Toba Domain

Remnants of the walls of Toba Castle

Toba Domain (鳥羽藩, Toba-han) was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Shima Province (part of modern-day Mie Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Toba Castle in what is now the city of Toba.

History[]

During the Sengoku period, most of Shima Province came under the control of Kuki Yoshitaka, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, who had a fleet of armored ships and controlled maritime traffic around Ise Bay. The Kuki clan fought on both sides during the Battle of Sekigahara, with Kuki Yoshitaka siding with the western forces loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, and his son Kuki Moritaka, joining the eastern armies of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Kuki Moritaka was confirmed as daimyō of Toba, initially with revenues of 35,000 koku, growing to 55,000 koku under his son , who was transferred to in Settsu Province.

The Kuki were replaced by the tozama Naitō clan, which ruled Toba to 1680. The domain then reverted to tenryō status under the direct control of the shogunate for one year. It then came under the control of the Doi clan (1681–1691), Ogyu-Matsudaira clan (1691–1710), Itakura clan (1710–1717), and Toda-Matsudaira clan (1717–1725) before finally coming under the Inagaki clan (1725–1871), where it remained until the Meiji Restoration.

As with all domains, Toba Domain was not a single contiguous holding, but was geographically scattered over a wide area. During the Bakumatsu era it ruled all of Shima Province (37 villages in Toshi District and 19 villages in Ago District) as well as 8 villages in Iino District, 4 villages in Taki District, and 5 villages in Watari District, all in Ise Province.

During the Boshin War, remained loyal to the Shogunate, and as a result was fined heavily by the Meiji government and forced into retirement. His son, became domain governor, and after the abolition of the han system in July 1871, Toba Domain became "Toba Prefecture", which merged with the short-lived "Watarai Prefecture" in November 1871, which later became part of Mie Prefecture.

List of daimyōs[]

• (fudai) 1597–1632

• Naitō clan (fudai) 1633–1680

• (fudai) 1681–1691

• Ogyū-Matsudaira clan (fudai) 1691–1710

• Itakura clan (fudai) 1710–1717

• Toda-Matsudaira clan (fudai) 1717–1725

• (fudai) 1725–1871

References[]

• Papinot, E. (1910). Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan. Tuttle (reprint) 1972.
• (in Japanese) Toba on "Edo 300 HTML"