Tsugaru clan
 Hirosaki Castle, Edo-era seat of government for the Tsugaru clan | |
| Pronunciation | Tsugaru |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Japanese |
| Region of origin | Japanese |
The Tsugaru clan (津軽氏, Tsugaru-shi) was a Japanese clan originating in Mutsu Province. It rose to prominence starting in the late Sengoku period, and survived as a lordly family until the Meiji Restoration.
History
Origins through 1599
The Tsugaru clan initially claimed descent from the Minamoto clan; in later years this claim of origin would change to the Fujiwara clan. Its more recent roots lay in the Ōura clan (大浦氏, Ōura-shi), a branch family of the Nanbu clan.[1] Relations between the two families soured after the Ōura declared their independence from the Nanbu in 1571; in the ensuing years, they often fought. Several years later, the family head Ōura Tamenobu pledged fealty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi; Hideyoshi confirmed Tamenobu in his holdings.[2] As the Ōura fief had been in the Tsugaru region on the northern tip of Honshu, the family then changed its name to Tsugaru.
The Tsugaru in the Edo Era
The Tsugaru clan sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu's eastern army during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.[3] As a result, they were granted an increase in territory, along with permission to keep their existing domain of Hirosaki (named for the family's castle town). The domain started out small at 45,000 koku, before being increased in size to 100,000 koku.[4] The Tsugaru remained at Hirosaki until the Meiji Restoration. A major branch was founded in 1656, which was first given hatamoto rank, before being promoted to daimyo status in 1809; this became the ruling family of the Kuroishi Domain.[5] The family's funerary temple in Hirosaki was located at Chōshō-ji.[6]
The Tsugaru clan in the Boshin War
During the Boshin War of 1868-69, the Tsugaru clan was briefly a signatory to the pact that created the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei,[7] before backing out in favor of the imperial government. As a result, it was able to evade much of the punishment meted out by the government on the northern domains.[8] Both branches of Tsugaru daimyo were made imperial governors (藩知事, han chiji) of their domains in 1869. Two years later, as with all other daimyo, both Tsugaru lines were relieved of their offices by the abolition of the han system.
Meiji and beyond
In the Meiji era, Tsugaru Tsuguakira, who had been the last daimyo of the main Tsugaru family, was ennobled with the title of count (hakushaku).[9] Tsugaru Tsugumichi, the last daimyo of the Kuroishi-Tsugaru, became a viscount (shishaku).[10]
Princess Hitachi is a present-day descendant of the main Tsugaru line.[11]
Family Heads
Main line (Hirosaki)
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(as Ōura clan)
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(as Tsugaru clan) |
(Tsugaru continued)
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Branch line (Kuroishi)
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As kōtai-yoriai hatamoto
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Notable Retainers
Hirosaki
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Kuroishi
References
- ^ Template:Ja icon Tsugaru-shi on Harimaya.com (15 July 2008).
- ^ Template:Ja icon Tsugaru-shi on Harimaya.com (15 July 2008).
- ^ Edwin McClellan, Woman in the Crested Kimono (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985), p. 164.
- ^ Template:Ja icon "Tsugaru-han" on Edo 300 HTML (15 July 2008).
- ^ Onodera Eikō, Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken. (Sendai: Kita no mori, 2005), p. 134.
- ^ Jan Dodd, The rough guide to Japan. (n.p.: Rough Guides, 2001), p. 288.
- ^ Onodera, p. 140.
- ^ Mark Ravina, Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan (California: Stanford University Press, 1999), p. 153.
- ^ "Nobility, Peerage and Ranks in Ancient and Meiji-Japan," p. 21.
- ^ Peerage of Japan. (Tokyo: Japan Gazette, 1912), p. 562.
- ^ Kunai-chō website on Prince and Princess Hitachi (15 July 2008).
Further Reading
- Kurotaki, Jūjirō (1984). Tsugaru-han no hanzai to keibatsu 津軽藩の犯罪と刑罰. Hirosaki: Hoppō shinsha.
- Narita, Suegorō (1975). Tsugaru Tamenobu: shidan 津軽為信: 史談. Aomori: Tōō Nippōsha.