Tsugaru clan

Family name
name = Tsugaru


imagesize= 180px
caption= Hirosaki Castle, Edo-era seat of government for the Tsugaru clan
pronunciation = Tsugaru
region = Japanese
origin = Japanese
related names =
footnotes = The nihongo|Tsugaru clan|linktext|津|軽|氏|Tsugaru-shi was a Japanese samurai clan originating in northern Japan, specifically Mutsu Province (the northeast coast of Honshū). A branch of the local Nanbu clan, the Tsugaru rose to power during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. It was on the winning side of the Battle of Sekigahara, and entered the Edo period as a family of lords (daimyo) ruling the Hirosaki Domain. A second branch of the family was later established, which ruled the Kuroishi Domain. The Tsugaru survived as a daimyo family until the Meiji Restoration, when Tsugaru Tsuguakira of Hirosaki and Tsugaru Tsugumichi of Kuroishi were relieved of office. Their extended family then became part of the new nobility in the Meiji era.

History

Origins through 1599

The Tsugaru clan initially claimed descent from the Kawachi Genji branch of the Minamoto clan; in later years, this claim of origin would change to the Konoe family, which was a branch of the Fujiwara clan.ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).] It was first known as the nihongo|Ōura clan|大浦氏|Ōura-shi, a branch family of the Nanbu clan,ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).] [The Nanbu clan claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji.] which ruled sections of northern Mutsu Province. Relations between the two families soured after the Ōura declared their independence from the Nanbu in 1571, during the headship of Ōura Tamenobu. He had been nihongo|vice-district magistrate|郡代補佐|gundai hosa under the Nanbu clan's local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu; however, he attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan's castles.ja icon "Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." "Rekishi Dokuhon". April 1976 (Tokyo: n.p., 1976), p. 71.] Tamenobu also attacked Kitabatake Akimura (another local power figure) and took his castle at Namioka.ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).] The Ōura clan's fight against the Nanbu clan, under Nanbu Nobunao, would continue in the ensuing years. In 1590, Tamenobu pledged fealty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi; Hideyoshi confirmed Tamenobu in his holdings.ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).] As the Ōura fief had been in the Tsugaru region on the northern tip of Honshū, the family then changed its name to Tsugaru.ja icon "Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." "Rekishi Dokuhon". April 1976 (Tokyo: n.p., 1976), p. 71.]

The Tsugaru in the Edo era

The Tsugaru clan sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. [Edwin McClellan (1985). "Woman in the Crested Kimono" (New Haven: Yale University Press), p. 164.] Its immediate neighbors also all supported the Eastern Army. After the Tokugawa victory at Sekigahara, the Tsugaru clan was granted an increase in territory, along with permission to keep its 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". [ja icon [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ME4K-SKRI/han/mutudewa/tugaru.html "Tsugaru-han" on Edo 300 HTML] (15 July 2008).] Tamenobu remained politically active in the early years of the Edo era, mainly in the Kansai area; he died in Kyoto in 1608.ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).]

The early years of the Edo era were marked by a series of major "O-Ie Sōdō" disturbances that shook the Tsugaru family: the nihongo|Tsugaru Disturbance|津軽騒動|Tsugaru-sōdō of 1607, nihongo|Kōsaka Kurando's Riot|高坂蔵人の乱|Kōsaka Kurando no ran of 1612, the nihongo|Funabashi Disturbance|船橋騒動|Funabashi-sōdō of 1634, and the nihongo|Shōhō Disturbance|正保騒動|Shōhō-sōdō of 1647. In 1821, there was a foiled plot by Sōma Daisaku, a former retainer of the Nanbu clan, to assassinate the Tsugaru lord; this stemmed from the old enmity between the two clans.

