Utsunomiya Domain

History

Utsunomiya has been ruled by the Utsunomiya clan, one of the eight major samurai bands of the northern Kantō region and a cadet branch of the Fujiwara clan since the Kamakura period. For assisting Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590 Battle of Odawara, Utsunomiya Kunitsuna had been confirmed as a 187,613 koku daimyo. However, in 1597 the Utsunomiya were stripped of their holdings when Hideyoshi’s spies revealed that their actual income was more than double what he had authorized. The area then briefly came under the Gamo clan of Aizu, but after the Battle of Sekigahara and the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu regarded the location as strategically important due to its position at the junction of the Ōshū Kaidō and the Nikkō Kaidō.

The 100,000 koku Utsunomiya Domain was created for Okudaira Iemasa, the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu via his eldest daughter Kame-hime. His creation came as somewhat of a surprise, as he had until this point been largely ignored by Ieyasu and had no domain or even a base of retainers to assist him. However, at the time of the Osaka Campaign Iemasa fell ill, and was ordered to remain behind at Edo Castle, where he died a few days later. His son, Okudaira Tadamasa was confirmed as daimyo, but was only seven years old, and it was decided that Utsunomiya was too important to be left in his hands. He was given an increase to 110,000 koku and transferred to Koga Domain in Shimosa.

To replace the Okudaira, the Shogunate turned to the trusted Honda clan, moving Honda Masazumi from Oyama Domain in 1617 and increasing the holdings of Utsunomiya to 155,000 koku. He largely rebuilt the Utsunomiya Castle and the surrounding castle town, and successfully hosted Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada on his way to worship at the Nikkō Tōshō-gū in 1622. However, Hidetada bypassed Utsunomiya on his way back to Edo, and Masazumi was soon relieved of office and exiled to Kubota Domain under house arrest. The reason given was that the Shogun’s investigators had uncovered a plot to assassinate Hidetada using a trap room with a falling ceiling (i.e. The “Utsunomiya Castle Hanging Ceiling Incident”).

The domain was then returned to Okudaira Tadamasa and reduced back to 110,000 koku. Tadamasa ruled Utsunomiya for the next 46 years until his death in 1668, hosting the shogunal entourage on several occasions. However, on his death, one of his senior retainers, Sugiura Ezaemon, committed junshi, which had been outlawed by the shogunate five years previously. Also, a few days after this, a retainer of the domain was involved in the “Utsunomiya Kozen-ji Duel”, whereas dueling was also prohibited. Oukdaira Tadamasa’s son Masayoshi was reduced by 20,000 koku and transferred to Yamagata Domain.

Utsunomiya was then given to Matsudaira Tadahiro, and the domain increased to 150,000 koku. Tadahiro’s father was Okudaira Tadamasa’s brother by the same mother. He was transferred to Shirakawa Domain in Mutsu 13 years later in 1681.

The domain then returned to the Honda clan in the form of Honda Tadahira, who had traded places from Shirakawa with Matsudaira Tadahiro. However, his rule proved very unpopular and he had difficulty in securing the cooperation of his subjects in taxes. He was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama in 1685.

The domain was reduced further to 90,000 koku, and Okudaira Masayoshi’s son, Okudaira Masaakira was permitted to return from Yamagata to Utsunomiya. He is noted for establishing a medical system with 20 doctors in Utsunomiya to treat travelers. He died in 1695 at the age of 28, and as his son Masashige was only two years old, he was transferred to Fukuyama Domain in Bungo.

The domain as then given to Abe Masakuni, formerly of Miyazu Domain in Tango, who ruled for 13 years until his transfer to Fukuyama Domain as well.

The domain was reduced further to 70,000 koku and was then given to Toda Tadazane, formerly of Takada Domain in Echigo. He served as rōjū to Tokugawa Ietsugu and Tokugawa Yoshimune. His son and grandson ruled, until the clan traded places with Matsudaira Tadamasa of Shimabara Domain in Hizen in 1738. Under the Matsudaira, Utsunomiya suffered from repeated floods and crop failure. The expenses involved in the change of domains from distant Shimabara meant that the Matsudaira had to press for increased taxes, which led to several peasant revolts, which had to be suppressed by military force. To add to their woes, Utsunomiya town also suffered from repeated fires, which caused yet more damage and economic issues. Matsudaira Tadahiro was transferred back to Shimabara in 1774, trading places again with the Toda clan.

Toda Tadato was the fourth son of Toda Tadami, and as with the Matsudaira, the move back-and-forth from distant Shimabara all but bankrupted the clan, and the pilgrimage of Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu to the Nikkō Tōshō-gū in 1776 further complicated matters. Nevertheless, the clan struggled on to the Bakumatsu period over seven generations.

During the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration, the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle occurred in 1868. Former Tokugawa retainers under Ōtori Keisuke and Hijikata Toshizō led forces which captured Utsunomiya Castle while the final daimyō of Utsunomiya, Toda Tadatomo, was absent, as he had been charged by Tokugawa Yoshinobu with traveling to Kyoto and submitting a letter of apology and submission. However, pro-Imperial forces recaptured the castle a week later.

After the abolition of the han system in July 1871, Utsunomiya Domain became part of Tochigi Prefecture. The domain had a population of 59,908 people in 15,557 households, per a census in 1870.

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

As with most domains in the han system, Utsunomiya Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.