Suwa Domain (1/2)Ruled by a descendant of a priest

The Suwa clan was a feudal domain that occupied the area around Suwa District, Shinano Province, with Suwa Takashima Castle as its residence.
Takayoshi Hineno built Suwa Takashima Castle, and the Suwa clan, descendants of the Suwa Shrine Daishu, ruled it until the Meiji era.
Let's unravel the history of the Suwa clan.

Suwa until the Edo period

Until the Sengoku period, Suwa was under the control of the prestigious Suwa clan, who were the Shinto priests of Suwa Shrine and the Ohafuri.
However, in 1542, the Suwa clan was destroyed by the invasion of Takeda Shingen, and the land of Suwa was ruled by the Takeda clan. However, Yoritada Suwa, a cousin of Yorishige Suwa, survived as a Shinto priest under the rule of the Takeda clan.

After that, the Takeda clan was destroyed by the Oda clan, and Suwa came under the control of the Oda clan for a while, but the Oda clan also lost control after the tragic death of their head, Oda Nobunaga, in the Honnoji Incident in 1582. As a result, the Tensho Migo Rebellion broke out over control of Shinano and Kai. At that time, Yoritada Suwa became independent and revived the destroyed Suwa clan. Afterwards, he fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu who invaded the land of Suwa, but later made peace and became a vassal of the Tokugawa family. Then, when Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred to the Kanto region, he followed him and left Suwa, and was given territory in Narari, Musashi Province.

The land of Suwa, which had no lord, was given to Hino Takayoshi by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who built Suwa Takashima Castle, a floating castle on Lake Suwa, and established the Suwa clan.

Suwa domain in the Edo period

The first lord of the Suwa domain is said to be Takayoshi Hino, but since Takayoshi died at the age of 62 just before the Battle of Sekigahara, technically the first lord of the domain was his eldest son, Yoshiaki Hineno.

However, he moved to Shimotsuke Province in 1602, so he has little experience as a feudal lord.
After the Hino clan was transferred, Yoritada Suwa's son, Yorimizu Suwa, entered the Suwa domain.
As a result of this transfer, Suwa was ruled by the Suwa clan, who served as the Grand Celebration of Suwa Shrine until the Meiji period.

Suwa Yorimizu was highly trusted by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and in 1616, he took custody of Matsudaira Tadateru, the 6th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had become a feudal lord, by expanding Takashima Castle. Masu.

Matsudaira Tadateru was a highly anticipated man, as he married Goro Hachihime, the daughter of Date Masamune, the ruler of the Tohoku region, but he fought with his older brother, the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and his father, Ieyasu, over sending troops to the Osaka camp. The change was made due to various reasons.
This incident has been featured in many novels and dramas, so if you are interested, please check out the details.

The second lord of the domain, Tadatsune Suwa, worked hard to develop new rice fields and also worked hard to build the Koshu Highway and the post town of Kanazawa-juku in Shinano Province.

The third lord of the domain, Tadaharu Suwa, was also a cultural figure, and there are records that he compiled 7 volumes of samurai biographies, ``Honcho Burin Koden,'' and its sequel, 35 volumes, and that he also drew paintings of the Kano school. Masu.

He was also a capable politician, and when the dispute over the right to join the Kanazawa clan, which had occurred during the reign of the second feudal lord during the Enpo famine, escalated again, Komatsu Saburozaemon, a wholesaler in Kanazawa-juku, was the only one who fought. He executed him and brought things under control. Although there were fears that many people would die in the conflict over the mountain, his political skill in bringing the situation to a close by executing just one person is still highly regarded.

In addition, he received a reward from the shogunate for his accomplishments in detection. However, in his later years, the chief retainer came to dominate politics in his fief, which led to the Ninomaru Riot.

The fourth lord of the domain, Tadatora Suwa, worked as an Edo firefighter and gatekeeper at Yamazato Maru, and also took care of Yoshichiro Kira, who was exiled and was the grandson of Yoshio Kira, who was famous for raiding.

The fifth lord of the domain, Suwa Tadabayashi, loved learning and was a top-notch poet, but he lacked political skills and caused the domain's finances to deteriorate to the point of crisis.