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

Kazanin Tadanaga was the eldest son of the Minister of the Left, Sadahiro Kazanin, and was a senior aristocrat with the rank of Junior Fourth Rank (Junior Fourth Rank) and Major General of the Sakonoe.In July 1609, he had an affair with Hirohashi Tsubone, a lady-in-waiting of Emperor Goyozei. This came to light and he was exiled to Ezo.
Yoshihiro Matsumae, the first lord of the Matsumae domain, respectfully welcomed Kazanin Tadanaga when he arrived in Kaminokuni Town, Hokkaido in 1610, and transferred him to Manpukuji Temple in Fukushima Town, Hokkaido.

As a result of his generous treatment, the second lord of the domain, Kimihiro Matsumae, married the daughter of Dainagon Ōi Mikado Suken, and the eighth lord of the domain, Michihiro Matsumae, took a legal wife from the Kazanin family and formed strong ties with the court nobles of Kyoto. I continued.
Furthermore, Kazanin Tadanaga moved from Matsumae to Tsugaru in 1614, and was allowed to return to Kyoto in 1652. Nevertheless, the Kyoto culture that he introduced flourished in Matsumae, and the custom of children from the Matsumae clan marrying into Kyoto court nobles was born.

Now, the Matsumae clan, which monopolized trade with the Ainu and made forestry its main industry, passed through the generations even though the stone value was 0.
Then, during the time of the sixth lord, Kunihiro Matsumae, he implemented tax reform, made wholesalers into stock brokers, authorized the officiating of the offshore gatehouse business, and collected fees, thereby strengthening the ties between commerce and trade.

Some say that this was because there was a conflict among the vassals over the position of chief retainer of the Matsumae domain, and Kunihiro wanted to maintain a balance of power.
As a result of this, the domain's main income shifted from trade with the Ainu, gold dust mining, and forestry to commissions paid by contract merchants who outsourced the industry.

The domain's finances, which had been deteriorating due to a decrease in the amount of gold dust mined, seemed to have been rebuilt, but collusion between contract merchants and the domain progressed, and this developed into friction with the territory's people, leading to a peasant uprising. The Ainu uprising began to accelerate.

During the time of the 9th feudal lord, Akihiro Matsumae, the 8th feudal lord, Michihiro Matsumae, received a trade request from Russia, so the shogunate decided to place the Matsumae domain under its direct control, and the 8th feudal lord, Michihiro Matsumae, decided to put the Matsumae domain under its direct control. You will be given 1,000 stones.
Furthermore, in 1801, the shogunate decided to permanently put the Matsumae clan's land under its direct control, and in exchange for taking away the territory of Musashi Province, it decided to pay them 3,500 ryo a year.

However, Akihiro Matsumae did not accept this and approached Harusuke Hitotsubashi, the father of the shogun Ienari Tokugawa, and sent a huge bribe to Tadanari Mizuno, the roju, and begged the 11th shogun Ienari Tokugawa to return the territory.
As a result, the land of Ezo was returned to the Matsumae clan in 1821, ostensibly because the threat from Russia had diminished.

Later, in the Matsumae domain, the 10th lord, Yoshihiro Matsumae, died young at the age of 16, and the 11th lord, Masahiro Matsumae, died at the young age of 29.
Matsumae Castle, the last castle of the Edo period, was built during the era of Takahiro Matsumae, the 12th feudal lord who succeeded him.
Takahiro Matsumae was an inquisitive man who excelled in both literary and military arts, and seems to have been a capable ruler.

However, in 1854, the shogunate put the eight villages around Hakodate and the entire Ezo area, which had been the territory of the Matsumae domain, under direct control of the shogunate due to its policy toward Russia, and gave the Matsumae domain the replacement land.

As a result, the price of koku rose, but the loss of trading rights in the Ezo area worsened finances, and the fishermen's turmoil, which began with poor herring fishing, resulted in conflicts between local contractors and small- and medium-sized fishermen. Ta.
Although the head of the school was unstable, Takahiro Matsumae was appointed as a temple magistrate and was even promoted to rojū (rojū).

In 1865, he accompanied the 13th shogun Tokugawa Ieshige on the second Choshu expedition to Kyoto and Osaka.
Although he was deeply trusted by the shogun, his colleague, Roju Abe Masagai, was held jointly responsible for opening the Port of Hyogo on his own initiative, and he was dismissed from his position, and he passed away at the young age of 38. It's gone.

Norihiro Matsumae, who became the 13th lord of the domain, was a man of literature and a fan of the monarchy, but he had been suffering from tuberculosis before becoming the lord of the domain, and also developed mental illness, so he was unable to carry out government affairs satisfactorily, and the domain government fell into chaos. The Emperor-respecting faction and the Joi faction were at odds, and even a coup d'état broke out.

Amid this turmoil, the world entered the Meiji era and the Hakodate War broke out.
The last feudal lord, Nobuhiro Matsumae, the 14th, led the new government forces to recapture Matsumae Castle in the Hakodate War, became governor of the domain, and was later dismissed from office when the domain was abolished and established prefectures, and later became a viscount.

Matsumae clan summary

Although the Matsumae clan was unable to grow rice, it was a unique clan in Japan that operated through trade with the Ainu, fishing, forestry, and gold dust mining.
The lords of the feudal lords had little influence after the second generation, and many of them died young.
The Matsumae family continues to exist today, with Takahiro Matsumae currently serving as the 18th generation head of the family.