A major branch of the Tsugaru clan 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, [Onodera Eikō (2005). "Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken". (Sendai: Kita no mori), p. 134.] which immediately bordered its parent family's domain. A lesser branch was founded by Tsugaru Nobuzumi, the son of the first Kuroishi-Tsugaru family head; this branch remained "hatamoto" through the end of the Edo period.ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html "Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com] (15 July 2008).] The main Tsugaru family's funerary temple in Hirosaki was located at Chōshō-ji. [Jan Dodd (2001), "The rough guide to Japan". (n.p.: Rough Guides), p. 288.] Though neither Tsugaru daimyo family ever held shogunate office, the Tsugaru of Hirosaki (together with many of the other domains of northern Honshū) assisted the shogunate in policing the frontier region of Ezochi (now Hokkaido). [Noguchi Shin'ichi (2005). "Aizu-han". (Tokyo: Gendai shokan), p. 194.] In the late Edo period, during the headship of Tsugaru Tsuguakira, the Hirosaki domain's forces were modernized along western lines.

The Tsugaru clan in the Boshin War

During the Boshin War of 1868-69, the Tsugaru clan first sided with the imperial government, and attacked the forces of the nearby Shōnai Domain. [McClellan, p. 175.] [Mark Ravina (1999), "Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan" (California: Stanford University Press), pp. 152-153.] However, it soon switched course, and was briefly a signatory to the pact that created the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, [Onodera, p. 140.] before backing out, once again in favor of the imperial government. [McClellan, p. 175.] It did not take part in any of the major military action against the imperial army. The Kuroishi branch joined the Hirosaki-Tsugaru in siding with the imperial government. [Koyasu Nobushige (1880), "Buke kazoku meiyoden" vol. 1 (Tokyo: Koyasu Nobushige), p. 25. (Accessed from [http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/index.html National Diet Library] , 17 July 2008)] As a result, the entire clan was able to evade the punishment meted out by the government on the northern domains. [Ravina, p. 153.] After northern Honshū was pacified, Tsugaru forces joined the imperial army in attacking the Republic of Ezo at Hakodate. [Koyasu, "Buke kazoku meiyoden" vol. 1, p. 6.] In return for its assistance, the Meiji government granted the Tsugaru family of Hirosaki a 10,000 "koku" increase to its fief. Both branches of Tsugaru daimyo were made nihongo|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. [Kojima Keizō (2002). "Boshin sensō kara Seinan sensō e". (Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha), p. 215.]

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"). [ [http://www.unterstein.net/or/docs/JapanPeers.pdf "Nobility, Peerage and Ranks in Ancient and Meiji-Japan," p. 21.] ] Tsugaru Tsugumichi, the last daimyo of the Kuroishi-Tsugaru, became a viscount ("shishaku"). ["Peerage of Japan". (Tokyo: Japan Gazette, 1912), p. 562.] Tsuguakira later worked as a supervisor in the nihongo|Number 15 National Bank|第十五国立銀行|Dai jūgo kokuritsu ginkō, and Tsugumichi became a member of the House of Peers in 1890. As Tsuguakira was heirless, he adopted Konoe Hidemaro, the son of court noble Konoe Tadafusa, as his heir; [Hidemaro took the Tsugaru name upon adoption.] Hidemaro succeeded to headship upon Tsuguakira's death in 1916.

Princess Hitachi is a present-day descendant of the main Tsugaru line. [ [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e02/ed02-09.html Kunai-chō website on Prince and Princess Hitachi] (15 July 2008).]

Family heads

Main line (Hirosaki)

*Nanbu Moriyuki(as Ōura clan)
*Ōura Norinobu
*Ōura Motonobu
*Ōura Mitsunobu (1460-1526)
*Ōura Morinobu (1483-1538)
*Ōura Masanobu (1497-1541)
*Ōura Tamenori (1520-1567)(as Tsugaru clan)
*Tsugaru Tamenobu (1550-1608)
*Tsugaru Nobuhira (1586-1631)
*Tsugaru Nobuyoshi (1619-1655)
*Tsugaru Nobumasa (1646-1710)
*Tsugaru Nobuhisa (1669-1746)
*Tsugaru Nobuaki (1719-1744)(Tsugaru continued)
*Tsugaru Nobuyasu (1739-1784)
*Tsugaru Nobuakira (1762-1791)
*Tsugaru Yasuchika (1765-1833)
*Tsugaru Nobuyuki (1800-1862)
*Tsugaru Yukitsugu (1800-1865)
*Tsugaru Tsuguakira (1840-1916)
*Tsugaru Hidemaro (1916-?)
*Tsugaru Yoshitaka

