Japanese historical feudal estate
The
Satsuma Domain
(
薩摩藩
,
Satsuma-han Ryukyuan: Sachima-han
)
, briefly known as the
Kagoshima Domain
(
鹿?島藩
,
Kagoshima-han
)
, was a
domain
(
han
) of the
Tokugawa shogunate
of
Japan
during the
Edo period
from 1602 to 1871.
The Satsuma Domain was based at
Kagoshima Castle
in
Satsuma Province
, the core of the modern city of
Kagoshima
, located in the south of the island of
Kyushu
. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the
Tozama
daimy?
of the
Shimazu clan
, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in the
provinces
of Satsuma,
?sumi
and
Hy?ga
. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the
Kokudaka
system and its value peaked at 770,000
koku
, the second-highest domain in Japan after the
Kaga Domain
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
The Satsuma Domain was one of the most powerful and prominent of Japan's domains during the Edo period, conquering the
Ryukyu Kingdom
as a
vassal state
after the
invasion of Ryukyu
in 1609, and clashing with the
British
during the
bombardment of Kagoshima
in 1863 after the
Namamugi Incident
. The Satsuma Domain formed the
Satch? Alliance
with the rival
Ch?sh? Domain
during the
Meiji Restoration
and became instrumental in the establishment of the
Empire of Japan
. The Kagoshima-han was dissolved in the
abolition of
han
and establishment of
ken
in 1871 by the
Meiji government
when Kagoshima-han became
Kagoshima-ken
, with some parts of the domain separated as part of
Miyakonoj? Prefecture
(
Miyakonoj?-ken
). The first prefectural governor of Kagoshima was
?yama Tsunayoshi
until 1877 when he was executed in the
Satsuma Rebellion
. Since the 1880s, the former territory of Kagoshima Domain is now part of Kagoshima and
Miyazaki Prefecture
which was ultimately split from Kagoshima in 1883.
History
[
edit
]
The
Shimazu family
controlled Satsuma province for roughly four centuries prior to the beginning of the Edo period. Despite being chastised by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
in his 1587
Ky?sh? campaign
, and forced back to Satsuma, they remained one of the most powerful clans in the archipelago. During the decisive
battle of Sekigahara
in 1600, the Shimazu fought on the losing side. Satsuma was one of the most powerful feudal domains in
Tokugawa
Japan
. It was controlled throughout the Edo period by the
tozama
daimy?
of the
Shimazu clan
.
Ryukyu
[
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]
Since the mid-15th century, Satsuma fought with the
Ryukyu Kingdom
for control of the
Northern Ryukyu Islands
, which lie southwest of Japan. In 1609,
Shimazu Iehisa
requested permission from the shogunate to invade Ryukyu. After a
three-month war
which met stiff resistance, Satsuma captured the Ryukyuan capital of
Shuri
and King
Sh? Nei
. In the ensuing peace treaty, Satsuma annexed the
Amami
and
Tokara Islands
, demanded tribute, and forced the King and his descendants to pledge loyalty to Satsuma's
daimy?
.
For the remainder of the Edo period, Satsuma influenced their politics and dominated their trading policies to take advantage of Ryukyu's
tributary status
with China. As strict
maritime prohibitions
were imposed upon much of Japan beginning in the 1630s, Satsuma's ability to enjoy a trade in Chinese goods, and information, via Ryukyu, provided it a distinct and important, if not entirely unique, role in the overall economy and politics of the Tokugawa state. The degree of economic benefits enjoyed by Satsuma, and the degree of their influence in Ryukyu, are subjects debated by scholars, but the political prestige and influence gained through this relationship is not questioned. The Shimazu continually made efforts to emphasize their unique position as the only feudal domain to claim an entire foreign kingdom as its vassal, and engineered repeated increases to their own official Court rank, in the name of maintaining their power and prestige in the eyes of Ryukyu.
In 1871, however,
Emperor Meiji
abolished
the
han
system
, and the following year informed King
Sh? Tai
that he was designated "Domain Head of
Ryukyu Domain
", transferring Satsuma's authority over the country to Tokyo.
Edo period
[
edit
]
Though not the wealthiest
han
in terms of
kokudaka
(the official measure of the wealth and therefore power of a
han
, measured in
koku
), Satsuma remained among the wealthiest and most powerful domains throughout the Edo period. This derived not only from their connection to Ryukyu, but also from the size and productive wealth of Satsuma province itself, and from their extreme distance from
Edo
, and thus from the
sh?gun
'
s armies.
The Shimazu exercised their influence to exact from the shogunate a number of special exceptions. Satsuma was granted an exception to the shogunate's limit of one castle per domain, a policy which was meant to restrict the military strength of the domains; the Shimazu then formed sub-fiefs within their domain, and doled out castles to their vassals, administering the domain in a manner not unlike a mini-shogunate. They also received special exceptions from the shogunate in regard to the policy of
sankin-k?tai
, another policy meant to restrict the wealth and power of the daimy?. Under this policy, every feudal lord was mandated to travel to Edo at least once a year, and to spend some portion of the year there, away from his domain and his power base. The Shimazu were granted permission to make this journey only once every two years. These exceptions thus allowed Satsuma to gain even more power and wealth relative to the majority of other domains.
Though arguably opposed to the shogunate, Satsuma was perhaps one of the strictest domains in enforcing particular policies. Christian missionaries were seen as a serious threat to the power of the
daimy?
