yanagima-zume).

Because the Matsumae clan was granted the right to monopolize trade with the Ainu, they designated the southern part of the Oshima Peninsula as Wajin territory and the rest as Ezo territory, restricting traffic and forbidding Ainu and Wajin to trade without permission. I did.
The Matsumae clan also developed fishing grounds, opened Hiyama in Esashi, established Hiyama Magistrate, and focused on fishing and forestry.
Even if they were unable to grow rice, they supported their finances through trade, forestry, fishing, etc.

In 1668, the Battle of Shakshain occurred. This conflict originated from a conflict between Ainu generals, and the Matsumae clan initially maintained a neutral position and intervened in the dispute.
However, misinformation spread when the Hani Ainu, whose commander-in-chief Onibishi was killed by Shakushain, sent a messenger to the Matsumae clan to request weapons, and the conflict turned from a fight between the Ainu to the Matsumae clan versus the Ainu. It turned into a battle.

In the 9th year of Kanbun (1669), the Ainu living between Shirakaba-cho, Kushiro-cho and Teshio-Mashike-cho all rebelled against the Matsumae clan at the request of Shakushain.

The Matsumae clan asked the shogunate for relief, and at the same time requested the dispatch of troops from the Hirosaki Tsugaru clan, the Morioka Nanbu clan, and the Akita (Kubota) Satake clan, and subdued the Ainu people, who were armed with firearms and bows and arrows, and as a result, This gave them absolute control over Ainu trade.

Relationship between the Matsumae clan and Kyoto

Although the Matsumae domain is far away from Edo, the political center, and Kyoto, where the Emperor sits and continues to be the center of culture and civilization, Kyoto culture has flourished since the early Edo period.
The person who created this opportunity was a person named Tadanaga Kazanin.