Branch line (Kuroishi)

As "hatamoto"
*Tsugaru Nobufusa (1620-1662)
*Tsugaru Nobutoshi (1646-1683)
*Tsugaru Masatake (1667-1743)
*Tsugaru Hisayo (1699-1758)
*Tsugaru Akitaka (1724-1778)
*Tsugaru Yasuchika (1765-1833)
*Tsugaru Tsunetoshi (1787-1805)As "tozama daimyo"
*Tsugaru Chikatari (1788-1849, promoted to daimyo)
*Tsugaru Yukinori (1800-1865)
*Tsugaru Tsuguyasu (1821-1851)
*Tsugaru Tsugumichi (1840-1903)

Notable retainers

Hirosaki

*Tsugaru Takehiro
*Numata Sukemitsu (?-1612?)
*Morioka Nobumoto (1546-1600)
*Kanehira Tsunanori
*Ogasawara Nobukiyo
*Hattori Yasunari
*Sugiyama Gengo (1589?-1641?; 2nd son of Ishida Mitsunari)
*Daidōji Naohide (1552-1642)
*Daidōji Naohide (2nd) (?-1636)
*Shibue Chūsai (1805-1858) [McClellan, p. 10.]

Notes

References

*Dodd, Jan (2001). "The rough guide to Japan". n.p.: Rough Guides.
*Kojima, Keizō (2002). "Boshin sensō kara Seinan sensō e". Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha.
*Koyasu Nobushige (1880). "Buke kazoku meiyoden" 武家家族名誉伝 Volume 1. Tokyo: Koyasu Nobushige. (Accessed from [http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/index.html National Diet Library] , 17 July 2008)
* [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e02/ed02-09.html Kunai-chō website] on Prince and Princess Hitachi (accessed 15 July 2008).
*McClellan, Edwin and Mori Ogai. (1985). [http://books.google.com/books?id=THAbuiFw5HYC&dq=Woman+in+the+Crested+Kimono&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Woman in the Crested Kimono : The Life of Shibue Io and Her Family Drawn from Mori Ogai's 'Shibue Chusai."] New Haven: Yale University Press. 10-ISBN 0-3000-4618-9 13-ISBN 978-0-3000-4618-2
* [http://www.unterstein.net/or/docs/JapanPeers.pdf "Nobility, Peerage and Ranks in Ancient and Meiji-Japan"] (accessed 15 July 2008)
*Noguchi, Shin'ichi (2005). "Aizu-han". Tokyo: Gendai shokan.
*Onodera, Eikō (2005). "Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken". Sendai: Kita no mori.
*"Peerage of Japan". Tokyo: Japan Gazette, 1912.
*Ravina, Mark (1999). "Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan". California: Stanford University Press.
*"Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." "Rekishi Dokuhon" Magazine, April 1976.
* [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ME4K-SKRI/han/mutudewa/tugaru.html Tsugaru-han] on Edo 300 HTML (accessed 15 July 2008).
* [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/tugal_k.html Tsugaru-shi] on Harimaya.com (accessed 15 July 2008).

Further reading

* Dazai, Osamu (1985). "Return to Tsugaru: travels of a purple tramp." Tokyo: Kodansha International.
* 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.
* Tsugaru Tsuguakira Kō Den kankōkai (1976). "Tsugaru Tsuguakira kō-den" 津輕承昭公傳. Tokyo: Rekishi Toshosha

ee also

*Tsugaru Strait
*Tsugaru Tamenobu
*Hirosaki Domain
*Nanbu clan
*Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
*Boshin War