, and the peace and order of the domain; the shogunal ban on Christianity was enforced more strictly and brutally in Satsuma, perhaps, than anywhere else in the archipelago. The ban on smuggling, perhaps unsurprisingly, was not so strictly enforced, as the domain gained significantly from trade performed along its shores, some ways away from
Nagasaki
, where the shogunate monopolized commerce. In the 1830s, Satsuma used its illegal Okinawa trade to rebuild its finances under
Zusho Hirosato
.
Bakumatsu
[
edit
]
The Satsuma
daimy?
of the 1850s,
Shimazu Nariakira
, was very interested in Western thought and technology, and sought to open the country. At the time, contacts with Westerners increased dramatically, particularly for Satsuma, as Western ships frequently landed in the Ryukyus and sought not only trade, but formal diplomatic relations. To increase his influence in the shogunate, Nariakira engineered a marriage between
Sh?gun
Tokugawa Iesada
and his adopted daughter, Atsu-hime (later
Tensh?-in
).
In 1854, the first year of Iesada's reign,
Commodore Perry
landed in Japan and forced an end to the isolation policy of the shogunate. However, the treaties signed between Japan and the western powers, particularly the
Harris Treaty
of 1858, put Japan at a serious disadvantage. In the same year, both Iesada and Nariakira died. Nariakira named his nephew,
Shimazu Tadayoshi
, as his successor. As Tadayoshi was still a child, his father,
Shimazu Hisamitsu
, effectively held the power in Satsuma.
Hisamitsu followed a policy of
K?bu gattai
, or "unity between the shogunate and the imperial court". The marriage between
Tokugawa Iemochi
, the next
sh?gun
, and imperial princess
Kazunomiya
was a major success for this faction. However, this put Satsuma at odds with the more radical
Sonn? j?i
, or "revere the Emperor and repel the barbarians" faction, with
Ch?sh?
as the major supporter.
In 1862, in the
Namamugi Incident
an Englishman was killed by retainers of Satsuma, leading to the
bombardment of Kagoshima
by the
Royal Navy
the following year. Even though Satsuma was able to withstand the attack, this event showed how necessary it was for Japan to import western technology and reform its military.
Meanwhile, the focus of Japanese politics shifted to Kyoto, where the major struggles of the time occurred. The shogunate entrusted Satsuma and
Aizu
with the protection of the Imperial court, against attempts of the
Sonn? j?i
faction to take over, as in the
Kinmon Incident
of 1864. The shogunate decided to punish Ch?sh? for this event with the
First Ch?sh? expedition
, under the leadership of a Satsuma retainer,
Saig? Takamori
. Saig?, however, avoided a military conflict and allowed Ch?sh? to resolve the issue with the
Seppuku
of the three perpetrators behind the attack on the Imperial palace.
When the shogunate decided to finally defeat Ch?sh? in a
Second Ch?sh? expedition
the next year, Satsuma, under the lead of Saigo Takamori and
?kubo Toshimichi
, decided to switch sides. The
Satch? Alliance
between Satsuma and Ch?sh? was brokered by
Sakamoto Ry?ma
from
Tosa
.
This second expedition ended in a disaster for the shogunate. It was defeated on the battlefield, and Sh?gun Iemochi died of illness in
Osaka Castle
. The next
sh?gun
,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
, brokered a cease fire.
Despite attempts by the new sh?gun to reform the government, he was unable to contain the growing movement to overthrow the shogunate led by Satsuma and Ch?sh?. Even after he stepped down as
sh?gun
and agreed to return the power to the Imperial court, the two sides finally clashed in the
Battle of Toba?Fushimi
1868. The sh?gun, defeated, escaped to Edo. Saigo Takamori then led his troops to Edo, where Tensh?-in was instrumental in the bloodless
surrender of Edo castle
. The
Boshin War
continued until the last of the shogunate forces were defeated in 1869.
Meiji period
[
edit
]
The
Meiji government
, which was established in the aftermath of these events, was largely dominated by politicians from Satsuma and Ch?sh?. Though the samurai class, domain system, and much of the political and social structures surrounding these were
abolished
shortly afterwards, figures from these two areas dominated the
Japanese government
roughly until
World War I
.
However, the beginning of the period was marked by growing discontent of the former samurai class, which erupted in the
Satsuma Rebellion
under Saigo Takamori in 1877.
List of
daimy?s
[
edit
]
The hereditary
daimy?s
were head of the clan and head of the domain.
Shimazu clan
1602?1871 (
Tozama
; 770,000
koku
)
Other major figures from Satsuma
[
edit
]
Sengoku period
Bakumatsu period
Satsuma Rebellion
Meiji period statesmen and diplomats
Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Army
Artists
Entrepreneurs
See also
[
edit
]
Explanatory notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Flag used by the Satsuma army during the
Boshin War
from 1868 to 1869.
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Sagers, John H.
Origins of Japanese Wealth and Power: Reconciling Confucianism and Capitalism, 1830?1885
. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
- Sakai, Robert (May 1957). "Feudal Society and Modern Leadership in Satsuma-han".
Journal of Asian Studies
. Vol. 16, no. 3. pp. 365?376.
doi
:
10.2307/2941231
.
JSTOR
2941231
.
- Sakai, Robert (1968). "The Consolidation of Power in Satsuma-han". In
Studies in the Institutional History of Early Modern Japan
. (
John W. Hall
&
Marius Jansen
eds.) Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Sakai, Robert, et al. (1975).
The Status System and Social Organization of Satsuma
. Tokyo: Tokyo University Press.
External links
[
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]