Utsunomiya Domain

This was a Fudai clan that ruled the area around Utsunomiya in Shimotsuke Province (Tochigi Prefecture). It began in 1597 (Keicho 2), when the Utsunomiya clan, a famous clan from the Middle Ages, was destroyed by Kunitsuna, and the following year Gamo Hideyuki of Aizu entered Utsunomiya with a fief of 180,000 koku. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandson Okudaira Iemasa entered the domain, and in 1619 (Genwa 5) during his son Tadamasa's time, he was transferred to Koga in Shimousa Province (Ibaraki Prefecture), and in his place Honda Masazumi, regent to Shogun Hidetada, entered the domain from Oyama with a fief of 155,000 koku. Masazumi worked hard to survey the land within the domain, expand the castle area, and develop the castle town, but was suddenly stripped of his title in 1622 (the myth of the "Utsunomiya Tsuritenjo" plot to assassinate the shogun was born from this incident). Later, Okudaira Tadamasa re-fired his title, and was granted 223 villages and 110,000 koku of land in the four counties of Kawachi, Shioya, Haga, and Tsuga. During the time of his son Masayoshi, he was transferred to Yamagata (Yamagata City) in Dewa Province after a vassal committed suicide. He was replaced by Matsudaira (Okudaira) Tadahiro from Yamagata, and the lord of the castle changed hands several times, with Honda Tadahira in 1681 (Tenwa 1), Okudaira Masaaki in 1685 (Jokyo 2), and Abe Masakuni in 1697 (Genroku 10). In 1710 (Hoei 7), Toda Tadazane from Takada, Echigo Province (Niigata Prefecture) was appointed with a fief of 67,850 koku. Tadazane was appointed as a senior councilor and received an additional stipend of 10,000 koku in 1718 (Kyoho 3), but in 1749 (Kan'en 2) during the time of his grandson Tadamitsu, he was transferred to Shimabara, Hizen Province (Nagasaki Prefecture). In his place, Matsudaira (Fukozu) Tadamasa was appointed from Shimabara with a fief of 65,900 koku. The Matsudaira clan faced resistance from peasant uprisings in 1764 (Meiwa 1) as a measure to increase taxes, and returned to Shimabara in 1774 (An'ei 3), where the Toda clan re-entered the domain from there and settled there after. In 1861 (Bunkyu 1), during the Tadayuki era, they refused to serve as guards for the American legation, and the following year, in the Sakashitamongai Incident, those involved, such as Ohashi Totsuan and Kikuchi Kyochu, were arrested, putting the clan in a precarious position. However, they remained loyal to the shogunate, which was promoting the union of the imperial court and the military, and overcame the crisis by applying for a project to repair the imperial tombs, a political choice that would also achieve the cause of respecting the emperor and save the clan.

In 1865 (Keio 1), due to a series of misconduct related to the Tenguto Incident in Mito, the feudal lord Tadataka was ordered to retire and his adopted son Tadatomo was ordered to have his fief reduced by 50,000 koku and to be transferred to Tanagura in Mutsu Province (Fukushima Prefecture). However, with the mediation of the elder retainer Toda Tadayuki (Mase Wasaburo), who served as the magistrate for the repair of the Imperial Mausoleums, the orders were cancelled. In 1867, Toda Tadatomo ordered Toda Tadayuki to divide the fief of 10,000 koku around Takatoku in Shioya County (Nikko City) (Takatoku Domain). In 1871 (Meiji 4), the domain was abolished, and after passing through Utsunomiya Prefecture, it was incorporated into Tochigi Prefecture in 1873.

[Akira Abe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

下野(しもつけ)国（栃木県）宇都宮周辺を領有した譜代(ふだい)藩。1597年（慶長2）中世からの名族宇都宮氏が国綱(くにつな)の代に滅び、翌年会津の蒲生秀行(がもうひでゆき)が18万石で宇都宮に入封したのに始まる。関ヶ原の戦い後、徳川家康の外孫奥平家昌(おくだいらいえまさ)が入り、子忠昌のとき1619年（元和5）下総(しもうさ)国古河(こが)（茨城県）に移封、かわって小山(おやま)から将軍秀忠(ひでただ)の執政本多正純(ほんだまさずみ)が15万5000石で入封した。正純は領内総検地、城域の拡張、城下町の整備に努めたが、1622年突如除封された（「宇都宮釣天井(つりてんじょう)」の将軍暗殺計画はこの事件に関して生まれた俗説）。あとには奥平忠昌が再封し、河内(かわち)、塩谷(しおや)、芳賀(はが)、都賀(つが)の4郡内に223か村、11万石を領した。その子昌能(まさよし)のとき家臣の殉死事件により出羽(でわ)国山形（山形市）へ移封された。かわって山形から家門の松平（奥平）忠弘が入封、その後も1681年（天和1）本多忠平、85年（貞享2）奥平昌章、97年（元禄10）阿部正邦(まさくに)と城主の交代が繰り返され、1710年（宝永7）越後(えちご)国（新潟県）高田から戸田忠真(ただざね)が6万7850石で入封した。忠真は老中に就任し1718年（享保3）1万石の加増を受けたが、孫の忠盈(ただみつ)のとき49年（寛延2）肥前国島原（長崎県）へ移封された。かわって島原から松平（深溝(ふこうず)）忠祗(ただまさ)が6万5900石で入封した。松平氏は増徴策のため1764年（明和1）百姓一揆(いっき)の反抗を受け、74年（安永3）島原へ戻り、同地から戸田氏が再入封し以後ここに定着した。1861年（文久1）忠恕(ただゆき)のときアメリカ公使館護衛を拒否したうえに、翌年坂下門外の変で関係者大橋訥庵(とつあん)、菊池教中(きょうちゅう)らが逮捕され藩の立場を危うくしたが、公武合体を進める幕府へ忠誠を尽くし、尊王の大義をも達成する起死回生の政治的選択として山陵修補事業を願い出て危機を切り抜けた。

　1865年（慶応1）水戸の天狗党(てんぐとう)事件に絡む一連の不行跡を理由に藩主忠恕に隠居謹慎、養子忠友の5万石減封、陸奥(むつ)国棚倉(たなぐら)（福島県）への国替(くにがえ)が命ぜられたが、山陵修補奉行(ぶぎょう)を勤めた家老戸田忠至(ただゆき)（間瀬(ませ)和三郎）のとりなしで中止させた。1867年戸田忠友から戸田忠至へ塩谷郡高徳(たかとく)（日光(にっこう)市）周辺1万石の分知が命じられた（高徳藩）。1871年（明治4）廃藩、宇都宮県を経て、73年栃木県に編入。

［阿部　昭］

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