TheIwaki clan(Japanese:Nham thành thị,Hepburn:Iwaki shi)was aJapanese samurai clanthat claimed descent from theHitachi-Heishi,a cadet branch of theTaira clan.However, this connection is tenuous and not backed by documentary evidence, suggesting that the Iwaki were instead descendants from the localKuni no miyatsuko,and adopted the legend ofTairadescent for greater prestige.
| Iwaki Nham thành | |
|---|---|
 Iwaki family crest | |
| Home province | Mutsu Province |
| Parent house | Taira clan |
| Titles | |
| Final ruler | Iwaki Takakuni |
| Ruled until | 1873 (Abolition of the han system) |
Early history
editDuring theHeian period,they controlled territory in what is now the city ofIwaki, Fukushimaand had close ties with theNorthern FujiwaraofHiraizumi.TheShiramizu Amidadōin Iwaki was built in 1160 by Princess Tokuhime, daughter ofFujiwara no Kiyohiraof theHiraizumi Fujiwara clan,as a memorial temple for her husband, Iwaki Norimichi.[1][2][3] The Iwaki maintained their territories under theKamakura shogunatebut were often in conflict with theIga clan.In theMuromachi period,they were sometimes allied with the more powerfulSatake clanorYuki clan,or were sometimes opposed. Into theSengoku period,then situation became ever more complex, as the powerfulSōma clan,Tamura clan,Date clanandAshina clanto the north all joined the ranks of sometime allies and sometime enemies. The 15th hereditary chieftain, Iwaki Shigetaka was pressured by Sōma Akitani into giving his daughter, Kubo-hime, as wife toDate Harumuneand accepting the son of this union as his heir. The effectively placed the Iwaki under Date hegemony, and Iwaki Tsunetaka accompaniedDate MasamunetoOdawarato pledge fealty toToyotomi Hideyoshiin 1590. Iwaki Tsunetaka died shortly afterwards, and as his son was still an infant, the clan adopted the son ofSatake Yoshishige,Sadataka as heir. At the time of theBattle of Sekigahara,although the Iwaki clan supported the Eastern Army ofTokugawa Ieyasu,theSatake clanremained neutral, and Iwaki Sadataka obeyed the orders of his older brother,Satake Yoshinobunot to attack the forces ofUesugi KagekatsuinAizu Domain.As a result, with the establishment of theTokugawa shogunate,the Iwaki clan was punished by the forfeiture of its ancestral 120,000kokudomains.
Ieyasu was petitioned byDoi Toshikatsu,Honda Tadanobuand about 300 other samurai officials to show clemency to Iwaki Sadataka, and he was permitted fight in the 1614Osaka Summer Campaign,for which he was awarded 10,000kokudomain inShinano Provincethe following year. His son, Iwaki Yoshitaka (later known asSatake Yoshitaka) added another 10,000 koku to this Shinano-Nakamura Domain in 1620. These territories were inYuri County,Dewa Province,and he relocated his seat there in 1624. His descendants continued to ruler asdaimyōofKameda Domainfor 13 generations to theMeiji restoration.[4]
During theBoshin Warof 1868–69, the Iwaki were signatories to the pact that formed theŌuetsu Reppan Dōmei.Despite its meager military resources, the domain fought against the forces of pro-ImperialShinjō Domainuntil an agreement was reached. The newMeiji governmentpenalized the domain with a reduction in revenues to 18,000koku.With theabolition of the han systemin July 1871, and the absorption of Kameda Domain into Akita Prefecture, the finaldaimyōof Kameda, Iwaki Takakuni, relocated to Tokyo. In 1884, he and his descendants were granted the title ofviscount(shishaku) in thekazokupeerage.[5][6]
Notes
edit- ^"Database of Registered National Cultural Properties".Agency for Cultural Affairs.Archived fromthe originalon 22 July 2012.Retrieved4 May2011.
- ^"Shiramizu Amida Temple".Iwaki City.Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2011.Retrieved4 May2011.
- ^"Shiramizu Amida-do".Fukushima Prefecture.Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2011.Retrieved4 May2011.
- ^(in Japanese)"Honjo-han" on Edo 300 HTMLArchived2012-03-02 at theWayback Machine(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^Karino, p. 41.
- ^List of Meiji-era Japanese nobility
References
edit- (in Japanese)Hoshi, Ryōichi (1997).Ōuetsu Reppandōmei.Tokyo:Chūōkōron-shinsha.*List of Meiji-era Japanese nobility(accessed 17 August 2008)
- (in Japanese)Sasaki, Suguru (2002).Boshin sensō: haisha no Meiji-ishin.Tokyo:Chuōkōron-shinsha.
- (in Japanese)Iwaki clan genealogy[permanent dead link](accessed 5 January 2016)