Kurokawa Domain (黒川藩, Kurokawa-han) was a fudai feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Kurokawa Jin'ya, located in what is now part of the city of Tainai in Niigata Prefecture.
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History
In 1724, the eldest son of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was transferred from Kofu Domain to Yamato-Koriyama Domain. As a result of this transfer, a 10,000 koku holding in Echigo Province was left open, and Yoshiyasu arranged for this to be assigned to his 4th son, Yanagisawa Tsunetaka. This marked the start of Kurosawa Domain. Although the Yanagisawa clan remained in control until the Meiji restoration, they preferred to reside in Edo and rely on the collection of revenues as absentee landlords. As a result, the finances of the domain were perpetually in a state of bankruptcy, which was complicated by the fact that much of the domain was mountains and forests and unsuitable for rice farming. The actual revenues of the domain often fell short of 10,000 koku and the domain was forced to resort to frequent loans from the parent house of the Yanagisawa clan in Yamto-Koriyama for financial assistance. By 1843, the domain was over 5000 Ryō in debt. The 7th daimyo, Yanagisawa Mitsuteru, was the first daimyo to actually visit the domain. He established a Han school and joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the Boshin War. However, the domain was too small and too weak to provide any meaningful military support.
In July 1871, with the abolition of the han system, Kurokawa Domain briefly became Kurokawa Prefecture, and was merged into the newly created Niigata Prefecture. Under the new Meiji government, Yanagisawa Mitsukuni was given the kazoku peerage title of shishaku (viscount), and later served as a member of the House of Peers
Bakumatsu period holdings
As with most domains in the han system, Kurokawa Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.