Yonago domainExisted only in the early Edo period

The land of Yonago was a strategically important place where the Amago clan and Mori clan continued to fight over ownership during the Sengoku period. During the Toyotomi clan, Yonago was owned by the Mori clan and ruled by Hiroie Yoshikawa, a descendant of the clan.
The battle of Sekigahara that occurred in 1600 marked a major change in this rule.
Let's unravel the history of how the Yonago clan came into being and how it was abolished.

Until the establishment of the Yonago domain

As mentioned above, Yonago was a place where the Amago clan and Mori clan fought for a long time over ownership during the Sengoku period.
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the whole country, the western part of Hoki Province, including Yonago, became the territory of the Mori clan, and Hiroie Yoshikawa, a member of the Mori clan, took over the fort at the top of the mountain of Iiyama Castle and began construction of Yonago Castle. .

In 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara occurred, and Terumoto Mori, the lord of Hiroie Yoshikawa, became the commander-in-chief of the Western Army.
However, Hiroie Yoshikawa insisted on supporting the Eastern Army and secretly communicated with Ieyasu Tokugawa in order to continue the Mori clan.
As a result, the Mori family left the front without fighting, but the Mori family's territory was reduced to 298,000 koku in two Bocho states, and Hiroie Yoshikawa was also transferred to Iwakuni.

The person who replaced Hiroie Yoshikawa in charge of Yonago was Kazutada Nakamura, the eldest son of Kazuuji Nakamura, who was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's top three elders. Hajime Nakamura was a senior vassal of the Toyotomi family, but just before his death, he met Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sunpu Castle and promised to support the Eastern Army. Because of this achievement, Kazutada Nakamura was given the land of Yonago.

Kazutada Nakamura took over the construction of Yonago Castle, which was still under construction, and completed it, as well as established the Yonago castle town and laid the foundations for the commercial capital of Yonago. He then established the Yonago domain and became the first lord of the domain.

Until the extinction of the Nakamura family

Kazutada Nakamura was only 11 years old when he was appointed to the Yonago domain, so his uncle Kazuei Nakamura and Akira Yokotamura, who was ordered by Ieyasu to be Kazutada's guardian, were in charge of the administration of the domain as the chief retainer. It is said that Yokotamura Akira was in charge of the construction of Yonago Castle and the construction of the castle town.

However, as the years passed, he came into conflict with Yokota Murasaki and his vassals such as Seiichiro Yasui and Muneki Amano.
In 1603, Kazutada Nakamura murdered Akira Yokotamura after being falsely accused by Seiichiro Yasui and Muneki Amano. Yokotamura Akira's vassals, including his eldest son Yokota Shuuma, were angry at this treatment and holed up in Iiyama.
Kazutada Nakamura, with the help of Yoshiharu Horio of neighboring Izumo, subdued them, but this caused the wrath of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Because Yokotamura Akira, whom he had dispatched, was innocently murdered, the ringleaders, Yasui Seiichiro and Amano Muneki, were ordered to commit seppuku without questioning. Kazutada Nakamura was suspended in Shinagawa, but no further punishment was given.
This riot later came to be called the Yokota Riot, but six years later, in 1609, Kazutada Nakamura died at the young age of 20. Although he had three children, their inheritance was not recognized and the Yonago domain was abolished.

After that, in 1617, Yonago became the territory of Mitsumasa Ikeda, who entered Inpaku Ryogoku from Harima, and Yonago Castle was occupied by Yoshiyuki Ikeda, the chief retainer of the castle. Later, in 1632, Mitsunaka Ikeda, who moved to Inpaku Ryogoku due to a change of country, appointed Narutoshi Arao, the head of the Seiza clan, to be the vassal of Yonago Castle. The Arao family ruled Yonago Castle as the actual castle until the end of the Edo period, ushering in the Meiji Restoration.

There are records of successive lords of Yonago Castle, and there were 12 lords until the end of the Edo period. However, since he was not the lord of the domain, he did not have any notable accomplishments, and is thought to have entered the Meiji period in a semi-autonomous state.

Yonago domain summary

Although Yonago Castle is the best castle in the San'in region, the Yonago clan was abolished after just one generation and became a branch domain of the Tottori clan until the end of the Edo period. If the Nakamura family had continued unbroken, Yonago Castle might have remained in a slightly different form to this day.